MLB Player News

Giolito was lifted from Tuesday's Grapefruit League outing against the Phillies due to left hamstring tightness, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Making his first start since last year's internal brace procedure, Giolito yielded two runs on one hit and two walks over his lone inning of work before departing. It's not clear at this point whether his removal was precautionary or if he might need to miss some time. Currently, Giolito is projected to make his regular-season/Red Sox debut March 31 against the Orioles.

The White Sox optioned Nastrini to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.

Though Nastrini has pitched reasonably well this spring (3.52 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 6:2 K:BB in 7.2 innings), his poor body of work at the big-league level last season likely played a significant part in the White Sox's decision to remove him from the competition for the Opening Day rotation. The 25-year-old righty turned in an ugly 7.07 ERA and 36:26 K:BB while allowing seven home runs over his 35.2 innings with the White Sox in 2024. He'll need to make stark improvement with his walk rate at Charlotte this season before he gets another look in the big-league rotation.

The Red Sox optioned Dobbins to minor-league camp Tuesday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Added to the 40-man roster this offseason, Dobbins allowed three runs (two earned) with a 3:1 K:BB over four innings during Grapefruit League play. The 25-year-old finished the 2024 season at Triple-A Worcester and will head back there to start the 2025 campaign as part of Boston's rotation depth.

The Astros optioned Gordon to Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Gordon should get the opportunity to make his MLB debut at some point in 2025, but he'll begin the season in the minors after losing out in the spring competition for the Astros' No. 5 starter role. Hayden Wesneski now profiles as the leading candidate for the final spot in the Opening Day rotation, though Gordon made a decent push for the gig after giving up five runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven over seven innings across his three Grapefruit League starts.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Crawford (knee) is feeling better but has not progressed with his baseball activities, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Crawford will not be ready for Opening Day as he battles patellar tendon soreness and things look to be trending toward longer than a minimum stay on the 15-day injured list. Brayan Bello (shoulder) is also expected to begin the year on the IL but appears likely to rejoin Boston's rotation before Crawford.

Manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Giolito (elbow) will make 2025 debut in Baltimore during Boston's second series of the regular season, which runs from March 31 to April 3, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Boston is opening its season with a four-game set in Texas, so Giolito will presumably take the hill when a fifth starter is first needed March 31. Giolito missed the entire 2024 season after requiring an internal brace procedure last March to address a torn UCL, but he was fully cleared in advance of spring training. After completing a series of live sessions without issue, Giolito will make his Grapefruit League debut Tuesday versus the Phillies and will likely make another two starts after that during spring training to get stretched out in advance of the season.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Bello (shoulder) will not be ready for Opening Day but is expected back sometime in April, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Cora confirmed that Bello will require a stint on the injured list due to right shoulder soreness, which cropped up at the start of camp. Bello has been throwing off a mound since the beginning of March and is trending in a good direction, but he simply needs more time to build up. Quinn Priester or Richard Fitts is expected to fill Bello's rotation spot to begin the season.

Rocker pitched in an intrasquad game on the backfields Saturday and tossed three hitless innings, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Rocker did issue one walk and hit a batter, but the right-hander was pleased with the progress made after allowing eight runs in his first two Cactus League innings. "That was better," Rocker said. "A lot better. That's what we needed. I was able to take a step back and work on the process and try to find the results." Texas general manager Chris Young said the 25-year-old Rocker is medically fine after undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery in 2023, and that the issues early this spring were fixable mechanical things, something he did in the team's pitching lab. It's not yet clear when Rocker will throw next in a live game.

Lively scattered three hits and one walk while striking out three over four scoreless innings in Monday's Cactus League start against the Royals.

Lively strengthened his case for a spot in the rotation during his third Cactus League start against a lineup with several Kansas City regulars. He's allowed just one run over nine spring innings. The right-hander won't blow away many hitters, but he doesn't hurt himself with walks. The key will be locating and preventing the long ball. He's penciled in as one of the five members of the rotation in the latest roster projection offered by Mandy Bell and Tim Stebbins of MLB.com.

McKenzie allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out three over 3.2 innings in Monday's Cactus League start against the Cubs.

There was a lot of traffic during McKenzie's third Cactus League start, but Monday's mixed-result effort was much better than his previous outing. The right-hander walked five and retired just two of seven batters during his second spring start 12 days ago. The seven hits suggest command was inconsistent, but McKenzie amassed 13 whiffs among his 60 offerings, indicating he can be effective when locating. The improvement from his second spring outing keeps him alive in the battle for a spot in the rotation. He was among the five starters in the projected Opening Day roster compiled by Mandy Bell and Tim Stebbins of MLB.com.