MLB Player News

Soroka walked one and struck out three over three scoreless, no-hit innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.

Facing a St. Louis lineup that featured a number of likely Opening Day starters, Soroka got Willson Contreras to ground into a double play to end the first inning before including Nolan Gorman and Pedro Pages among his strikeout victims over his final two frames. Soroka is attempting to prove he can still be an effective big-league starting pitcher after finishing 2024 in the bullpen for the White Sox, signing a one-year, $9 million prove-it deal with the Nats in December. The double-play grounder might have been a better sign on that front than the Ks -- during his one outstanding campaign in 2019 with Atlanta, Soroka recorded a 51.2 percent groundball rate, a mark that sunk to 40.3 percent last season.

Cease allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out two batters over 2.2 innings in a Cactus League start against Cincinnati on Saturday.

Cease tossed 43 pitches -- 32 of which were four-seam fastballs and sliders -- in his first appearance this spring. The veteran righty gave up a solo home run to Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the second frame but otherwise kept the Reds from crossing the plate. The Padres have not yet announced their Opening Day starter, but Cease is probably the leading candidate after posting a 3.47 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 224:65 K:BB in 189.1 regular-season innings last year.

Hoskins went 3-for-3 with two home runs and two RBI in Saturday's spring game.

Hoskins homered in his first appearance of the spring and put two more long balls on the board Saturday. He remains the top option at first base for the Brewers and will be looking to bounce back in both the batting average and OPS departments after posting career-low .214 and .722 marks, respectively, in those categories in 2024.

Tidwell struck out five batters over two perfect innings and recorded an immaculate inning in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays.

The 23-year-old right-hander needed nine pitches to strike out Josh Lowe, Eloy Jimenez and Jose Caballero in his second frame, after fanning Brandon Lowe and Christopher Morel to close out the first inning. Tidwell's prospect status tumbled last season when he was beset by control issues at Triple-A, but he posted a 2.41 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 44:11 K:BB over 37.1 innings at Double-A prior to that to earn the promotion. If Tidwell has corrected the issues that were preventing him from finding the plate consistently, he could be a factor in the Mets' big-league rotation at some point during the 2025 campaign. Per Adam Berry of MLB.com, Tidwell has trimmed his arsenal back to five pitches -- four-seam and two-seam fastballs, a changeup, a slider and a sweeper -- in an effort to put last year's stumble behind him.

Kim went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, a walk and three total runs scored in Saturday's Cactus League win over the Giants.

Kim had been struggling mightily entering Saturday, collecting just one hit -- an infield single -- through 14 at-bats. However, he turned things around a bit against San Francisco with a solo home run to left field in the fifth inning. The Dodgers have been working with Kim to revamp his swing in order to try to unlock more power, which is likely at least partially responsible for his early-spring struggles. It's possible that the 25-year-old will begin the season in the minors to provide more time and less pressure for him to work on his swing mechanics.

Ramirez continues to work on his defense in an effort to stick as a catcher when he reaches the major leagues, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Acquired from the Yankees in last year's Jazz Chisholm trade, Ramirez's bat has never been in question -- Wednesday, he posted an exit velocity of 115.1 mph, the sixth-fastest hit recorded by any player this spring and a mark topped among 2024 MLB catchers by only William Contreras -- but the 23-year-old still has work to do on his pitch framing, blocking and release time on base-stealing attempts. Ramirez showed up early to camp to try and improve in all those areas, however, and his work ethic has been noticed by the Marlins' coaching staff. "We've been hammering all of it," catching coach Joe Singley said this week. "I think he's super talented, and there's a lot of low hanging fruit there. We're getting him in positions where he can let that athleticism go, slightly adjusting some things to help him block the ball and receive it without having to think about it too much. Just clearing up some positions for him to be an athlete." Ramirez is expected to begin the season at Triple-A Jacksonville, but if Nick Fortes' back issues linger into Opening Day, it could open up a spot for the organization's top catching prospect to make his MLB debut.

Machado (back) is expected to play in one of Tuesday's split-squad games, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The veteran third baseman was scratched from the lineup Friday due to back tightness, but it appears he'll require only a few days off before returning to action. Barring an aggravation of the injury, Machado shouldn't have an issue being ready for the start of the season.

Mena (forearm) tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning in Friday's 6-1 win over the Royals in Cactus League play.

Mena didn't pitch after July 25 and finished last season on Triple-A Reno's injured list due to a forearm strain, but the 22-year-old right-hander looks to be healthy again for spring training. Before getting hurt last season, Mena got the chance to make his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks on July 3 and gave up four earned runs over three innings in a spot start versus the Dodgers. The right-hander is expected to remain on a starter's development track, but he doesn't appear to be a serious candidate for Arizona's Opening Day roster and will likely begin the season in the rotation at Reno.

Shaw (oblique) will start at third base and bat second in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Reds.

Shaw is ready to make his spring debut Sunday after the Cubs elected to ease him into action while he recovered from an oblique injury that he suffered shortly before the start of spring training. Heading into the spring, Shaw was viewed as the leading candidate to begin the season as the Cubs' everyday third baseman, but he'll need to prove his health and put together a strong showing in the Cactus League to ensure he breaks camp with the big club. The Cubs will open their regular season with a two-game set versus the Dodgers on March 18 and 19 in Tokyo, and even if Shaw isn't activated for those contests, he could still be added to the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster ahead of the team's domestic season opener March 27 in Arizona.

Minter (hip) is throwing a live bullpen session Sunday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

It's the first time since undergoing hip surgery in August that Minter is throwing against live hitters. The left-hander joined the Mets on a two-year, $22 million contract in January and is expected to serve as the setup man for closer Edwin Diaz. Minter could be available for Opening Day if he's able to continue progressing in his rehab with no setbacks over the next few weeks.