MLB Player News

Burns made his professional debut Wednesday against the Rangers, striking out three and walking one in the ninth inning. Four of his pitches topped 100 mph, Pat Brennan of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

After the game, Burns was sent down to the Reds minor-league camp, where he'll continue to get more regular work. Burns didn't pitch professional last season after getting taken No. 2 overall in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft by the Reds.

Kerkering threw a clean inning in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays, striking out two while picking up a hold.

Kerkering now holds a 3.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP while fanning three over three innings during spring training so far. The 23-year-old right-hander showed plenty of promise out of Philadelphia's bullpen in his first full season in the major leagues, featuring a 2.29 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 74:14 K:BB across 63 regular-season frames a year ago. Kerkering is slated to start 2025 in a setup role behind presumed closer Jordan Romano, but it's not out of the question that the former sees some ninth-inning work at some point later in the season.

Alvarado fired a scoreless inning in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against Tampa Bay, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three.

Alvarado has looked sharp in the Grapefruit League thus far, tossing three scoreless innings with seven punchouts. The hard-throwing left-hander is one of several Phillies arms competing for saves chances in 2025, and his results are worth noting due to Matt Strahm having yielded six runs in 1.2 innings this spring. Jordan Romano still appears to be first in line when it comes to ninth-inning work, but Alvarado is at least working to entrench himself as a high-leverage option and perhaps even leapfrog Strahm as Philadelphia's top lefty reliever.

Castellanos launched his first home run of the spring in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays, adding two runs scored and a walk.

It was an encouraging effort by Castellanos, who belted an opposite-field homer in the fourth inning Thursday after going just 2-for-14 in his first five games this spring. The 33-year-old outfielder played all 162 games last season, and he should have plenty of RBI upside while batting in the heart of a potent Phillies lineup.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed Thursday that Ohtani will not face hitters as a pitcher leading up to the season-opening series in Japan so that he can ramp up his preparations as a hitter, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Ohtani threw his last bullpen Feb. 25. He has continued to playing catch, but the organization is giving him a pause from ramping up his pitching so he can intensify his hitting. Roberts also talked about May as a potential time for Ohtani's return to pitching but added that they "just don't know" when the NL MVP will be able to take the mound, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.

Reid-Foley cleared waivers Thursday and was sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse.

The Mets placed Reid-Foley on waivers Tuesday in an effort to create space on their 40-man roster, and he'll officially stick with the organization after the other 29 clubs passed on the opportunity to claim him. The 29-year-old righty posted a 1.66 ERA and 1.25 WHIP across 21.2 innings last year before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in June. A similar start in Triple-A could earn him a spot back in New York's bullpen.

The Dodgers reassigned Freeland to minor-league camp Thursday.

Freeland breezed through the Dodgers' farm system last season, reaching Triple-A Oklahoma City by early August after starting the year with High-A Great Lakes. His bat stayed hot during Cactus League play, as he went 3-for-10 with a home run and three runs scored over eight games, though he also struck out six times. The 23-year-old will return to Triple-A to begin the 2025 campaign, but he's put himself in a good position to make his major-league debut at some point this year.

Steele was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday due to flu-like symptoms, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Steele had been set to make his third start of the spring Thursday, but he'll instead have to wait until his illness passes. While he recovers, Ben Brown will step in to start against the Royals.

Brujan plans to be more aggressive in attempting to steal bases this season with the Cubs, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Brujan stole only five bases and was caught six times in 2024 during his lone season in Miami, and he said the Marlins "didn't give me the green light that I needed." Following an offseason trade to the Cubs, the 27-year-old decided that he's "going to be myself" and "going to steal bases." Brujan was a prolific base stealer in the minors and his sprint speed was in the 91st percentile in his rookie season with the Rays back in 2021. However, he went only 9-for-17 in stolen-base attempts over 99 regular-season games across three seasons with Tampa Bay, and last year with the Marlins his sprint speed was down in the 53rd percentile. Brujan is already 4-for-4 on stolen-base attempts this spring, so he's held true to his word so far, and he's also posted a 1.042 OPS. That said, if the career .189/.261/.270 hitter doesn't improve at the plate, his intentions on the bases could be irrelevant. Brujan is aiming to win a utility role with Chicago this season.

Garcia went 1-for-1 with two walks and a solo home run in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins.

The second baseman got hold of a Valente Bellozo offering in the fourth inning for his first homer of the spring. Garcia is 3-for-8 with three walks against only one strikeout through his first four Grapefruit League appearances in camp, as the 24-year-old looks to demonstrate that his 2024 breakout was no fluke.