MLB Player News

The Marlins placed Nardi on the 60-day injured list Saturday with lower-back inflammation.

A setback in Nardi's recovery from a lower-back injury has kept him shut down from throwing since March 5. His status for Opening Day had been in question, but moving to the 60-day IL will ensure he remains out until at least late May. His roster spot will be filled by Seth Martinez, who was claimed off waivers from the Mariners on Saturday.

The Marlins claimed Martinez off waivers from Seattle on Saturday.

Less than two weeks after moving from Miami to Seattle via waiver claim, Martinez will now head right back to Miami. The 30-year-old righty allowed four runs in just two-thirds of an inning during his lone appearance of the spring but his career 3.93 ERA should give him a good chance of sticking around in the Marlins' bullpen. Andrew Nardi (back) was placed on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.

Mears (illness) may not be ready for the start of the regular season, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Mears returned to Brewers camp Thursday after spending several days fighting off an illness, losing nearly 10 pounds in the process. He made three appearances in the Cactus League before getting sick, but Hogg relays that it will be difficult for Mears to get all of his necessary work in before the end of camp.

Manager Bruce Bochy said Saturday that Bradford (elbow) will be shut down from throwing for four weeks, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Bochy's comments confirm that Bradford is not looking at a minimum-length stay on the injured list, as the left-hander will likely need significant time to build back up once his no-throw period is over. With Jon Gray (wrist) also slated to miss the beginning of the season, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker are both likely to join the Rangers' Opening Day rotation.

Fitts allowed one hit and struck out four over 4.1 scoreless innings in Friday's spring start against Miami.

After a couple of Grapefruit League appearances as a reliever, Fitts' last two appearances were as a starter. It's become apparent that Fitts will be part of the rotation to start the regular season, as several projected rotation members are expected to open the season on the injured list. The right-handed Fitts has a 0.84 ERA over 10.2 spring innings.

Paddack gave up two earned runs over four innings with six strikeouts and no walks in Friday's split-squad win over the Rays. He has a 5.59 ERA with nine strikeouts and no walks this spring.

Paddack left his previous start Saturday with a head contusion after a liner deflected off his glove, but he never entered the concussion protocol. He looked back to full strength and the injury doesn't look like an issue for Opening Day. While Paddack hasn't had the best numbers this spring, he's had decent strikeout totals and appears set to begin the season as the Twins' No. 4 starter.

Perdomo struck out two over 1.1 perfect innings of relief in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals.

Entering the game in relief of Spencer Schwellenbach in the fifth inning, Perdomo fanned Dylan Crews to end the frame and then rang up Stone Garrett in the sixth. Perdomo didn't pitch last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and had a delayed start to his spring, but the 30-year-old southpaw has shown flashes of high-leverage potential in camp. While Atlanta could elect to stash him on the IL to begin the season, Perdomo should have a spot waiting for him in the bullpen once he's deemed ready.

The Cardinals optioned O'Brien to Triple-A Memphis on Saturday.

O'Brien made his return Friday from an elbow issue that held him out for two weeks, but he'll now head back to Memphis to begin the 2025 campaign. The 30-year-old righty owns a 10.45 ERA over 10.1 career MLB innings, though St. Louis may be willing to give him another shot if he can replicate his 1.35 ERA in Triple-A from last year.

Manager Alex Cora confirmed Saturday that Crochet will start Opening Day against the Rangers, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

After throwing 6.1 shutout innings in spring training, Crochet has officially earned the honor of starting on the bump Opening Day for his new team. His Red Sox debut will come against a Rangers squad that finished 11th in the American League with a .685 OPS last season but has brought that number up to .790 this spring.

Leahy has spun eight scoreless innings with a 9:1 K:BB during Grapefruit League play this spring.

Leahy is competing with Nick Anderson, Chris Roycroft and Riley O'Brien for one of the final two spots in the Cardinals' Opening Day bullpen. Perhaps working in Leahy's favor, in addition to his fine work this spring, is that he's shown the ability to go multiple frames, whereas the other three competitors are more one-inning relievers. Each of Leahy's last three outings this spring were two innings apiece, and he recorded more than three outs in 20 of his 33 appearances last season for St. Louis.