MLB Player News

Gausman was scratched from his scheduled spring start Saturday against the Tigers for undisclosed reasons, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Sem Robberse will start the game in Gausman's place. It's possible this was nothing more than a change of plans from the Blue Jays, as there have yet to be reports that Gausman is dealing with any sort of injury, but it's at minimum something to monitor.

Schmidt is lined up to start the second game of the regular season, as Luis Severino is expected to hit the injured list with a low-grade lat strain, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Schmidt may be the Yankees' sixth or seventh starter when everyone is healthy, but injuries to Frankie Montas (shoulder), Carlos Rodon (forearm) and now Severino mean he'll open the year firmly entrenched in the rotation.

Cortes tossed four scoreless innings against St. Louis in a Grapefruit League game Thursday, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out seven batters.

This was a far better outing for Cortes than his spring debut March 18, when he allowed five runs in 3.2 frames. The left-handed hurler worked his way up to 66 pitches (47 of which were strikes) in the outing Thursday after throwing 52 his previous time out. Cortes didn't participate in early Grapefruit League action due to a hamstring injury, but he appears to be back to full health and set to be in the rotation to begin the campaign. Though Cortes is by hierarchy the Yankees' No .3 starter, he'll likely start New York's fifth game of the season in order to have a few extra days to ramp up.

Whitlock (hip) threw 63 pitches across four innings in a minor-league game Friday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Whitlock is set to open the year on the injured list after building up slowly this spring as he recovers from September hip surgery. He's making good progress, however, and is scheduled to start Triple-A Worcester's home opener March 30. Given that he's already up to four innings of work, he should be ready to handle a starter's workload once he's activated off the injured list.

Brito may be needed as the Yankees' fifth starter to open the season with Luis Severino dealing with a low-grade lat strain, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

The Yankees likely didn't enter the spring with Brito in their Opening Day plans, but with Severino, Carlos Rodon (forearm) and Frankie Montas (shoulder) all bound for the injured list, they'll need to turn to their eighth starter right away. The Yankees have yet to lock in Brito as their choice, but he was the only candidate explicitly mentioned by manager Aaron Boone. Brito produced a 2.96 ERA in 26 outings (23 starts) in the upper minors last season, though that came with a modest 20.0 percent strikeout rate. He's given up five runs (three earned) on 12 hits in 7.2 innings this spring, striking out seven while walking none.

Severino is dealing with a low-grade lat strain, likely sending him to the injured list to open the season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

The Yankees are hopeful that the injury won't become a long-term problem, but its timing means that Severino is very likely to miss at least a couple starts. Per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, Severino isn't expected to throw for at least five-to-seven days, so it may take some time to know just how long he's likely to be out. The righty also dealt with a lat strain last season, which kept him out from mid-July through late September despite originally carrying the same "low-grade" descriptor. Jhony Brito could step into the rotation in his place, with Clarke Schmidt and Domingo German already earning jobs due to injuries to Carlos Rodon (forearm) and Frankie Montas (shoulder).

Bello (forearm) threw three innings for Double-A Portland on a back field Friday.

Bello increased his pitch count to 42 and will continue to ramp up in minor-league games before the Red Sox activate him. He's expected to join Boston's starting rotation in mid-to-late April.

Severino has been scratched from his scheduled Grapefruit League start Sunday, but the reason has not yet been disclosed, Max Goodman of NJ Advance Media reports.

Severino has struggled at times this spring, giving up 15 earned runs and six home runs across 15 innings. However, he's stated that he feels healthy and has struck out 23 batters -- including nine in four innings in his most recent outing -- so it's unclear if he's battling an injury. Severino has dealt with various arm issues over the past several seasons, so there's reason for New York to be cautious if he's feeling any sort of discomfort, but the team has not yet discussed the decision to pull him from what was scheduled to be his final appearance of the spring. As such, there's no indication yet as to whether Severino will need to miss any starts to begin the campaign.

Maeda gave up two runs on three hits and three walks with five strikeouts in Friday's spring training win over the Yankees. He lowered his spring ERA to 4.91 and has a 14:10 K:BB in 14.2 innings.

Maeda improved from his previous spring outing where he gave up five runs and two home runs in four innings. Walks continue to be an issue for Maeda this spring, however. He is working his way back from August 2021 Tommy John surgery and pitching in his first games this spring. His high walk totals this spring could be a sign his command isn't sharp yet after undergoing surgery. It could also just be a byproduct of a veteran in spring training working on pitches without too much regard to the results. Monitor his performance early in the season, but he's set to begin the year in the Minnesota rotation.

Paxton (hamstring) will throw live batting practice Saturday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

This represents a significant step forward for Paxton, who, as Abraham notes, essentially had to start all over again with his throwing program after suffering a hamstring strain earlier this month. Paxton will not be ready for Opening Day and the lefty may end up needing a minor-league start or two to prepare for his return. Tanner Houck is expected to fill a rotation spot in the meantime.