MLB Player News

Canning (back) has been cleared to resume throwing off flat ground from 90 feet this week, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Canning is seemingly making positive strides in his recovery from a stress fracture in his lower back, but because the Angels placed him on the 60-day injured list earlier this month, he's not going to be ready to make his season debut until at least the second half of May. He still has several checkpoints to hit in his recovery from the injury before he's even ready for a minor-league rehab assignment, but the fact that he's not being shut down from throwing entirely is a good sign at this stage.

Manager Chris Woodward said Tuesday that Gray will start the Rangers' Opening Day game April 8 in Toronto, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Given that he signed a four-year, $56 million contract over the winter along with the fact that the Rangers are lacking in established starting depth behind him, Gray was the obvious choice to get the ball on Opening Day. The 30-year-old power right-hander has flashed intriguing upside at various points since reaching the big leagues in 2015, but calling Coors Field his home park for his first seven MLB seasons has played a major role in him submitting an underwhelming 4.59 ERA through 829.1 career innings. The move from Colorado to Texas' Globe Life Field -- which has proven to be a forgiving environment for pitchers in the two years since its inception -- could put Gray in good position to deliver the best season of his career. At the very least, Gray should be a solid source of innings volume; not including the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, he's covered at least 149 frames in each of the last three seasons.

The White Sox reassigned Finnegan to minor-league camp Tuesday.

Though he won't turn 29 years old until April and has 260.2 career MLB innings under his belt, Finnegan doesn't look especially close to earning his way back to the big leagues. The lefty hasn't pitched in the majors since 2018, and he's coming off a rocky campaign in the Reds organization at Triple-A Louisville, where he produced a 5.53 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in 55.1 innings. After being developed as a starter, Finnegan appears to be a full-time reliever at this stage of his career, but the role change didn't pay any dividends last year. He joined the White Sox on a minor-league deal over the winter and will hope that the organizational change will help him rediscover the form that once made him an intriguing prospect in the Kansas City system.

Sale (rib) is feeling much better and will start throwing early next week, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Sale came into camp nursing a stress fracture on the right side of his ribcage. He'll miss the start of the season but doesn't have a clear timetable for his return, with previous reports speculating that early May might be when he makes his season debut. More clarity should emerge once the Red Sox get to see how his body responds to throwing.

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said Tuesday that McClanahan will start the team's Opening Day game April 8 versus Baltimore, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

With Tyler Glasnow (elbow) expected to miss most of the upcoming season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, McClanahan entered spring training as the most logical choice to get the ball for the Rays on Opening Day. The 2018 first-round pick is coming off a brilliant rookie campaign in which he submitted a 3.43 ERA and 1.27 WHIP across 123.1 innings while posting a 27.3 percent strikeout rate and limiting opposing hitters to a .251 average. Since he won't turn 25 years old until April, the Rays are likely to manage his workload carefully in 2022, so he can't reliably be counted on to clear much more than 150 innings.

Hill allowed one hit and struck out three over three scoreless relief innings in Sunday's spring training game against Minnesota.

Hill made his second Grapefruit League appearance, but he pitched in bulk relief behind starter Garrett Whitlock. The roles were reversed in his previous appearance; Hill started while Whitlock threw multiple relief innings. The two are expected to pitch in the same game Friday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. Hill and Whitlock are vying for the final spot in the rotation, which could last as long as it takes Chris Sale (rib) to return from injury. Either way, each pitcher is expected to have a role on the staff, whether that be as a starter or high-leverage reliever.

Whitlock allowed one hit and walked one while striking out two over three scoreless innings in a spring training start against the Twins on Sunday.

This was Whitlock's first Grapefruit League start and first start of any kind since July 2019 prior to undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery. Although used exclusively out of the bullpen last season, Whitlock's in the mix for the final rotation spot along with Rich Hill, who also pitched three innings Sunday. That starting spot will last as long as it takes Chris Sale (rib) to get over his injury. Sunday's outing marked the second time both pitchers have appeared in the same game this spring. Both hurlers will likely appear in the same game this Friday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. Boston manager Alex Cora has not revealed how he plans to utilize Whitlock, whose versatility in relief was key for the Red Sox. It's safe to say he'll be an high-leverage piece if relegated to the bullpen.

Ray was credited with the victory in a Cactus League win over the Rangers on Monday, allowing two earned runs on two hits and two walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out six.

The left-hander held the Rangers at bay for the first four frames before yielding a pair of runs on a lineout and double by Charlie Culberson and Marcus Semien, respectively. Despite those stumbles, Ray once again missed plenty of bats, pushing his spring strikeout total to 11 over his first two Cactus League turns.

Syndergaard tossed 3.2 innings in a Cactus League win over Oakland on Monday, allowing an unearned run on one hit and one walk while striking out four.

Making his first Cactus League appearance in an Angels uniform, Syndergaard breezed through the Athletics' lineup, allowing only an unearned first-inning run. He notched three of his final five outs via punchout before being pulled following a fourth-inning walk. Syndergaard has thrown only two major-league regular-season innings since 2019, but he could be a steal for the Angels -- and for fantasy managers -- this season if he's able to come anywhere close to the form he displayed early in his career with the Mets.

Bradish was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Bradish fared well in spring training, fanning five and walking three over four scoreless innings of work. He's in line to begin the 2022 campaign at Triple-A, where he finished with a 4.26 ERA and 1.44 WHIP with a 105:39 K:BB across 86.2 innings a season ago.