MLB Player News

Gray threw two scoreless innings, striking out one in Monday's Cactus League game against the White Sox.

Texas plated nine runs in the top of the first, making it a pressure-free day for Gray, who set down all six batters faced. He threw mostly fastballs and sliders among his 26 pitches while mixing in one curveball, a pitch he threw just 74 times in 2024. He told MLB.com that he's working on throwing the curve for strikes so that it can be a useful pitch instead of having batters lay off it and wait for a fastball.

Mateo swung a bat Monday for the first time since left elbow surgery, hitting balls off a tee, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Mateo feels good about where he's at in the rehab process and will continue to ramp up his hitting progression. The Orioles have already ruled the utility player out for Opening Day, although it's not yet clear when he might be ready to make his season debut.

White Sox manager Will Venable said Monday that he views Vargas as the team's primary option at third base, James Fegan of Sox Machine reports.

Vargas is working out a bit at first base this spring, too, and he has plenty of past experience at second base and in left field. However, it sounds like he will focus on the hot corner in 2025. Vargas has managed just a .175/.273/.312 batting line at the major-league level and slashed just .104/.217/.170 in 42 games with the White Sox last season after being acquired via trade. However, he turned just 25 this offseason and is a former top prospect, so expect the White Sox to give him plenty of leash to see if he can hit his stride.

Pederson started at first base and went 1-for-2 with a walk, a three-run home run and an additional run scored in Monday's Cactus League game against the White Sox.

Most of Pederson's contributions came during the Rangers' nine-run first inning. Batting second in the lineup, he walked and scored Texas' second run then finished the scoring with his home run. The Rangers made it a goal to infuse power to the lineup in the offseason and added Pederson (23 homers in 2024) and Jake Burger (29 homers). Pederson should mostly serve as the DH against right-handers but could also spell Burger at first base.

Young averaged 95 mph with his four-seamer (touched 97 mph) in his first Grapefruit League outing Sunday, Roch Kubatko of MASN reports.

Young isn't a serious threat to make the big club out of camp, barring injuries ahead of him, but he made a strong statement in his first appearance of the spring after averaging 92-93 mph with his fastball in 2024. The results were good too, as he tossed two scoreless innings against the Phillies in Clearwater. His two strikeouts were both called strikes on 95-mph fastballs. Young came into the year relevant because of his proximity to the big leagues, but if his fastball has jumped a grade, that would obviously improve his long-term upside. The 26-year-old righty also worked on his slider and changeup this offseason after logging a 3.44 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 96 strikeouts in 89 innings at Triple-A last year.

Hendricks pitched two perfect innings during which he racked up three strikeouts in a Cactus League game Monday versus San Francisco.

Hendricks looked great in his spring debut, even managing to record more punchouts than innings pitched -- something he did just four times in 29 regular-season appearances last year. Nobody is expecting the veteran right-hander to suddenly evolve into a strikeout machine, but the Angels will likely be happy if he can just eat up innings and serve as a stabilizing presence on a pitching staff that had a collective 4.51 ERA (fifth-worst in baseball) last season. Hendricks struggled himself last year, however, posting a career-worst 5.92 ERA and 1.45 WHIP across 130.2 frames with the Cubs.

Winn (shoulder) allowed one walk and struck out one across a scoreless inning during Saturday's Cactus League game against the Giants.

Winn has made a full recovery after missing time a season ago due to a sprained right shoulder capsule. He'll now set his sights on earning an Opening Day roster spot after struggling to a 7.79 ERA with a 14:4 K:BB across 17.1 frames in 2024 with the Rangers.

Halpin (wrist) went 0-for-2 in Monday's Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks.

Halpin failed to impress at the dish, but it's a positive sign that he's been able to put his wrist injury behind him. He finished the year with 12 home runs, 46 RBI, 12 stolen bags and 54 runs scored over 90 games at Double-A Akron a season ago.

Murfee (elbow) recorded two strikeouts in a scoreless inning during Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Rangers.

Murfee has been given a clean bill of health after recovering from Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the 2024 season. He looked sharp in his spring debut, though the team will presumably monitor the right-hander closely throughout camp given his previous injury. Murfee should have a chance to earn a high-leverage role with the White Sox heading into the 2025 campaign.

Fulmer (elbow) surrendered three hits and one walk while striking out one over 1.2 scoreless innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays.

Fulmer missed the entire 2024 campaign while rehabbing from UCL revision surgery and has since been given the green light to return to game action. It was reported over the offseason that the club was considering utilizing Fulmer as a starter, and the fact that Boston sent him out for multiple innings in his spring debut supports this update. It'll be worth keeping a close eye on the right-hander's role as camp rolls on.