MLB Player News

Murakami was scratched from Thursday's lineup against the Dodgers due to general fatigue, James Fegan of SoxMachine.com reports.

The White Sox are saying it's precautionary in advance of his long travel day to Japan for the World Baseball Classic. Ryan Galanie has replaced Murakami in the lineup at first base and will bat ninth. Murakami is expected back for the final week of spring training following the WBC.

Lewis was scratched from Thursday's Grapefruit League lineup against the Pirates with tightness in his right side, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Lewis suffered the injury while running the bases during pregame warmups. He was scratched "out of abundance of caution," according to the team. Consider Lewis day-to-day for now, but it's yet another injury for the third baseman. Lewis appeared in a career-high 106 regular-season games last season, slashing a disappointing .237/.283/.388 with 13 home runs, 52 RBI, 36 runs scored, 12 stolen bases and a 25:80 BB:K across 403 plate appearances.

McClanahan (triceps) is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Tuesday against the Phillies, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

McClanahan worked two simulated innings in live batting practice Thursday and made it through without issues, paving the way for the left-hander to get into game action next week. By all accounts, McClanahan has been healthy for spring training and is aiming to be part of the Rays' rotation to begin the season.

Kolek has been diagnosed with a left oblique strain and will be sidelined for at least the next 5-to-7 days, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

As Rogers notes, Kolek could be sidelined even longer if his Thursday scans reveal the injury is more severe. Kolek felt his side grab while warming up in the bullpen during Wednesday's Cactus League bout with the Mariners. Kolek is competing for a spot in Kansas City's rotation this spring after he was acquired from the Padres at the trade deadline last summer.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said Jung is dealing with "a little something" in his hamstring and is day-to-day, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Schumaker said Jung would likely be back in the lineup for Friday's Cactus League matchup with the White Sox. With Jung idle Thursday, Ezequiel Duran is making the start at third base. Jung appeared in 131 regular-season games last season and slashed .251/.294/.390 with 14 home runs, 61 RBI, 53 runs scored, four stolen bases and a 27:129 BB:K across 511 trips to the plate.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Oviedo was sent home early Thursday with an illness, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Oviedo made his spring debut Wednesday against the Twins but was wild in the outing, allowing one hit and three walks across 1.2 innings. He also hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. Cora said Oviedo was under the weather for that start, which should help explain some of the command issues. Consider the right-hander day-to-day.

Ponce struck out two in a perfect inning during the Blue Jays' Grapefruit League game against the Tigers on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old right-hander fired 16 of 22 pitches for strikes in his spring debut, getting Parker Meadows to swing through a cutter before fooling top prospect Kevin McGonigle with the kick-change that helped him turn his career around overseas. Ponce won the KBO's MVP Award in 2025 with the Hanwha Eagles on the strength of a 1.89 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 252:41 K:BB over 180.2 innings, a performance that netted him a three-year, $30 million deal from Toronto this offseason. He's being counted on to fill a mid-rotation spot in his return to MLB, and the kick-change may give him more strikeout upside than projected against big-league hitters.

Scherzer could ramp up slowly to begin the season, with the Blue Jays more concerned about having him available in September and October than March and April, Mitch Bannon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report.

The 41-year-old right-hander made one start in March last season before being shut down due to a lingering thumb issue, and Scherzer didn't re-join the Toronto rotation until late June. Having re-signed with the team Wednesday on a one-year deal that could be worth up to $13 million with incentives, a similar plan could be in place for 2026, although Scherzer at least appears to be healthier this spring. Even with Shane Bieber (forearm) set to begin the season on the IL, the Jays have plenty of healthy rotation depth at this point in camp, with Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce, Jose Berrios and Eric Lauer capable of taking regular turns to begin the campaign.

Twins head trainer Nick Paparesta said Thursday that Lewis (shoulder) is still a couple weeks away from throwing off a mound, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

Lewis strained his right shoulder prior to reporting to spring training and only recently began playing catch, so he'll need more time to increase his throwing distance off flat ground before graduating to mound work. The 25-year-old was cut from big-league camp Thursday and will likely serve as a swingman at Triple-A St. Paul once he's fully healthy.

Twins head trainer Nick Paparesta said Thursday that Merryweather has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain and will likely need about 3-to-4 weeks to recover before being available in games, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

While Merryweather could resume full baseball activities in about two weeks, he doesn't look like he'll be on track to pitch again before the Twins' Grapefruit League slate comes to an end. With that in mind, the injury effectively ends Merryweather's bid for a berth in the Opening Day bullpen, as he had been attending camp as a non-roster invitee and likely needed a strong spring to clinch a spot. Expect Minnesota to reassign Merryweather to minor-league camp in the coming weeks.