MLB Player News

The Rangers optioned Corniell (elbow) to Double-A Frisco on Monday.

The Rangers also reassigned 10 players to minor-league camp, bringing the total of players in major-league camp down to 61. Corniell is recovering from UCL surgery on his pitching elbow and hopes to be game-ready in the second half.

Brown allowed a hit and two walks across two scoreless innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against St. Louis, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brown was shaky to start the game, with all three of the baserunners he allowed coming in a 26-pitch first inning. However, he noted he felt better in his second frame and threw a perfect inning while hitting 98 mph with his fastball as measured by the stadium scoreboard.

Maeda's $10 million contract "likely gives him an edge" to open the season as the Tigers' fifth starter, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Maeda had a disastrous first season in Detroit, finishing with a 6.09 ERA across 17 starts and 12 relief appearances. He has looked sharp this spring, showing an uptick in velocity while allowing three runs with a 9:1 K:BB over five innings. Casey Mize and Keider Montero look to be Maeda's chief competitors for the No. 5 spot, while Jackson Jobe remains the heavy favorite to be the fourth starter. Whoever wins the fifth spot in the rotation would, theoretically, be holding it down only until Alex Cobb (hip) is ready, although there's no timetable for Cobb's return.

Baz threw three scoreless innings while striking out two, walking one and allowing two hits in Sunday's Grapefruit League game.

The outing was Baz's spring debut, and he threw 50 pitches -- 33 of which went for strikes. His velocity was also excellent, as he hit 100.6 mph with his first pitch of the game, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Baz will presumably be in the big-league rotation to begin the season, though Topkin did note the team has not committed to its five starters at this point in spring.

Rogers (knee) said Monday that he's resumed throwing off flat ground, but he's still a few weeks away from throwing off of a mound, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.

Rogers is recovering from a right knee subluxation, an injury that has taken him out of contention for a spot in Baltimore's Opening Day rotation. Assuming Rogers is cleared to resume mound work by mid-to-late March, he'll likely need close to a month to get fully stretched out for starting duty. The Orioles may not have a rotation spot available for Rogers by that point in April, however, so the southpaw may have to work out of the bullpen when healthy until a starting gig reopens.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said that McDermott (lat) will begin his throwing progression Monday, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.

McDermott is recovering from what's been described as a mild lat/teres strain, but the injury still seems to be significant enough to remove him from the competition for an Opening Day rotation spot. He'll likely be limited to playing catch off flat ground for the next week before advancing to throwing bullpen sessions and eventually facing hitters. McDermott may not have enough time to get fully ramped up to pitch in games before the Orioles' Grapefruit League schedule comes to a close.

Nikhazy could make the Guardians' bullpen out of spring training, Steve Stockmar of MLB.com reports.

Nikhazy is already on the 40-man roster and has gotten off to a great start in Cactus League play, throwing four hitless innings with four strikeouts across two relief appearances. Pitching coach Carl Willis said Sunday that Nikhazy would make the club's bullpen, not the rotation, if he were to win a job. Nikhazy is a starter by trade and had a strong 2024 season, logging a 2.98 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a 124:53 K:BB in 123.2 innings split between the Double-A and Triple-A levels. He is working on improving his control and could be a multi-inning relief option early in the year if the club's starters aren't all ready to go five-plus innings consistently.

Cecconi allowed seven runs (six earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out one over 1.2 innings in Sunday's spring start against the Brewers.

Cecconi breezed through the first inning on 11 pitches before trouble came knocking in his second frame. He allowed five runs on three hits, two walks and a fielding error before he was pulled early. The right-hander came back out for the third but surrendered three more hits and two runs. He threw 50 pitches (30 strikes) in what was his first Cactus League start (second appearance). Cecconi is being built up as a starter this spring and is a long-shot to claim a rotation spot. A long relief job is also a possibility.

Bieber (elbow) threw his fourth bullpen session Feb, 28 and progressed to throwing five times a week, Steve Stockmar of MLB.com reports.

Whether it's Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis or associate manager Craig Albernaz, observers of Bieber's bullpens state the right-hander is right where he needs to be. Nothing has changed regarding his return window, which is pegged for some point this summer.

Gray allowed four hits and struck out two over three scoreless innings in Sunday's spring start against Arizona.

Gray worked around two hits in each of the first two innings before retiring the side in order in his final frame. The right-hander threw 40 pitches (29 for strikes). He also worked on mechanical issues during his second Cactus League start after experiencing a drop in velocity his first time out. As Gray described it to Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News following Sunday's outing, he was standing "tall" on the mound, which means he kept his right leg straight instead of it buckling as he pushed forward to deliver the ball. Gray's fastball averaged 93.7 mph during his first start; it averaged 94.4 on Sunday.