MLB Player News

Fried will make his spring training debut against the Pirates on Monday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Fried signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees in December after spending the first eight years of his MLB career with Atlanta, and he'll make his first appearance in a pinstripes uniform Monday. Fried posted a 3.25 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 166:57 K:BB over 174.1 innings in the 2024 regular season and finished with an 11-10 record over 29 starts. He is expected to serve as the No. 2 starter in the Yankees' rotation behind Gerrit Cole for the 2025 campaign.

Manager Terry Francona indicated Friday that Abbott's availability for the start of the regular season remains up in the air as he works his way back from a shoulder issue, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The left-hander finished last season on the injured list due to a shoulder strain, so he's had a slower, more deliberate buildup early in spring training. A bout with the flu slowed Abbott's progress this week, and Francona doesn't expect the 25-year-old to be built up to 100 pitches by the start of the regular season. He could still begin the season in the starting rotation if he can handle about five innings, otherwise Graham Ashcraft or Carson Spiers could get a turn or two before Abbott steps in as the No. 5 starter.

Brubaker has been diagnosed with three broken ribs as a result of a play last weekend when he tried to avoid a comebacker, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Friday that, symptomatically, Brubaker is doing OK, but it's an injury that's going to sideline the pitcher for a while. How long exactly Brubaker might be shelved is not yet clear, but it's a blow to the Yankees' rotation depth.

Gil was pulled from his bullpen session Friday due to shoulder tightness and is scheduled for an MRI on Saturday, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

The reigning American League Rookie of the Year was building toward his first start of spring training, but the shoulder tightness instead has him headed for medical imaging. According to Erik Boland of Newsday, manager Aaron Boone said he feels like the injury will "cost us some time," so Gil may not be ready by Opening Day. Should the injury force him to miss the start of the regular season, Marcus Stroman and Will Warren are the primary options to round out the Yankees' starting rotation.

Luzardo struck out two and didn't allow a baserunner across two scoreless innings during Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox.

It was a dominant spring debut for Luzardo, who generated six swings-and-misses while throwing 14 of 19 pitches for strikes, per Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The left-hander also touched 98 mph with his sinker, which had an average velocity of 94.8 mph last season. Luzardo is fully recovered from the lumbar stress reaction that limited him to 12 starts in 2024, and he'll be a key rotation piece for Philadelphia this year after being acquired from Miami in December.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Thursday that Liberatore appears to be "on a mission" with how good he's looked so far this spring, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Liberatore has retired all 12 batters he's faced across his two Grapefruit League appearances, notching a pair of strikeouts. The left-hander has a career 3.89 ERA as a reliever versus a 5.86 ERA as a starter but is being stretched out this spring as the Cardinals consider the best role for the left-hander. At the moment, Liberatore appears to be, at best, seventh in St. Louis' starting pitcher hierarchy, so it might take an injury or two for him to be under real consideration for a rotation spot. However, he believes he's "a starter at heart" and is doing his best to convince the Cardinals he can handle that role.

Waldron pitched three scoreless innings in a Cactus League contest against the Athletics on Thursday, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out two batters.

Waldron's second spring start went very smoothly, as he allowed only three baserunners (one on an error), and two of those were wiped out on double plays. The knuckleballer has yielded just one run through five innings over two starts this spring as he makes his case for the fifth spot in San Diego's Opening Day rotation. Waldron's competition for that role includes Kyle Hart, Stephen Kolek, Randy Vasquez and Jhony Brito.

Dana pitched three perfect innings Thursday, compiling three strikeouts against the Cubs in a Cactus League contest.

The 21-year-old wasn't originally slated to start, but he stepped into that role after Jack Kochanowicz was scratched due to an illness. Dana thrived against Chicago, retiring all nine batters he faced on 36 pitches. He'd struggled in his first first appearance this spring, allowing three runs over 1.2 frames against Seattle.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Friday that Contreras will be stretched out in camp in case he's needed as a starting pitcher or long reliever, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.

Contreras is out of minor-league options, so he'll either be included on the Opening Day roster or put on the waiver wire again after being claimed five times this offseason, including twice by the Orioles. The righty made just three starts and 46 relief appearances last season, but he has extensive starting experience. If Contreras does head north with the Orioles, he'll likely be in line for a long relief role.

DeGrom will throw the first of what will likely be a few live batting practice sessions this weekend before he'll be ready to appear in a Cactus League game, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

That schedule likely lines deGrom up to make his Cactus League debut in the second week of March. It's a quick turnaround between then and Opening Day, but the Rangers are understandably being careful with deGrom this spring after he missed most of the last two seasons following Tommy John surgery in June 2023, the second of his career. The two-time Cy Young winner might have a relatively limited workload early on this season.