MLB Player News

Kranick has posted a 7:0 K:BB over 6.1 scoreless innings through his first three Grapefruit League appearances, and Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that Kranick could be putting himself into position to win a spot in the Mets' Opening Day bullpen.

The 27-year-old righty appeared to be on the outside looking in for a spot on the 26-man roster, but the Mets waived Sean Reid-Foley on Tuesday, and neither Dedniel Nunez (elbow) nor A.J. Minter (hip) are guaranteed to be ready for Opening Day. Kranick hit 98 mph with his fastball out of the bullpen at Triple-A Syracuse last year, and his sweeper has drawn raves from scouts. He could provide New York with a long-relief option to begin the campaign.

Senga worked a sinker into his repertoire during Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

If he's comfortable enough with the pitch to use it during the regular season, it would give Senga something that can work inside to right-handed batters, while the rest of his offerings tend to move away from righties. The 32-year-old right-hander is mainly looking to stay healthy in 2025 after he was limited to just 5.1 innings during the regular season last year and another 5.0 frames in the playoffs due to shoulder and calf injuries. He got his spring off to a strong start Monday, tossing 20 of 31 pitches for strikes over two scoreless innings against Miami while giving up two hits and striking out two.

Sale walked one and struck out four over four scoreless, no-hit innings during Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner looked to be nearly in regular-season form as he carved up a Minnesota lineup that included plenty of potential Opening Day starters, with his strikeouts coming against the likes of Matt Wallner, Ty France and Jose Miranda. Sale's outing was even more encouraging considering that Drake Baldwin was getting the start at catcher in place of Sean Murphy (ribs), as Atlanta could elect to bring the prospect north on the 26-man roster. Sale remains on track to get the Opening Day nod against the Padres on March 27.

Uribe (knee) will make his Cactus League debut Wednesday against the White Sox, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Uribe has been brought along slowly in Brewers camp after surgery last July to repair a lateral meniscus tear. The 24-year-old has the stuff to fill a high-leverage role in the Milwaukee bullpen, but Uribe struggled during his stint in the majors last season and might go to Triple-A Nashville for a while to make up for lost time.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that Phillips (shoulder) could be active by the first or second week of April, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Phillips has been slow-played this spring as he comes back from a right shoulder injury, but Roberts was impressed with how the reliever looked during his most recent bullpen session. While a stint on the injured list is in the offing, Phillips' absence might be brief. The former closer could be looking at more of a middle-relief role this season as part of a loaded Dodgers bullpen.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Wednesday that Walker has been diagnosed with inflammation in his left knee following an MRI, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The news is good, as Walker is not dealing with any structural damage after tweaking the knee when he stepped on a sprinkler head while pursuing a flyball during Grapefruit League play Tuesday. He will miss around a week of games in order to allow the knee to "calm down," per Marmol, but it doesn't sound as though Walker's Opening Day availability is in doubt.

La Sorsa (illness) struck out two batters in a perfect inning of relief in Monday's 5-4 win over the Brewers in Cactus League play.

La Sorsa wasn't available for the start of spring training while recovering from an illness, which put him behind the other relievers competing for a spot in the Reds' Opening Day bullpen. After moving past the ailment and completing his throwing progression, La Sorsa finally got the chance to make his Cactus League debut earlier this week and came through with an impressive outing. The southpaw is attending camp as a non-roster invitee, so he'll likely need to string together a few more strong performances to build a more serious case for a bullpen job with the Reds.

The Rockies reassigned O'Loughlin to minor-league camp Wednesday.

O'Loughlin reached the big leagues for the first time in 2024 as a member of the Athletics, making four relief appearances while giving up five earned runs on 13 hits and five walks across 9.2 innings. After being outrighted off the Athletics' 40-man roster in September and eventually reaching free agency in November, O'Loughlin linked up with the Rockies on a minor-league deal and was given a chance to compete for an Opening Day roster spot this spring. Despite tossing scoreless innings in each of his three Cactus League appearances, O'Loughlin fell short in his bid for a bullpen gig with the Rockies and is instead expected to begin the season at Triple-A Albuquerque.

Yelich is starting in left field and batting third in Wednesday's Cactus League game versus the White Sox, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

It will be the first action in left field this spring for Yelich, who is slated to play four innings or so. The 33-year-old's first game this spring came at designated hitter, and while most of Yelich's starts this season could be at DH, the Brewers want him to be ready to play the outfield, as well. Yelich is coming off surgery last August to address a herniated disc in his lower back.

The Rockies optioned Jones to Triple-A Albuquerque on Wednesday.

Jones was in the mix for a spot on the Opening Day roster as a utility player, but after striking out eight times in his first nine Cactus League at-bats, his chances of breaking camp with the big club disappeared. The 27-year-old switch hitter received a cup of coffee with the Rockies last June, going 1-for-5 with a solo home run and a walk over six games before finishing the season at Albuquerque.