MLB Player News

The Athletics announced Monday that Severino will start their March 27 season opener versus the Mariners in Seattle, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Severino became the obvious choice to take the hill for the Athletics on Opening Day the moment he signed a three-year, $67 million contract in December, the largest guaranteed deal in franchise history. After injuries limited him to fewer than 20 starts in each of his final five seasons with the Yankees from 2019 through 2023, Severino proved to be durable in his lone campaign with the Mets in 2024, turning in a 3.91 ERA and 1.24 WHIP across 31 starts. The Athletics are banking on the 31-year-old Severino avoiding the pitfalls on the health front that plagued him throughout his twenties and emerging as a capable innings eater at the front of the rotation in 2025.

Scherzer said after starting in a minor-league game Monday that his right thumb still "hurts," Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports. "It hurts to grip the ball," Scherzer said, adding that the thumb has been giving him problems once he gets to around 50 pitches in spring outings.

The pitcher also noted that the thumb is "absolutely critical to your arm health" and implied that he's had problems with it "since 2023." What this all means for Scherzer's outlook is not yet clear. He is working with a hand specialist, doctors and trainers and expects to know more about his status within the next couple days. If Scherzer needs time on the injured list to begin the season, Yariel Rodriguez could step into the Blue Jays' rotation.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said that Rodriguez (elbow) will play catch Tuesday, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The right-hander will begin his throwing progression as he works his way back from elbow inflammation. Rodriguez is essentially going to be rebuilding his arm strength from scratch, so the plan is for his throwing progression to be slow and steady. A timetable for his season debut could be available in the coming weeks.

The Athletics optioned Ginn to Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday.

Ginn was in contention for a spot in the Athletics' Opening Day rotation heading into camp, but he'll open the season in the minors after struggling over his five Cactus League outings (7.62 ERA, 1.85 WHIP and 16:8 K:BB in 13 innings). If the right-hander can iron out his control issues at Triple-A, he should be one of the top candidates to enter the rotation if the Athletics are in need of another starter at any point this season.

Carrasco is likely to open the season in the Yankees' rotation, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.

In camp as a non-roster invitee, Carrasco has pitched well during Grapefruit League action, holding a 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 12:6 K:BB over 11 innings. Injuries to Gerrit Cole (elbow) and Luis Gil (lat) have opened up two spots in the Yankees' rotation. Marcus Stroman is expected to fill one of the spots, and it sounds like Carrasco might be favored over Will Warren to occupy the other.

Manager John Schneider announced Monday that Berrios will start the Blue Jays' March 27 season opener versus the Orioles in Toronto, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Though Max Scherzer (thumb) and Kevin Gausman also represented worthy candidates for the Opening Day nod, both have been eased along more slowly in spring training, which may have factored into Schneider's decision to go with Berrios in the first game of the season. Berrios has already made four Grapefruit League starts and struck out seven over six scoreless innings in his most recent outing Sunday versus Atlanta, so he should be able to give the Blue Jays plenty of length right away to begin the season. Berrios is coming off a 2024 campaign in which he submitted a 3.60 ERA and 1.15 WHIP -- his best marks since 2021 -- but his strikeout rate dropped to 19.5 percent, his lowest of any season in which he made at least 15 starts.

Schmidt (shoulder) said he felt "great" during a 24-pitch bullpen session Monday and expects to be ready to make his season debut April 3 against the Diamondbacks, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

Schmidt threw a bullpen session instead of a scheduled Grapefruit League start because he's had some trouble bouncing back in between outings. However, Schmidt doesn't look to be in danger of missing his first turn through the rotation once the regular season begins.

The Red Sox reassigned Davis to minor-league camp Monday.

Davis appeared in nine games out of the Colorado bullpen in 2024 and turned in a 5.75 ERA and 1.87 WHIP over 20.1 innings, but the right-hander never looked to be a serious threat to win a spot on Boston's Opening Day roster after signing with the organization on a minor-league deal in December. The 27-year-old could operate as a swingman at Triple-A Worcester this season, as he has experience both as a starter and reliever in the big leagues and upper levels of the minors.

Lively allowed four runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two over 3.2 innings in Sunday's spring start against the Brewers.

Lively breezed through two innings before giving up his first Cactus League home run in the third and more trouble in the fourth. The right-hander had three largely uneventful spring starts before tasting adversity in his fourth outing. He threw 74 pitches (50 strikes) and continues to build up in preparation for the regular season.

Leiter allowed two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four over four innings in Sunday's spring start against the White Sox.

Leiter gave up a lot of loud contact in the first inning, when the White Sox plated two runs, but he managed to grind out three scoreless innings after that. There were command issues, including the No. 9 batter with two outs after getting ahead of him -- but also enough for the right-hander to take away some positives following the game. "I think grinding through an outing like this, it wasn't the sharpest, but I made pitches when I had to," Leiter told Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. Much has changed for the pitcher since his previous start last Tuesday. Projected rotation members Cody Bradford (elbow) and Jon Gray (wrist) have been shut down and potentially face significant absences during the regular season. That puts Leiter and fellow Vanderbilt alum Kumar Rocker on paths to the rotation.