MLB Player News

O'Brien (calf) is tentatively scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Friday against the Orioles, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The right-hander has been slowed in Cardinals camp by a mild right calf strain. O'Brien got through a live batting practice session Monday with no issues, and as long as he bounces back well, he'll get into game action Friday. The hard-throwing O'Brien is competing to open the season as St. Louis' closer.

Singer allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out one over two-plus innings in Monday's spring start against the Cubs.

The numbers for Singer's Cactus League debut were ugly, and he was able to generate just one swing-and-miss. The optimistic view is that he managed to throw 46 pitches while throwing his entire arsenal and had three up-and-downs. All four runs scored in the first frame, when the right-hander had some bad luck -- a couple of weak contact hits fell in safely and left fielder Will Benson couldn't come down with a catchable ball.

McLain batted second and went 2-for-2 with two walks, two home runs, six RBI and a third run scored in Monday's spring game against the Cubs.

McLain is wielding a hot stick early in the Cactus League and is 8-for-14 with three homers and nine RBI through five games. He appears poised for a bounce-back season after slumping for much of 2025 and landing in the bottom of the order. McLain is looking like he did in 2023, when he posted an .864 OPS and 127 OPS+ as a rookie.

Clevinger threw 3.0 scoreless innings while allowing one hit to go along with three strikeouts and two walks in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays.

Clevinger joined the Pirates in February on a non-roster deal, but he appears to have a legitimate chance to make the roster as either the fifth starter or a long reliever. He reports being fully healthy, per Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and touched 97 mph in his first spring outing Feb. 25. Adding in Monday's outing, Clevinger has thrown five scoreless innings, though he's managed only a 4:4 K:BB.

Rumfield is making a case to be the primary first baseman for the Rockies to begin the season, Stephen Harding of MLB.com reports.

Rumfield was very productive in the minor leagues while working his way through the Yankees' minor-league system, but he was ultimately blocked and never got a chance to reach the majors. His outlook changed when he was traded to the Rockies in late January, and he has taken advantage early in spring, slugging three home runs across 16 at-bats while striking out only once. Harding currently projects Rumfield to start at first base against right-handed pitching, with Blaine Crim a potential complement to step into the lineup against lefties.

Suwinski was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday.

Suwinski was scooped up off waivers by the Dodgers on Feb. 21, and he appears on track to begin the year at Triple-A Oklahoma City after passing through another round of waivers unclaimed. He struggled to a .147 average with three home runs, 10 RBI, seven stolen bases and 15 runs scored a season ago in 59 games with Pittsburgh.

Taillon allowed six runs on five hits and two walks across 2.1 innings in Monday's Cactus League game against the Reds. He struck out two.

It's been a rough spring so far for Taillon, as he's sitting with a 19.50 ERA through three Cactus League outings. The veteran righty has been tagged for six home runs already in only six innings of work. Taillon saw his HR/9 increase from 1.1 in 2024 to 1.7 last year, which was the worst mark of his MLB career. While he still managed a strong 3.68 ERA and 1.06 WHIP across 129.2 regular-season innings, Taillon could struggle to replicate those results in 2026 if he continues to serve up long balls at an elevated rate.

Bregman went 2-for-2 with a walk and a solo home run in Sunday's Cactus League game against the White Sox.

Bregman connected for his first Cactus League home run as a member of the Cubs, and he's now slashing a robust .455/.571/.909 this spring. The talented third baseman will next play for the United States in the World Baseball Classic before returning to camp. Bregman dealt with a quadriceps strain last year that limited him to only 114 regular-season games for the Red Sox, his fewest in a season since 2021. He's fully healthy now and should slot into the heart of Chicago's lineup to begin the year.

The Cardinals reassigned Shuster to minor-league camp Monday.

Shuster had been in contention for the second lefty spot in the Cardinals' Opening Day bullpen, but his removal from the competition leaves Justin Bruihl, Packy Naughton and Nick Raquet as the primary candidates for that role. The 27-year-old southpaw worked primarily out of the bullpen for the White Sox the past two seasons, but it's possible that the Cardinals opt to have Shuster get stretched for a starting role or deploy him as a swingman at Triple-A Memphis in 2026.

The Cardinals reassigned Thompson (shoulder) to minor-league camp Monday.

Thompson was attending big-league spring training as a non-roster invitee, but he hadn't appeared in any Grapefruit League games while continuing to work his way back from arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder, which he underwent back in August. The southpaw has initiated a throwing program but hasn't yet gotten back on a mound, so he still has multiple checkpoints to reach in the recovery process before being deemed ready for game action.