MLB Player News
-
Gavin Williams SP | CLE
Guardians' Gavin Williams: Settles in after leadoff HR
Williams allowed one run on two hits and struck out three over three innings in Sunday's spring start against Colorado.
Williams was taken deep by Brett Sullivan to lead off the game but then calmed down. He worked around a fielding error later in the first inning and then a single in the following inning before a clean third frame. Williams upped his pitch count to 44 (28 strikes) in his second Cactus League outing.
-
Mike Soroka SP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Michael Soroka: Final start before WBC
Soroka allowed three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out one over 1.2 innings in Sunday's spring start against the Guardians.
Soroka was on the bump for the second time in the Cactus League and lamented to Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic that he was trying to be too perfect with his pitches. That is evidenced by the 25 balls he through among his 47 pitches. This was Soroka's final outing before leaving camp for the World Baseball Classic, where the right-hander will participate for Team Canada. His eventual role for Arizona -- starter or reliever -- depends on the health of Merrill Kelly (back).
-
Andrew Painter SP | PHI
Phillies' Andrew Painter: Likely to make Opening Day rotation
Painter threw two clean innings in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees. He struck out one.
Painter's spring debut went swimmingly -- he fired 14 of his 20 pitches for strikes and his four-seam fastball reached 97 mph on six occasions. With Zack Wheeler (shoulder) expected to start the new campaign on the injured list, the Phillies have an eye toward including Painter in the Opening Day rotation, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. While he turned in a lackluster 5.40 ERA and 1.55 WHIP over 106.2 innings at Triple-A Lehigh Valley a year ago, the 22-year-old right-hander remains one of Philadelphia's top prospects and has an opportunity to overtake Taijuan Walker as the club's No. 5 starter even when Wheeler rejoins the rotation.
-
Zack Wheeler SP | PHI
Phillies' Zack Wheeler: Throws second bullpen session
Wheeler (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Sunday, per Jim Salisburg of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Sunday marked Wheeler's second session of the spring amid his recovery from venous thoracic outlet surgery. It remains unknown at this point if the All-Star right-hander will have enough time to get in any Grapefruit League action, and Wheeler's throwing progression will remain something for fantasy managers to monitor throughout spring training. Although Wheeler isn't expected to be ready for Opening Day, the Phillies are hopeful the hurler won't need a lengthy stay on the injured list to begin the season.
-
Samuel Aldegheri SP | LAA
Angels' Sam Aldegheri: Headed to Triple-A
Aldegheri was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday.
Aldegheri appeared in two games with the Angels during spring training, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks while striking out four batters over 4.1 innings. The 24-year-old struggled to a 7.90 ERA and 2.20 WHIP over 13.2 innings in four appearances, including two starts, with the Angels in 2025. He will now head to Salt Lake ahead of the regular season, and he'll look to impress at the Triple-A level in an attempt to get another shot with the major-league club in the near future.
-
Henry Baez SP | ATH
Athletics' Henry Baez: Sent to Double-A
Baez was optioned to Double-A Midland on Sunday.
Baez will head to Double-A after tossing a scoreless inning, striking out two batters and hitting another, in his only appearance with the Athletics during spring training. The 23-year-old combined to produce a 2.36 ERA with 101 strikeouts over 110.2 innings in 24 starts with Double-A San Antonio and Double-A Midland last season.
-
Jacob deGrom SP | TEX
Rangers' Jacob deGrom: Zeroing in on spring debut
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said that deGrom threw a 30-pitch side session and will make a Cactus League start "really soon," Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
DeGrom reported to spring training at full health, but the Rangers are deliberately easing the 37-year-old righty into their Cactus League pitching schedule. Schumaker noted that deGrom has been building up through bullpen sessions and live batting practice sessions on the back fields of camp, which has allowed the two-time Cy Young Award winner to stay on pace with the Rangers' other rotation candidates during his spring throwing progression. The skipper expects deGrom to make 3-to-4 appearances in games before the end of camp, which should put deGrom in line to make a start during the Rangers' first series of the season in Philadelphia at the end of the month.
-
Bailey Ober SP | MIN
Twins' Bailey Ober: Strong velocity early in camp
Ober's fastball velocity sat around 90-91 mph during his live batting practice session Sunday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
The right-hander saw his average velocity tick down to a career-low 90.3 mph while managing hip problems last season, so it's encouraging that he's already at or above that level early in spring training. Ober struggled to a 5.10 ERA in 27 starts last year, but his 3.66 ERA across the three prior campaigns makes him a decent candidate to bounce back in 2026, assuming he can stay healthy.
-
Johan Oviedo SP | BOS
Red Sox's Johan Oviedo: Recovered from illness
Oviedo (illness) is scheduled to start Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.
The right-hander was sent home from camp Thursday due to an illness, but he's ready to make his second start of spring training Monday. Oviedo allowed a run on three walks and a hit over 1.2 frames during his spring debut last week.
-
Merrill Kelly SP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: Hoping to avoid IL stint
Kelly (back) said Sunday that he's optimistic he'll avoid a stint on the injured list to begin the regular season, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.
Kelly is no longer in line to start Opening Day versus the Dodgers, but he could be ready to pitch in Arizona's second series of the season at home versus Detroit, which runs March 30 through April 1. The right-hander was shut down one week ago after experiencing mid-back tightness but has seemingly responded well since receiving a cortisone shot. He was able to play catch Sunday without issue and could gradually increase the distance and intensity of his throwing sessions during the upcoming week.