MLB Player News

Scherzer said Tuesday that he is completely over last year's nagging thumb issues and will be ready to go at the start of the season, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Scherzer also confirmed that he will make his Grapefruit League debut Saturday against the Phillies and hopes to throw multiple innings. The 41-year-old agreed to terms with the Blue Jays just last week, but he's been throwing on his own and appears to be built up stamina-wise where he would normally be at this stage of spring training. Scherzer isn't guaranteed a spot in the Toronto rotation when the regular season begins, however, as Jose Berrios also appears to be over his 2025 injury issues.

The Orioles optioned McDermott to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

McDermott has impressed the Orioles this spring as he makes a full-time move to the bullpen, but he will continue working on things at Norfolk at the beginning of the season. The 27-year-old has a 6:1 K:BB in three innings during Grapefruit League play but has also served up three solo home runs.

Raley has gone 5-for-10 with a double and a home run through five Cactus League games.

It's been a nice start to the spring for Raley, who launched a 439-foot homer of Padres' left-hander JP Sears on Saturday. Raley should see regular at-bats against right-handed pitching to open the season while platooning with Rob Refsnyder in a corne-outfield spot. Injuries limited Raley to 219 plate appearances in 2025, where he slashed just .202/.319/.311 with four homers. However, Raley posted an .803 OPS over his previous two campaigns (255 games overall) with 41 home runs in that span.

Crawford (shoulder) is starting at designated hitter and batting fifth in Tuesday's Cactus League contest versus the Angels.

It will be the spring training debut for Crawford, who has been brought along slowly in Mariners camp due to a minor shoulder issue. He will be eased back into action at DH and is expected to return to shortstop soon.

Oviedo allowed two hits while striking out four over three scoreless innings in Monday's spring start against the Blue Jays.

As erratic as Oviedo was in his Grapefruit League debut last Wednesday, the right-hander was controlled Monday. He breezed through three frames on just 31 pitches (25 strikes). Oviedo has set himself up as the leading candidate for Boston's final rotation spot. His next outing is scheduled for March 7.

Cecconi allowed two runs on three hits and one walk while striking out four over 2.2 innings in Monday's spring start against Texas.

Cecconi had two scoreless frames in his second Cactus League outing before Wyatt Langford took him deep in the third. The Rangers worked counts in all three innings, and the right-hander's day was done after 52 pitches (33 strikes). Cecconi is much more established than he was in 2025, when he was new to the Guardians. Coaches reworked his mechanics and pitch mix, per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com, adding a cutter and increasing his slider usage. The cutter was particularly effective Monday, generating six whiffs on 12 swings.

Stanton will make his spring debut Tuesday, batting fourth at designated hitter against Panama, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

The veteran designated hitter has been eased into camp, and it was reported back on Feb. 22 that Stanton would likely make his spring debut right before or after the Yankees' off day Monday. He will once again be managing tennis elbow in both elbows and is expected to receive a lot of rest days during the season.

Lewis (side) participated in a session of live batting practice Sunday and could rejoin Minnesota's Grapefruit League lineup as early as Tuesday, Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports.

The 26-year-old was scratched from the lineup last Thursday due to right side tightness, but he had an MRI come back negative and resumed baseball activities over the weekend. Lewis had injury troubles once again in 2025 with hamstring and quadriceps issues, but he still played in a career-high 106 games. The side injury appears to be a minor concern, but any spring health problems are worth keeping an eye on given Lewis' injury history.

Quero is likely to get the majority of his starts at catcher against left-handed pitching, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

While manager Will Venable stopped short of calling the White Sox's catcher situation a straight platoon, he did acknowledge that Kyle Teel will start behind the plate against most right-handed pitching. That leaves Quero on the short end of playing time, though he's also likely to get at least some plate appearances at DH. While the playing time situation is a bit murky, Queto has picked up nine hits across his first 17 at-bats -- three of which have gone for extra bases -- early in Cactus League action, after working at Driveline to improve his swing this winter.

Teel will catch on most days when the White Sox face a right-handed pitcher, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

The White Sox have a crowded depth chart at catcher, with Teel and Edgar Quero leading the way. Teel earned the majority of playing time at the position across the second half of 2025 and looks to be in line to maintain that role. Manager Will Venable stopped short of calling the distribution of playing time a platoon, though Quero will draw most of his starts behind the dish against lefties while also getting some additional plate appearances at designated hitter. Meanwhile, Teel will look to build off of a solid rookie season, when he hit .273 with eight homers and three stolen bases across 297 plate appearances.