MLB Player News

Garcia walked one and struck out one over a scoreless inning in Thursday's spring game against San Diego.

Texas manager Bruce Bochy earlier in camp referred to Garcia as one of the main arms in the mix for the closer role, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com, but the pitcher's spring debut was delayed until Thursday due to nerve irritation in his left forearm. His ratios from 2024 don't jump out, but Garcia's underlying metrics, including 98th percentile hard-hit and barrel rates and a 94th percentile chase rate, indicate he was much better than a 4.22 ERA might indicate. At this point, Garcia and Chris Martin are the leading candidates for save opportunities in the Rangers' rebuilt bullpen.

Ragans allowed one hit and struck out six over three scoreless innings in Thursday's Cactus League win over the Cubs. He did not issue a walk.

The lefty was able to exact a measure of revenge against a Cubs team that rocked him for seven runs over 2.1 innings back on March 1. Ragans noted after the game he was hitting his spots and keeping hitters off balance Thursday after execution was an issue his last time out, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. Ragans, the presumptive Opening Day starter for Kansas City, also mentioned that his goal this year is to be unpredictable to lefties to combat his rather surprising reverse splits from a season ago.

Long, who was hit by a line drive in his left hand during Monday's spring game, threw a bullpen session Thursday despite some swelling, MLB.com reports.

Long had test results that showed he didn't suffer any broken bones after he reached to grab a liner and it deflected off his pitching hand. It's possible his next appearance this spring gets delayed, however, so he could fall behind for being ready for Opening Day.

Estevez (back) said he threw his "best bullpen" yet in Thursday's session and is scheduled for another Saturday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Estevez has been dealing with mild lower-back tightness, which has prevented him from making a spring training appearance. The expected primary closer for the Royals still has some work to do before he can take the mound in a live game.

Marsh (shoulder) is scheduled to face hitters Sunday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Sunday will be the first time Marsh has gone up against a live opponent since arriving at camp with tightness in his right shoulder. The 26-year-old has been able to throw multiple bullpen sessions with no issues, so if his shoulder holds up after a few rounds of live BP, he may be cleared to appear in games before the end of spring training.

The Astros list Santa (undisclosed) on the roster for their March 14 Spring Breakout game against Nationals prospects, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports.

Santa seems to be healthy again after he finished the 2024 season on Double-A Corpus Christi's injured list. The 21-year-old righty turned in an 8.69 ERA and 2.14 WHIP while striking out 16 and walking 16 over 19.2 innings for Corpus Christi before being shut down in late August.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said that Topa was removed from Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles due to right shoulder tightness, Bobby Nightengale of The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Topa served up a home run and tossed just seven pitches before meeting with a trainer on the mound and then getting pulled from the contest. Baldelli said Topa's shoulder will be further evaluated Thursday, and while the skipper is hopeful that the right-hander isn't dealing with anything overly serious, it could affect his availability for Opening Day. The 33-year-old has had rotten luck on the injury front during his career, having missed most of the 2024 season due to torn patella tendon in his right knee and having previously required a flexor tendon surgery and two Tommy John surgeries for his elbow.

Marsh (shoulder) recently threw a bullpen session and said he felt great, the Kansas City Star reports.

Marsh first experienced tightness in his right shoulder during his offseason throwing program and has been eased into spring training action. He's thrown several bullpen sessions in the past week, but it's not clear when he'll appear in a spring training game. Marsh made 25 regular-season starts for the Royals last season, producing a 9-9 record with a 4.53 ERA and 123:39 K:BB ratio over 129 innings.

Munoz hurled a scoreless inning in Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Royals, giving up one hit while striking out two.

Munoz appeared to be sharper Wednesday, considering he surrendered one run on two hits during his first appearance earlier this spring. The hard-throwing right-hander was a first-time All-Star in 2024 while operating as Seattle's primary closer, and the Mariners solidified his status this past offseason by letting Yimi Garcia go and not making any noteworthy additions to the bullpen. Munoz has dominant stuff, as evidenced by his 33.2 percent strikeout rate a year ago, but he may need to improve a bit on his 11.2 percent walk rate to avoid having his job security threatened atop the bullpen pecking order.

Akin threw one scoreless inning in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against Minnesota, allowing one walk while striking out one and picking up a hold.

Akin has now made three appearances this spring, carrying a solid 3.00 ERA and 0.67 WHIP with four strikeouts over three frames. After sporting a 3.32 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with a 97:19 K:BB across 78.2 innings in 2024, the 29-year-old left-hander is set to begin the year out of Baltimore's bullpen and should work primarily as a middle reliever. Although he could receive the occasional save opportunity while the Orioles manage closer Felix Bautista's (elbow) workload to begin the season, Akin doesn't open 2025 with much fantasy appeal.