MLB Player News

The Rangers optioned Pennington to Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday.

Pennington was one of three candidates for the Opening Day bullpen sent back to the minors Sunday, with lefty Jacob Latz and righty Cole Winn also getting optioned to Round Rock. The 26-year-old Pennington reached the majors for the first time in 2024 and made 16 appearances between the Royals and Rangers while turning in a 3.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 17:11 K:BB over 18 innings.

The Rangers optioned Latz to Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday.

Latz was one of three candidates for the Opening Day bullpen sent back to the minors Sunday, with left-hander Walter Pennington and right-hander Cole Winn also getting optioned to Round Rock. The 28-year-old Latz made 46 relief appearances for Texas in 2024, logging a 3.71 ERA and 1.51 WHIP across 43.2 innings.

Denoyer (elbow) reported to Baltimore's big-league camp and will be an available option out of the bullpen for Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

The Orioles have another split-squad contest against the Phillies on Sunday, so Denoyer was summoned from minor-league camp to provide insurance out of the bullpen for the home game against the Twins. Though Denoyer is not scheduled to pitch Sunday, the fact that he's joining the big club for the day is an indication that he's healthy again after missing the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery. Denoyer is expected to open the upcoming campaign at Triple-A Norfolk.

Mattison (elbow) was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Sunday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The 25-year-old didn't see action in spring games while working through his rehab from Tommy John surgery. Mattison last pitched at the Double-A level in 2023 and had a 1.62 ERA over 33.1 innings, and he could be ready for action with Toledo at some point this summer.

The Tigers reassigned Vanasco (hip) to minor-league camp Sunday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Vanasco is still recovering from offseason surgery to address a labrum tear in his right hip, so he could be a candidate to open the 2025 season on the injured list at Triple-A Toledo. The 26-year-old right-hander was outrighted off Detroit's 40-man roster in November and re-signed with the organization on a minor-league deal.

Francis pitched 2.2 innings in a Grapefruit League contest against the Phillies on Saturday, allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out four batters.

Francis made two previous appearances this spring, but this was his first start after the initial scheduled one was rained out. Spring training has not been kind to Francis through 6.2 innings of work, as he sports an ugly 12.15 ERA. He's allowed 11 hits, including three home runs, and five walks while striking out seven. Francis gave up a ton of hard contact versus Philadelphia, including a third-inning homer to Alec Bohm. Francis is currently slots in at the back end of Toronto's starting rotation.

Cano picked up a hold in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays, allowing one walk in a scoreless inning.

The 31-year-old right-hander is off a solid start this spring, carrying a 3.00 ERA and 0.67 WHIP with one strikeout over three frames. Closer Felix Bautista (elbow) will have his workload managed to begin the season, which could lead to the occasional save chance for Cano in the early going. However, Cano has converted just 13 of his 22 career save opportunities, so it wouldn't be surprising to see manager Brandon Hyde turn to Seranthony Dominguez more frequently for ninth-inning work on days where Bautista is unavailable.

Bernardino threw one scoreless inning against the Rays in Wednesday's spring game, during which he allowed one run while striking out a batter.

Bernardino ended the 2024 regular season on the 15-day injured list due to left elbow soreness. He was able to recover from the injury over the offseason and has not allowed a run across three spring training appearances. Bernardino will look to get his ERA and WHIP numbers back down to where they were in 2023 (3.20 ERA, 1.30 WHIP across 50.2 innings).

Zerpa threw a scoreless inning in Friday's spring training win over the Angels. He's thrown four scoreless innings with five strikeouts and no walks this spring.

Zerpa became a high-leverage weapon last season thanks to a sinker with high velocity (it reached 99 mph last year, according to MLB.com) that helped lead to a 58.4% groundball rate. He'll be a key lefty in the late innings and could be a good source of holds (12 last season).

Topa is dealing with right shoulder tightness, but he has not needed an MRI, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

Topa left Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles due to right shoulder tightness. This doesn't sound like a serious injury, but it could land him on the injured list to begin the season as he works his way back into regular season form.