MLB Player News

Sasaki gave up three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out five batters over 3.1 innings in a Cactus League outing against Kansas City on Tuesday.

Sasaki struck out two of the first three batters he faced and got through two frames without being scored upon. In the third, he fanned the first batter of the inning but then walked three straight before being pulled. Under spring training rules, Sasaki was allowed to return for the fourth and faced two batters (giving up one hit), before coming back out for the fifth and yielding a double to end his day for good. Overall, the right-hander threw just 38 of 71 pitches for strikes, and he's now walked a whopping nine batters over just 6.2 spring frames. Sasaki said after the game that the loss of command in the third inning was caused by him trying to work on his sinker, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, but his lack of control during the spring slate is somewhat alarming. Still, manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that Sasaki "is going to be one of our starters" to begin the regular season, according to Ardaya, so it sounds like the Dodgers are going to at least give the Japanese hurler a chance to show that his results in Cactus League action aren't representative of the campaign that lies ahead of him.

Freeman was scratched from Wednesday's Cactus League lineup against the Reds due to lower-back tightness.

With Freeman idle for Wednesday's exhibition, Cole Carrigg will enter the lineup in center field and bat second, while leadoff man Jake McCarthy moves to left field. Freeman has an .840 OPS across 25 plate appearances this spring. Consider him day-to-day.

Caissie went 0-for-1 with two walks, a run scored and a stolen base in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets.

Fresh off an impressive WBC stint with Team Canada in which he batted .412 (7-for-17) with three doubles and a homer, Caissie didn't get much of a chance to show off his power, but he did swipe his first bag of the spring. The 23-year-old went 11-for-13 on steal attempts at Triple-A Iowa in 2024, but that's not likely to be a big element of his game in the majors. Acquired from the Cubs this offseason in the Edward Cabrera trade, Caissie remains the favorite to open the season as the Marlins' starting right fielder after slashing .285/.384/.546 with 22 homers in 99 contests for Iowa last season.

Snelling gave up three runs on six hits and a walk over three innings during Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets. He struck out five.

The 22-year-old southpaw entered the game in the sixth inning and immediately ran into trouble by serving up back-to-back singles, before things really fell apart for him in the seventh thanks to a three-run homer by Bo Bichette. Snelling did get stretched out to 64 pitches (45 strikes), but he remains on track to begin the season back at Triple-A Jacksonville, where he posted a dazzling 1.27 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 81:17 K:BB over 63.2 innings in 2025. Snelling should make his big-league debut this season, but it may not come quickly, especially if the Marlins elect to begin the year with Janson Junk as their fifth starter -- which would position Braxton Garrett as the next man up once he's proven he's fully recovered from his December 2024 elbow surgery.

The Nationals reassigned Adams to minor-league camp Wednesday.

Adams was booted from the 40-man roster in January and is slated to begin the season at Triple-A Rochester. While Adams has elite bat speed, he strikes out too much at the plate. He slashed .186/.252/.308 with eight home runs, 24 RBI, 29 runs scored and an 18:110 BB:K across 286 plate appearances for Washington last season.

Alcantara allowed two runs on three hits and one walk over four innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets. He struck out five.

The veteran righty built up to 70 pitches (46 strikes) as he continues to get ready for an Opening Day assignment March 27 against the Rockies. Alcantara topped out at 97.2 miles per hour with his four-seamer on a first-inning strikeout of Jorge Polanco and was comfortably maintaining 96 mph in his final inning of the day, further suggesting he's not far away from being in midseason form -- he averaged 97.7 mph with the pitch in 2025. Through eight spring innings, Alcantara has a 10:2 K:BB and 0.88 WHIP, but an unlucky 5.63 ERA.

The Nationals optioned Ortiz to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday.

Ortiz was part of the haul the Nationals received from the Rangers in the MacKenzie Gore trade over the winter. The 24-year-old Ortiz will have to wait to make his MLB debut. He slashed .257/.356/.479 with 25 home runs, 89 RBI and 85 runs scored across 130 games at Double-A and Triple-A last season but struggled during spring training, hitting .136 with a .478 OPS across 27 trips to the plate.

The Nationals optioned Ford to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday.

With Ford starting the season in Triple-A, it appears Drew Millas will open the 2026 campaign as the backup to Keibert Ruiz at catcher. Ford was acquired from the Mariners over the winter and was thought to be in the mix to beat out Ruiz for the starting gig. Ford, however, didn't do much at the plate this spring to force Washington's hand, slashing .214/.353/.286 across 17 plate appearances. He hit .200 with a .694 OPS in four games at the World Baseball Classic for Team Great Britain. Ford should be in the majors at some point this season.

Morel is expected to begin the season as the Marlins' starting first baseman, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

This was always the plan after the 26-year-old career outfielder was signed to a one-year, $2 million deal in December, but Morel needed to show he could handle the position defensively in camp first. His glovework has been acceptable, but how he performs with his bat looms as the bigger issue. Morel is batting just .135 (5-for-37) this spring with zero homers and a 3:13 BB:K, after he managed a .204/.288/.363 line over the last two seasons between the Cubs and Rays with a 29.3 percent strikeout rate. Morel is capable of punishing a mistake -- he clubbed 32 homers in 257 games during those two seasons -- but if he struggles overall, it could open the door later in the year for someone like Griffin Conine to take on a larger role at first base.

Campusano is likely to open the regular season as San Diego's No. 2 catcher, per MLB.com.

Campusano has mostly struggled with the big-league club in parts of previous campaigns, and he went a miserable 0-for-21 with a 6:11 BB:K over 10 games last year. However, he also posted a 1.024 OPS with 24 home runs and 92 RBI across 466 plate appearances with Triple-A El Paso, so he has nothing left to prove in the minors. Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado are no longer with San Diego this season, and the Padres seem content to have Campusano back up primary catcher Freddy Fermin despite Campusano's struggles this spring, as he slashing just .172/.250/.241 with no RBI through 13 games.