MLB Player News

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Thursday that Varsho (shoulder) has been able to resume hitting and throwing from 90 feet, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

While Varsho is coming along as expected in his recovery from shoulder surgery, Schneider noted that the Blue Jays are still anticipating that the 28-year-old will miss time to begin the season. Per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, Schneider mentioned Joey Loperfido, Nathan Lukes, Jonatan Clase and George Springer as candidates to see reps in center field until Varsho is ready to make his season debut.

Boston's acquisition of Alex Bregman will impact Grissom, who has minor-league options remaining, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports. If the Red Sox deploy Bregman at second base, then the team could option Grissom to the minors without exposing him to waivers.

Grissom was the early leader in the competition for the vacant job at second base, which has been in flux since Dustin Pedroia retired. The position seemingly came down to Grissom and prospect Kristian Campbell. If the Red Sox opt to move Bregman to second base, then Grissom could be optioned to Triple-A Worcester to start the 2025 season. If Bregman moves to third base and Rafael Devers to designated hitter or first base, then the Grissom/Campbell competition will be back on.

Boston's acquisition of Alex Bregman could impact Campbell in 2025, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports. The prospect had been expected to compete for the starting job at second base prior to Bregman agreeing to a deal. If Bregman is used as the team's primary second baseman, it makes more sense for the Red Sox to have Campbell get regular at-bats at Triple-A Worcester.

The Bregman deal should be finalized in the coming days, at which point, Campbell's role for the upcoming season should become clearer. If the Red Sox slot Bregman at second base, then Campbell could open the season at Triple-A Worcester, where he would get regular plate appearances. That seems more likely than having him stick around as a utility infielder, which would limit his at-bats. Boston has a number of utility infielders that could handle a part-time role, such as David Hamilton, Vaughn Grissom or Romy Gonzalez.

Boston's acquisition of Alex Bregman could impact Devers, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports. If Bregman becomes Boston's primary third baseman, then Devers would likely shift to designated hitter or first base.

While the Bregman deal is not yet official -- it should be in the coming days -- speculation as to how Bregman fits has begun. The easiest path is having Bregman play second base while Devers remains at third; however, Bregman was a Gold Glove Award winner in 2024 and is a better defender than Devers. One scenario involves Boston deploying its best defender at third base, Bregman, and moving Devers to designated hitter or potentially first base. The club has approached Devers about a hypothetical position switch. To make moving Devers feasible, given the current roster alignment, the Red Sox may look to move Masataka Yoshida or Triston Casas.

Bregman (elbow) signed a three-year, $120 million contract with the Red Sox on Wednesday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Bregman slashed .260/.315/.453 with 26 home runs and 75 RBI across 634 regular-season plate appearances in 2024, giving him the lowest OPS (.768) of his nine-year MLB career. In spite of that, his new contract will pay him nearly double the AAV of the $21.05 million qualifying offer he rejected, and it also includes opt-outs after both of the first two seasons. With Rafael Devers already in Boston, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports that Bregman is expected to move to second base -- a position he has not fielded since 2018. An alternate possibility is having Bregman, who won a gold glove at third base in 2024, play the hot corner and have Devers serve as the primary designated hitter.

Buehler threw a side session Wednesday, the first day of spring training, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Buehler got off to a fast start with his new team, as the right-hander attempts to shed a reputation as a late starter. The 30-year-old is coming off a three-year stretch limited by injury. After a second Tommy John elbow surgery wiped out 2023, he battled hip inflammation in 2024 and finished with a 5.38 ERA and 16 home runs allowed over 75.1 regular-season innings. Buehler redeemed himself in the postseason with two strong starts and the save in the clincher. The Red Sox are kicking around the idea of a six-man rotation and could roll with that early, when they play 19 games in the first 20 days of the season.

The Tigers placed Lange (lat) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Lange hasn't suffered any setbacks since beginning a throwing program in December and has worked up to throwing off a mound twice per week. Still, he will need a while yet before he is ready to return from lat surgery. His roster spot will be given to John Brebbia, who signed a one-year deal with the Tigers on Wednesday.

Brebbia signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract with the Tigers on Wednesday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The 34-year-old's new contract also includes a $4 million club option for 2026. Brebbia had one of the worst years of his big-league career in 2024, accumulating a 5.86 ERA and 1.36 WHIP over 55.1 regular-season innings between the White Sox and Atlanta. He has plenty of experience working in high-leverage situations, but the Tigers will likely keep him in a middle-relief role until he can demonstrate consistent success over an extended period of time.

Rangers general manager Chris Young said Wednesday that Garcia will not throw off the mound for a few days due to nerve irritation in his left forearm, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Garcia will play catch Thursday before the Rangers determine the next steps for the southpaw. Young said that the injury is "nothing we're concerned about," indicating that the club is just exercising caution with Garcia for the start of camp. Acquired from the Nationals over the offseason, Garcia is expected to handle high-leverage innings in the Texas bullpen.

Iriarte will be used as a starting pitcher this spring, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

All six of Iriarte's appearances with the White Sox last season came in relief, and it's possible a lack of command will eventually force him to move to the bullpen on a full-time basis. However, the 23-year-old has primarily been a starter in the minors and the White Sox aren't ready to give up on him in that capacity. One of the primary pieces acquired from the Padres in last spring's Dylan Cease trade, Iriarte collected a 3.71 ERA and 122:57 K:BB over 126 innings last season with Double-A Birmingham.