MLB Player News

Hoskins has gone 2-for-9 (.222) with a solo home run, three total runs scored and a 3:6 BB:K through four games this spring.

Coming off a torn ACL, Hoskins did not make his first appearance of the spring until Mar. 1, but he has reached base at least once in all four games he's played. Both hits he has recorded came over the last three days, so it seems he is settling in. He has not encountered any setbacks since making his debut, so he is on track to start at first base for the Brewers on Opening Day.

Murphy (illness) is starting behind the plate and batting third in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates.

The 29-year-old hasn't seen game action in a week due to a stomach bug, but he'll return to the field for Friday's exhibition. Murphy had a career-high 21 homers with an .843 OPS in 108 games last season, though Travis d'Arnaud should continue to see plenty of reps as Atlanta's secondary catcher in 2024.

Perez (finger) is listed as the Marlins' probable starter for Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets.

The 20-year-old exited his previous start last weekend due to a broken nail on his right middle finger, but that won't affect his availability for Friday. Perez covered 2.1 frames in that start and should continue building up his workload over the final weeks of spring training.

Freeland has increased the velocity on all of his pitches this spring, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports.

Freeland made his second start of the spring Tuesday and allowed only one earned run across three innings while striking out five. More importantly, he averaged 92.6 mph with his fastball, nearly three ticks higher than his average mark in 2023. Freeland has been able to throw all of his pitches with more velocity, and he credits strengthening his shoulder during the offseason as well as working on his pitch grips for the improved performance.

Busch went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Reds.

Busch took Cincinnati fireballer Hunter Greene deep for his first home run of the spring. The 26-year-old projects to be Chicago's primary option at first base heading into the regular season. Busch has some upside and looked great in the minors last year, though he's yet to get extended run in the majors, so there may be some growing pains as he settles in with the Cubs.

Robinson was assigned to minor-league camp Thursday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Robinson went 2-for-10 with a home run, three RBI and four walks while fanning five times. This is the first spring training since 2020 for Robinson, who dealt with legal and visa issues in between. An elevated strikeout rate after returning to action last May was the one blemish on his 2023 record. Robinson posted a .914 OPS and stole 23 bases in 65 combined games across four stops in the minors.

Walker started at first base and went 1-for-2 with a double in Thursday's spring game against the Rangers.

Walker returned from a hand injury sustained a week ago when he was hit by a pitch. He played three innings in the field and got two at-bats Thursday before being replaced by a pinch runner following his double in the top of the fourth inning. Walker will ramp up in the coming days with eye toward playing back-to-back days in the field.

The Giants signed Garza to a minor-league deal Thursday, which includes an invitation to spring training, Ari Alexander of KPRC2 reports.

Garza has thrown 47 innings in the majors throughout his career, though he's managed only a 5.74 ERA in that span. He's likely to serve as organizational depth and could contribute sparingly out of the big-league bullpen.

Gallen allowed two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out two over two innings in Thursday's spring start against Texas.

Gallen made his Cactus League debut and met trouble immediately, giving up a single and walk to the first two batters, who eventually came around to score with the aide of a wild pitch. He's prepared on the back fields instead of engaging in games; the Diamondbacks opted to ease Gallen into competition after the right-hander threw a career-high 243.2 innings in 2023. Gallen's lined up for three more spring appearances before an expected start Opening Day against Colorado in Phoenix on March 28.

Wiemer was not injured during Thursday's Cactus League game against the White Sox despite leaving the game early, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Wiemer was shaken up a bit on a play near the outfield wall in the third inning and walked into the Brewers' clubhouse with a trainer after striking out in the top of the fourth, but his removal doesn't appear to have been injury-related. Wiemer was scheduled to make an early exit from the game anyway in order to travel to Las Vegas for Milwaukee's upcoming exhibition game against the Athletics. The 25-year-old outfielder has struggled to get going at the plate this spring, managing just four hits in 23 at-bats while striking out nine times.