MLB Player News

Manager Brandon Hyde named Burnes the Orioles' starter for Opening Day against the Angels on March 28, Buster Olney of ESPN reports.

It's not a major surprise the Orioles' new ace will be taking the mound Opening Day, especially with Kyle Bradish (elbow) beginning the season on the injured list. Burnes is making his third Grapefruit League start Sunday versus the Blue Jays and will look to get on track ahead of the regular season, as he's allowed three runs on four hits and a walk over 2.2 frames in his first two spring starts.

The Astros optioned Whitley (finger) to Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Whitley has been battling finger inflammation for the past couple weeks, and it appears to have cost him a chance at making Houston's Opening Day roster. According to Kawahara, the right-hander recently resumed playing catch and will continue building up as a reliever in minor-league camp. Whitley has primarily worked as a starter throughout his minor-league career but was limited to just 30 frames at Sugar Land last season due to a lat strain, and he wasn't particularly effective prior to the injury with a 5.70 ERA and 5.1 BB/9.

The Angels optioned Plesac to Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Plesac struggled last season with a 7.59 ERA through 21.1 MLB innings and a 6.08 ERA across 19 Triple-A appearances (18 starts), and he got off to a similarly slow start this spring by allowing four earned runs in 6.1 frames. Until Plesac is able to find success in the minors, it's unlikely he gets the call to join the Halos' rotation in 2024.

Gausman (shoulder) is scheduled to throw a side session Saturday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The bullpen will mark Gausman's first time throwing off a mound since he first experienced fatigue in his right shoulder roughly a week ago. Despite the injury, Gausman still expects to be ready for Opening Day. A Cy Young finalist in the American League last season, Gausman won't be able to afford a setback if he is to start the season on time.

Varland threw three scoreless innings in Friday's Grapefruit League loss to Pittsburgh. He threw 34 pitches and another 11 in the bullpen as he prepares to be a starter, MLB.com reports. He's thrown seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and one walk this spring.

Varland is competing with Anthony DeSclafani for the fifth starter role. He could begin the season with the job, as DeSclafani is working his way back from a sore right elbow. If Varland loses out on a rotation spot, it will be interesting to see if the Twins move him to the bullpen or keep him as a starter at Triple-A. Varland excelled as a reliever last season with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings with a 17:1 K:BB while seeing his fastball touch triple digits.

Gipson-Long (groin) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Saturday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

The right-hander resumed throwing in late February after dealing with a groin strain, and he'll return to the mound this weekend. Gipson-Long will likely need a couple bullpen sessions before advancing to face live hitters, but he's getting closer to being ready for game action.

Schmidt is throwing a new split-finger changeup this spring, Max Goodman of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Schmidt threw a changeup on only 1.5 percent of his pitches last season, and when he did go to the offering, batters knocked it around to the tune of a .429 batting average. The right-hander has since worked on changing his grip on the pitch, modeling the adjustment on Blue Jays hurler Kevin Gausman. Of course, the Yankees would be ecstatic if Schmidt's results are anything close to Gausman's, but even if the new offering brings less dramatic improvement it could help the younger hurler bring stability to the back of the team's rotation. Schmidt posted a mediocre 4.64 ERA and 1.35 WHIP along with a 149:46 K:BB last season, but he gave an injury-riddled staff 159 innings, and manager Aaron Boone said in late February that he is guaranteed a spot in New York's Opening Day rotation.

Keller (shoulder) signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox on Friday that includes an invitation to spring training.

Keller's 2023 season ended in September when the Royals put him on the injured list due to thoracic outlet syndrome. It's uncertain what his current health situation is, but the White Sox clearly felt comfortable enough with it to give the righty a low-risk, non-roster invite. Keller has been an effective innings-eater in the past and is still just 28, but he holds a 5.14 ERA since the start of the 2021 campaign. The White Sox will likely send him to the minors initially if he performs well enough, but given their dearth of rotation options, he could well end up spending time in the big-league rotation in 2024.

The White Sox optioned Cousin to Double-A Birmingham on Friday.

The 25-year-old was added to Chicago's 40-man roster in December, but he was never a likely bet to begin the season in the majors given that he has just two appearances above the High-A level. Cousin should spend most of 2024 in Birmingham's rotation.

Woo fired 2.2 scoreless innings during which he allowed a walk and recorded three strikeouts in Thursday's Cactus League victory over the Angels.

Woo had been roughed up for four earned runs on six hits over 1.2 innings by the Rockies in his Cactus League debut last Friday. Steve Stockmar of MLB.com reports the right-hander needed just nine pitches to get through the first inning and threw 22 of his 38 pitches for strikes. While the Angels lineup was missing several key regulars, including Mike Trout, both Woo and manager Scott Servais came away pleased with the progress he displayed during his start. "He came out with a plan today and executed," Servais said. "He wanted to get both of his fastballs going and he did just that. He threw the ball really well. Great to see, super aggressive, had tons of strikes, and had really good stuff on top of it."