MLB Player News

The Royals reassigned Clarke to minor-league camp Tuesday.

Clarke was unable to secure a spot in Kansas City's Opening Day bullpen, despite a strong showing during the Cactus League in which he allowed just two earned runs on six hits and three walks over nine innings. The 31-year-old righty worked as a swingman at Triple-A Nashville in the Brewers organization throughout the 2024 campaign, logging a 4.92 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 64 innings in 21 appearances (14 starts). He looks set to move back into a more traditional relief role in 2025 and is expected to report to Triple-A Omaha.

The Royals optioned Loftin to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday.

Loftin fell shy of an Opening Day roster spot despite a 1.052 OPS during Cactus League play. He will play regularly at Omaha while awaiting another chance at the big-league level.

The Royals reassigned Castro to minor-league camp Tuesday.

Along with Castro, fellow infielders Tyler Tolbert and Nick Loftin were sent out to minor-league camp, a likely indicator that Cavan Biggio will open the season in a utility role with Kansas City. The 31-year-old Castro saw big-league action in six straight seasons from 2018 through 2023 between stops with Detroit and Colorado before spending the entire 2024 campaign in the Mexican League.

With the Tigers dealing with a number of outfield injuries, Baez is an option to see more time in center field, including on Opening Day, Adrian Garro of MLB.com reports.

Detroit is currently down Matt Vierling (shoulder), Parker Meadows (arm) and Wenceel Perez (back), all of whom are natural center-field candidates. The Tigers did scoop up veteran Manuel Margot over the weekend, but president of baseball operations Scott Harris said that he views him as more of a corner outfielder, per Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. Baez has started to see time in center recently, and he may end up as the default option there, at least in the short term, though utility man Ryan Kreidler is also back in the mix after rejoining the MLB roster. While Baez has struggled in recent seasons, the potential addition of outfield eligibility could give him a small boost in fantasy leagues.

Carter is absent from the lineup for a second straight day in Tuesday's exhibition contest against the Royals.

Teams traditionally use exhibition games in the final week as dress rehearsals for Opening Day, and it was Leody Taveras in center field Monday against righty Michael Wacha and Taveras again in center Tuesday versus lefty Kris Bubic. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy hasn't confirmed who his starting center fielder to open the season will be, but it's looking like Taveras will be the choice over Carter. Carter has hit just .154/.214/.205 with a 15:3 K:BB this spring after missing most of last season with back problems. If Carter does indeed lose out on the starting job, he'll likely begin the season at Triple-A Round Rock so he can play every day.

Taveras is starting in center field and batting ninth in Tuesday's exhibition game against the Royals.

In both of the Rangers' final exhibition tune-ups Monday and Tuesday, it's been Taveras in center field over Evan Carter, with one of those matchups coming against a righty and the other versus a lefty. It would seem to indicate that Taveras has won the center-field job, although manager Bruce Bochy has not confirmed it. If Carter isn't the starter in center, he will likely be assigned to Triple-A Round Rock, where he can play every day.

Jung (neck) will start at third base and bat fifth in Tuesday's exhibition game versus the Royals.

Jung was pulled from Monday's game with neck stiffness, but his removal was precautionary and he's now back in the lineup. Barring a setback, he'll be ready to roll for Thursday's opener against the Red Sox.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on the Talkin' Yanks podcast by Jomboy Media on Tuesday that Wells will be the team's leadoff hitter Opening Day versus Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta.

The revelation comes as no surprise, as Wells has batted at the top of the order consistently over the last few weeks in Grapefruit League play. Wells is likely to hit lower in the order or get days off against lefties, although No. 2 catcher J.C. Escarra and No. 3 catcher Ben Rice also bat left-handed.

Dobnak has been awarded the final spot in the Twins' bullpen, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

Dobnak was sent to minor-league camp earlier this month, but with Brock Stewart (hamstring) and Michael Tonkin (shoulder) slated for injured-list stints, the Twins were in need of bullpen reinforcements. The 30-year-old Dobnak will need to be added to the 40-man and 26-man rosters before Opening Day.

Garcia served up a game-tying solo home run over one inning in Monday's exhibition game against the Royals. He struck out one.

After Garcia coughed up the lead in the top of the seventh, the Rangers re-took the advantage in the bottom of the frame. Manager Bruce Bochy then turned to Chris Martin in the eighth inning and Luke Jackson in the ninth to close out a three-run win. After the game, Bochy said it's "pretty close" to how he plans to deploy his late-inning relievers, Michael Bier of Foul Territory TV reports. Bochy did add that the roles are not yet completely defined, so it's possible the order of the three relievers could change.