MLB Player News

Clevinger will make his Cactus League debut Saturday versus the Padres, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Major League Baseball announced Sunday that it declined to discipline Clevinger following an investigation into domestic violence charges. The right-hander has been with the White Sox throughout camp and will make his first game appearance this weekend.

Blackburn, whose 2022 season ended in August due to a finger injury, has been working on refining his changeup this spring, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports. "It gives me another weapon," Blackburn said. "Going forward, being able to throw more changeups to righties will open up a cutter and curveball for me."

Blackburn was a first-time All-Star in 2022 before seeing his career-best season cut short, but it's that injury that has partly inspired his desire to refine his changeup for more frequent use against right-handed hitters. Gallegos notes the physical limitations the right-hander had with respect to throwing all his pitches most of the offseason -- he was only able to use his fastball and changeup for an extended stretch -- led to him tinkering with the latter after only throwing it on 43 occasions during same-handed matchups in 2022. Blackburn didn't have much success with the offering in his first taste of game action since last August on Sunday against the Reds, however, with Blackburn noting a good number of his changeups went "straight into the ground" despite a couple of others prompting swings and misses.

Olson (abdomen) has been cleared for all baseball activities, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Olson has been slowed by abdominal soreness this spring. It's not clear when he might make his Grapefruit League debut, but it shouldn't be long.

Means (elbow) threw 20 fastballs at about 50 percent intensity off a half-mound Monday, Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner reports.

It's a big step for the left-hander in his long road back from Tommy John surgery. Means was pleased with how things went, saying afterward that "it felt like playing baseball again." The veteran southpaw is tentatively projected to rejoin the Orioles' rotation around the All-Star break, but he has many more hoops to jump through before that can become a reality.

Manning allowed four runs on four hits across just 1.1 innings in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox. He walked one and struck out two.

Manning has now made two appearances this spring, allowing five runs on seven hits across 3.1 total innings. It's not a great start, but the righty's goal is likely to just get to the regular season feeling fully healthy, as he's dealt with a number of injuries the past few years. Manning showed flashes in 2022, posting a 3.43 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 63 innings. However, he only had 48 strikeouts, and he'll need to miss more bats to really take off from a fantasy perspective.

Canning tossed two scoreless innings in Monday's Cactus League contest against Cleveland, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out two batters.

Canning missed the entire 2022 season due to a lower-back stress fracture, so Monday's outing was particularly important for the right-hander. He tossed 31 pitches and didn't appear to have any lingering effects from the injury. Canning allowed just two singles in Monday's start -- one didn't leave the infield, and the other was a blooper. The 26-year-old is battling for a role at the back of the Angels' rotation, though it remains to be seen how much he'll be able to stretch out by the end of spring.

Rodon hurled two-plus innings in a Grapefruit League game against Atlanta on Sunday, allowing five runs on six hits and one walk while striking out two batters.

Rodon's first game action in a Yankees uniform went about as poorly as possible, as the southpaw was shelled by Atlanta's bats. Three of the hits against him went for extra bases, and both Matt Olson and Austin Riley took Rodon deep. The third inning was particularly brutal for the New York newcomer, as he allowed five runners to reach base without recording an out. Of course, this was still just an exhibition contest, so fantasy managers who have drafted Rodon as an anchor of their rotation need not despair. He'll have plenty of time to straighten things out ahead of Opening Day.

Gilbert is working on a split-changeup this spring that he unveiled in his Cactus League debut against the Padres on Thursday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Gilbert allowed three earned runs on three hits and two walks over 1.2 innings versus the Padres, even though manager Scott Servais feels the 25-year-old is the furthest along of the Mariners hurlers experimenting with some form of a splitter at the moment. The right-hander took a major step forward with a 13-6 record, 3.20 ERA and 1.18 WHIP across 32 starts in 2022, but he also was unsurprisingly fatigued by the time Seattle's postseason concluded after throwing 185.2 innings during the regular season and 5.1 frames in his one playoff start. Consequently, Kramer notes Gilbert is being eased into his spring training work, and the plan is to keep a close eye on how much live hitting he faces in Cactus League play. "I think they're on track with probably the best idea for what I should do," Gilbert said. "I've been feeling great and bullpens, locked in."

Kirby, who allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk over 1.1 innings in his Cactus League debut against the Rockies on Saturday, impressed manager Scott Servais with his arm care and pitch adjustments as a rookie in 2022, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports. "For a young player to be able to make those kinds of adjustments and then to incorporate into his arsenal as quickly as he was against the best players in the world, like, that's special," Servais said.

Kirby's rocky first spring outing notwithstanding, Servais has nothing but praise and elevated expectations for his precocious right-hander. The 25-year-old took full advantage of the knowledge base of the older arms on the Mariners' staff once he arrived at the big-league level in May, learning an arm-care routine and also working up to throwing six different pitches. Kirby is now experimenting with a splitter this spring in order to expand his arsenal even further as he looks to build on the 8-5 record, 3.39 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 24.5 percent strikeout rate he generated across 25 starts in 2022.

Cole topped out at 99 mph in his spring pitching debut Friday, per Max Goodman of SI.com, and he tossed three scoreless innings against Detroit during which he allowed one hit and no walks while striking out four batters.

Based on Cole's results in his first Grapefruit League appearance, the veteran hurler appears primed for the regular season. The right-hander threw 37 of 51 pitches for strikes and allowed just two baserunners -- one on a double and the other on an error. Though Cole's 3.50 ERA last season was his worst since 2017, he still posted an impressive 1.02 WHIP and 32.4 percent strikeout rate, and he's consistently been among the first three starting pitchers off the board in 2023 fantasy drafts.