MLB Player News

The Pirates reassigned Fletcher to minor-league camp Monday.

Fletcher saw action in 12 games in the majors with the White Sox in 2025, but after joining the Pirates on a minor-league pact over the winter, he was viewed as a longshot to break camp with the big club. He'll likely be in line for steady at-bats at Indianapolis but will presumably need an injury or two to hit the Pittsburgh outfield before he gets another chance in the big leagues.

The Pirates optioned Valdez to Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday.

Valdez was limited to just 102 plate appearances with the Pirates in 2025 before suffering a season-ending dislocated left shoulder in May, but after playing in the Dominican Winter League during the offseason, he received a clean bill of health heading into the spring. Despite offering the ability to play multiple infield positions, Valdez status as a left-handed hitter likely limited his appeal as a bench bat for the Pirates. Valdez will get the chance to play regularly at Indianapolis to begin the season and could emerge as a strong-side platoon option for the Pirates at some point in 2026 if Pittsburgh loses an everyday infielder to an injury.

The Phillies optioned Leon to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday.

Leon had been in contention for a reserve spot in the Phillies' Opening Day outfield but was unable to distinguish himself in spring training, slashing just .231/.355/.308 with a 4:7 BB:K over 31 plate appearances in the Grapefruit League. The 27-year-old should be in line for an everyday role at Lehigh Valley and will likely rank near the top of the list for a call-up if the Phillies should have an opening in the big-league outfield at any point.

Kim (finger) arrived at spring training Monday and said that he's been cleared to take part in fielding drills, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

After suffering a torn tendon in his right middle finger in an offseason accident, Kim underwent surgery Jan. 18 to address the injury and is facing an estimated recovery timeline of 4-to-5 months. Because he's mostly been limited to rehab work for the first two months post-surgery, Kim stayed home for the beginning of camp, but he's now far enough along in his recovery to start working out with the team again and increasing his baseball activities. Kim has yet to resume swinging a bat, which will be the major hurdle that he will need to clear before embarking on a rehab assignment. Once he's ready to return from the injured list, Kim is expected to take over as Atlanta's everyday shortstop, but Mauricio Dubon will likely fill those duties for at least the first month and a half of the season.

Ritchie struck out six across four scoreless, hitless innings of relief Sunday against the Phillies.

The only baserunner he allowed over 52 pitches (39 strikes) was a hit batsman as Ritchie continues to turn heads in spring training. The 22-year-old right-hander boasts a 2.25 ERA, 0.58 WHIP and 14:5 K:BB in 12 innings and has thrown four innings in each of his last two outings. Ritchie is not on the 40-man roster and isn't expected to break camp in the big-league rotation, despite Atlanta's rash of pitching injuries, but a hot start at Triple-A Gwinnett would put him in line to make his MLB debut early in the season.

Moll could make the Reds' Opening Day roster as the Reds' second left-hander out of the bullpen, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Caleb Ferguson's oblique injury has created the extra roster space for another left-hander, with Moll following Brock Burke in the pecking order.

Williamson could win a spot in the Reds' Opening Day rotation, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports. Williamson threw four shutout innings in Sunday's spring training game and has a 1.64 ERA with a 13:2 K:BB over 11 innings so far.

Williamson's stat line is nice enough, but also Chase Burns isn't quite extended out like the Reds would have hoped for, nor is his range of mobility where they'd like it, which could give them the impetus to keep Williamson. Williamson missed all of the 2025 season after having Tommy John elbow surgery in September of 2024.

Goodman went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Angels.

Goodman has only five hits in 34 at-bats this spring, with Sunday's long ball marking his second extra-base hit and home run of the exhibition season. Despite unremarkable results, Goodman is striking out only 22.2 percent of the time and still projects to be one of the Rockies' best hitters in 2026.

Urquidy allowed three earned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out four and walking one across 3.2 innings in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays.

It was a mixed performance for Urquidy, who built up to 61 pitches and also managed more strikeouts than walks in an outing for the first time in three appearances this spring. He's also allowed three earned runs in each of those outings, resulting in nine earned runs across 8.2 innings. Urquidy was the presumed fifth starter for the Pirates entering the spring, but he may be leaving the door open for either Hunter Barco or Carmen Mlodzinski to claim the role instead.

Realmuto has been under the weather the past few days but could return to the Phillies' Grapefruit League lineup Tuesday against the Twins, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Realmuto has a .786 OPS through 19 plate appearances during spring training, so the illness shouldn't affect his availability for the start of the regular season. The 34-year-old is coming off a 2025 regular season that saw him post his worst OPS (.699) since his second MLB campaign in 2015.