MLB Player News

Quero will serve as the White Sox's starting catcher to begin the regular season with Kyle Teel (hamstring) sidelined, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Quero was originally slated to back up Teel behind the plate while also drawing some at-bats as DH. However, he should now see more consistent playing time at catcher for the first few weeks of the season. If Quero performs well in that span, he could force a more even playing-time split than originally anticipated once Teel returns.

Seymour allowed one hit and no walks in 2.1 scoreless innings during Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees. He struck out four.

The 27-year-old left-hander is off to an encouraging start this spring, posting a 2.70 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 12:3 K:BB over 10 frames (four appearances). With Shane McClanahan and Steven Matz expected to have workload limitations to start the year, the Rays are likely to need a couple of long relievers on their Opening Day roster, per Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. That bodes well for the roster chances of Seymour, who recorded a 3.63 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 64:19 K:BB across 57 innings for Tampa Bay in 2025.

Ward went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates.

It was the first homer of the spring for the 32-year-old, who's slashing a strong .250/.400/.500 with three doubles, six walks and one stolen base across 30 plate appearances covering 10 Grapefruit League contests. After coming over from the Angels in an offseason trade for Grayson Rodriguez, Ward is preparing to be Baltimore's everyday left fielder in 2026. Ward slashed .228/.317/.475 and set career highs in homers (36), RBI (103) and runs scored (86) over 663 plate appearances for the Angels last season.

Manager Will Venable isn't concerned about Montgomery's poor results in Cactus League games, Barry Bloom of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Montgomery is only 5-for-27 to this point in the spring, while also striking out at a 28.6 percent clip. While not necessarily surprising given his minor-league track record and his results in a small sample from the majors in 2025, Venable still defended Montgomery by saying that the young shortstop has had a good spring from a process standpoint. Venable also reiterated that the poor results will not influence Montgomery's expected role as a starter to begin the season.

The Angels optioned Guzman to Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday.

Guzman had himself a nice spring, going 5-for-17 at the dish with a home run, two RBI and four runs scored through nine Cactus League contests. However, after posting a .566 OPS and striking out 22 times in 13 MLB games last year, the Angels will send him back to Triple-A to begin the 2026 campaign. The 22-year-old infielder could receive a promotion to Los Angeles midway through the season if he continues to hit well and improves his discipline at the plate.

Mastrobuoni will return to Mariners camp after suffering a calf injury during Team Italy's win over Team USA in the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

The severity of Mastrobuoni's injury will likely be revealed once the Mariners' medical staff gets a chance to look at him. The 30-year-old infielder had been having a strong spring before his injury, going 4-for-15 with a grand slam through seven Cactus League games, and he also went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI with Team Italy.

Grissom was removed from Wednesday's Cactus League game against the White Sox in the first inning due to a sore left hand, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Grissom presumably sustained the injury on one of his swings in the top of the first, with the at-bat culminating in a strikeout. Kyren Paris came on to replace Grissom at shortstop in the bottom half of the inning. Grissom, who is competing for a utility role with the Angels, can be viewed as day-to-day.

Grissom was pulled from Wednesday's Cactus League game versus the White Sox in the first inning with an undisclosed injury, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Grissom struck out to lead off the game in the top of the first inning and was then lifted before taking the field in the bottom of the frame. He did not suffer an obvious injury, but the Angels should offer an explanation soon as to why Grissom exited.

Twins manager Derek Shelton said he has no idea who his closer will be this season, but Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports that Sands is still a possibility. "I'm still trying to figure it out. Sometimes, that's the answer where you're trying not to answer it," Shelton said. "I've probably done that before. But right now, I'm trying to figure it out. I don't think we have an idea of what's going to happen."

We wouldn't read too much into this report as Sands is one of a handful of candidates to close or share a committee along with Taylor Rogers, Liam Hendriks, Justin Topa and a series of lefties including Anthony Banda and Andrew Chafin, but he has a chance to finish games. Sands had a breakout season as a reliever in 2024, but he took a step back last season with just a 21.4 percent strikeout rate, down from 29.1 percent. Sands has given up three runs in five innings with a 4:2 K:BB this spring.

Mountcastle is day-to-day after X-rays on his right hand came back negative, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Mountcastle was pulled from Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates when he was plunked by a pitch, but he's managed to avoid a fracture. The Orioles are idle Thursday, so he could be back in action as soon as Friday. Mountcastle is facing uncertain playing time this season, as he's down the Orioles' depth chart at both first base and designated hitter.