MLB Player News

Singer (blister) expects to make his next start, MLB.com reports.

The Reds haven't announced their pitching plans beyond Friday, so Singer's next scheduled start is not known. Given a typical five-game rotation, the right-hander would be in line to pitch the final Cactus League tilt for Cincinnati next Tuesday. Singer was removed early from his start Wednesday when a blister developed on his right index finger, but the issue doesn't appear to be serious. He cited the Arizona heat as a factor.

Soroka allowed one hit and one walk while striking out eight over five scoreless innings in Thursday's spring start against the White Sox.

Soroka dazzled in his first game back from a stint with Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic. The right-hander threw 70 pitches (48 strikes) and will get one more spring start next Tuesday against the Guardians, Arizona's final preseason game. With Merrill Kelly (back) slated to begin the season on the injured list, Soroka will open the regular season as part of the team's five-man rotation.

Kussow recently underwent labrum surgery on his right shoulder and was placed on the FCL Mets' full-season injured list Wednesday, Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.

Kussow was a fourth-round pick by the Mets in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft. This was slated to be his first full minor-league season, but instead the right-hander will spend the entirety of the campaign recovering and rehabbing from surgery.

Kikuchi is slated to start the Angels' second game of the regular season -- which will take place Friday, March 27 in Houston -- and is expected to be "full-go" for that outing, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Kikuchi spent much of his time this spring with Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic, but he had a small workload, tossing just four innings across two appearances and giving up three runs on seven hits with a 5:0 K:BB. The southpaw recently returned to the Angels and started against the Royals on Thursday, tossing 4.2 innings during which he allowed one run on two hits and three walks while fanning two batters. Kikuchi worked up to just 64 pitches in the start, but even with Opening Day just a week away, it sounds like the club feels that Kikuchi will be able to handle a full workload right away.

Severino will start the Athletics' March 27 season opener versus the Blue Jays in Toronto, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

This will be Severino's second consecutive Opening Day start and his third overall. The 32-year-old is coming off the worst season of his MLB career (20-start minimum) as he had a 4.54 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 124:50 K:BB over 162.2 innings last year. The two-time All-Star has not been able to recapture the stretch he had from 2017 to 2022, when he had a 3.10 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. Since then, the right-hander has had a 4.71 ERA and 1.35 WHIP across the past three seasons.

Gilbert will start the Mariners' March 26 season opener versus the Guardians in Seattle, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Gilbert is receiving his second consecutive Opening Day nod after he notched a 3.44 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 173:31 K:BB during the 2025 regular season. He started off 2025 hot with a 2.37 ERA across his first six starts but left his sixth start early due to a right elbow flexor strain that kept him out over a month. The 2024 All-Star struggled in some starts after returning in mid-June with a 4.55 ERA between then and Aug. 18. The righty was able to lock in down the stretch with a 2.52 ERA and 0.97 WHIP across his final seven regular-season starts in 2025.

Manager Kurt Suzuki said Thursday that Rodriguez is dealing with a dead arm, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Rodriguez played catch Thursday despite his injury, so it doesn't seem like the Angels are concerned enough to warrant completely shutting the right-hander down just yet. That being said, his status for Opening Day is unclear, and he could be placed on the IL to begin the season if he doesn't begin to feel better within the next several days.

Manager Aaron Boone confirmed Thursday that Weathers will open the season in the Yankees' starting rotation, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

With Gerrit Cole (elbow) and Carlos Rodon (elbow) both opening the season on the injured list, Weathers' inclusion in the rotation doesn't come as a surprise. However, he's been knocked around this spring, and it continued Thursday against the Blue Jays as he surrendered seven earned runs on eight hits and one walk across three innings. Weathers sports an ugly 11.68 ERA through four Grapefruit League starts, but Boone believes Weathers' stuff "is where it needs to be."

The Yankees reassigned Lagrange to minor-league camp Thursday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

"He made it a difficult decision, which coming into this, I wouldn't have even thought there was a decision," manager Aaron Boone said of the move Thursday. Lagrange lit up Grapefruit League play with an easy triple-digits fastball en route to a 0.66 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 13:4 K:BB across 13.2 innings. Should he continue his dominance in the minors, Lagrange could make his MLB debut with the Yankees at some point during the 2026 campaign after splitting the 2025 season between Single-A and Double-A.

Johnson allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out four batters over five innings in a Grapefruit League start against Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Johnson got through four scoreless frames before the Brewers tagged him for a run on a walk, a wild pitch and a single in the fifth. Overall, Johnson threw 49 of 73 pitches for strikes and topped out at 95.7 mph on his fastball. The 2024 second-round draft pick has put together a nice spring, posting a 3.78 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 18:4 K:BB across 16.2 innings spanning five appearances (including two starts). With Alek Manoah struggling mightily to the tune of a 9.39 ERA and 2.41 WHIP this spring, Johnson has a chance to claim a spot in the Angels' Opening Day rotation should Manoah fail to break camp with the big club. In that scenario, Jack Kochanowicz -- who has also had a good spring -- appears to be Johnson's biggest competition for the role. Speaking of the two hurlers Wednesday, coach Kurt Suzuki said, "We've we got good problems. We've got to make tough decisions. Those two guys have been pitching unbelievable this whole spring. Kudos to them," per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.