MLB Player News

Johnson is in the conversation for a starting spot in the Angels' rotation, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

With Alek Manoah and (to a lesser extent) Grayson Rodriguez struggling this spring, there is some uncertainty at the back end of the Angels' rotation. Should Manoah and/or Rodriguez not be part of the Opening Day starting staff, Johnson is one of several pitchers (including Jack Kochanowicz, George Klassen and Mitch Farris) who could be considered for a rotation role. Johnson got a look in the majors last season and struggled with a 7.36 ERA, 1.98 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB over 14.2 innings across 14 relief appearances, and he ended the campaign in High-A ball. However, he's one of the organization's top prospects and has pitched pretty well this spring, posting a 4.63 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 14:2 K:BB over 11.2 frames. Johnson is still probably a longshot to break camp with the big club, but it's worth noting that he's still in big-league camp with Opening Day just 10 days away.

Feltner has allowed 10 earned runs on 11 hits and six walks while striking out 12 across 8.1 innings in four Cactus League appearances.

Feltner had an injury-plagued 2025 season, but he added strength this offseason and has been healthy. He's in contention for the fifth-starter role, though he's allowed three earned runs in three consecutive outings. Positively, Feltner has a 9:2 K:BB across his last two spring appearances, which is enough for Thomas Harding of MLB.com to include Feltner in his projected rotation to begin the season.

Dollander has allowed six earned runs on 13 hits and four walks with six strikeouts across 10.1 innings across four Cactus League appearances.

Dollander prevented runs effectively through his first three spring outings, but he still had only a 5:3 K:BB across seven innings. He also allowed four earned runs across 3.1 frames in his most recent outing against the Mariners, potentially placing his spot in the rotation in jeopardy to begin the season. In Thomas Harding's most recent roster projection, Ryan Feltner was penciled into the fifth starter role, though he also noted that Colorado would prefer for Dollander to claim the job.

Rodon (elbow) threw two simulated innings at the Yankees' spring-training complex on Saturday, Paul Casella of MLB.com reports.

Rodon threw 30 pitches, upping his count after throwing 20 last Monday in his first session against live hitters since undergoing left elbow surgery last October. The veteran hurler said he felt good Saturday, suggesting that he "could have gone more" but acknowledging that he "can't do that yet" as he approaches his recovery with caution. Yankees manager Aaron Boone sounded optimistic about Rodon's rehab, indicating that the left-hander is "probably not that far behind" and saying that Rodon is "trending in a good way." While Rodon is expected to begin the season in the injured list, there remains the expectation that he will take the mound for game action before the end of spring training, and he could take his place in the Yankees' rotation before the end of April.

Hart has impressed this spring, but manager Craig Stammen said Sunday that the hurler's role is "TBD," per 97.3 The Fan.

Hart has thrown the third-most innings (11.2) this spring among San Diego pitchers, and he's yet to give up a run while allowing seven hits and posting a 13:3 K:BB. Stammen acknowledge Hart's excellent performance in exhibition play and called the southpaw a "lefty weapon" while describing his regular-season role as up in the air. All six of Hart's outings this spring have come in relief, however, and Stammen emphasized Hart's effectiveness "being able to come in after a starter and kind of shut the game down and then get it to the back end," so the current lean is probably toward Hart initially taking on a bullpen role while serving as starting depth for a rotation that has yet to be fully determined.

Buehler is trending toward beginning the regular season as part of the Padres' starting rotation, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports.

Buehler signed with San Diego in February on a minor-league contract, so he'd need to be added to the 40-man roster in order to break camp with the club. That seems to be a probable scenario given the team's need to fill out the rotation, especially now that Joe Musgrove (elbow) has been deemed likely to begin the campaign on the IL. Buehler has been one of several hurlers competing for a rotation spot, and he may have clinched the role with a superb Cactus League start against San Francisco on Monday, as he tossed five scoreless frames with seven strikeouts. The right-hander was a valuable fantasy asset in his prime, but it remains to be seen how close he can get to his peak form given that he's lost several miles per hour off his fastball hasn't posted an ERA below 4.00 since 2021.

Rodriguez was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Monday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Rodriguez made three appearances (one start) with the Brewers while in big-league camp, surrendering three runs while fanning four over five innings. He pitched in four games out of the bullpen a season ago for Milwaukee and should once again serve as organizational pitching depth to kick off the 2026 campaign.

Dana (illness) was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday.

Dana's spring campaign with the big-league club never got off the ground after being diagnosed with mononucleosis. He failed to appear in a spring game and will now report to Salt Lake to prepare for the start of the 2026 season.

The Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization signed O'Loughlin on Monday, Australian baseball reporter Eric Balnar reports.

O'Loughlin pitched for Team Australia in the World Baseball Classic and didn't allow an earned run across 6.1 innings. The 26-year-old left-hander appeared in four games for the Athletics during the 2024 campaign and pitched the second half of last season in the Australian Baseball League.

The White Sox reassigned Smith to minor-league camp Monday.

The 22-year-old southpaw will open the 2026 season in the minors, likely with Double-A Birmingham. That's where he spent all of last year, posting a 3-3 record across 20 starts with a 3.57 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 108:56 K:BB across 75.2 innings. Per Kyle Williams of the Chicago Sun-Times, Smith will open the year in Triple-A and could make his major-league debut this season.