MLB Player News

Gray struck out five and walked two over three innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox, allowing one run on two hits.

That's now 10 strikeouts in five innings for Gray to begin the spring, and the right-hander fanned Trevor Story and Triston Casas twice each during Saturday's outing. His strikeout rate sagged to 20.5 percent last season, down from 23.7 percent in 2022, so Gray will need to get more swing-and-miss out of his arsenal if he's going to take another step forward in his development. The Nationals are counting on the 26-year-old to be one of the pillars of their rotation, but as yet he hasn't put it all together in the majors, with his career-best 3.91 ERA last year masking a 1.46 WHIP and 4.93 FIP.

Baty went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins.

The 24-year-old third baseman took minor-league arm Roddery Munoz deep in the seventh inning for his first long ball of the spring. Baty established himself as one of the Mets' top prospects while coming up through the system but fell on his face in his first extended big-league action in 2023, stumbling to a .212/.275/.323 slash line over 386 plate appearances. A strong showing this spring would help reassure fantasy investors, but he'd likely need to be a complete disaster to lose the starting job at the hot corner for Opening Day.

Manaea gave up three runs on seven hits over 2.2 innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins. He struck out three without walking a batter and threw a wild pitch.

The veteran lefty got in plenty of work in his first game action of the spring, tossing 41 of 56 pitches for strikes, but the results were something of a mixed bag. Manaea did at least keep the ball in the park, although Jazz Chisholm, Avisail Garcia and Jon Berti all laced doubles off him. Manaea is locked into a rotation spot for the Mets this season after making only 10 starts for the Giants in 2023 among his 37 appearances, but New York is counting on him to show the form he flashed in the second half for San Francisco -- over his final 51.2 innings last year, he posted a 2.61 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 48:15 K:BB.

Sanchez struck out one in a perfect inning of relief during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets.

The one-time top prospect didn't face any of New York's top hitters during his stint, but he did strike out DJ Stewart to end the inning. The fact that he was even on a mound at all was a huge step for Sanchez, who has had his career derailed by injuries and hasn't pitched in the majors since 2020. Per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, Sanchez topped out at 95.3 mph with his fastball -- a big step down from the 97.6 mph he averaged the last time he wore a Marlins uniform, but still impressive for early March given his long road back. The best-case scenario for the 25-year-old might be a low-leverage role in the Opening Day bullpen, but if Sanchez shows enough this spring, Miami might be willing to give him one more chance.

Beck (arm) was placed on the 60-day injured list Sunday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander is scheduled to undergo vascular surgery Monday to address the aneurysm in his upper right arm, and he'll be sidelined for at least the first two months of the regular season. Beck remains without an official timeline for his return, but more information is expected to be available following his procedure.

Imanaga allowed three runs on three hits across 2.1 innings in Saturday's Cactus League game against the Dodgers. He struck out five.

Outside of allowing a three-run home run, Imanaga looked pretty good in his first start of the spring with his new team, striking out half of the batters he faced. The lefty is expected to slot into a top-of-the-rotation role with the Cubs after coming over from Nippon Professional Baseball in the offseason. Imanaga may have some ups and downs as he adjusts to MLB hitting for the first time, but the talent is there for him to make a strong fantasy impact.

Waldrep walked two and struck out two without giving up a hit over two scoreless innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays.

One of Atlanta's top pitching prospects had a good showing in his spring debut, entering the game in the fifth inning and promptly fanning Danny Jansen. Waldrep wound up tossing 19 of 34 pitches for strikes, and improving his control will be a point of emphasis for the 22-year-old right-hander this season after he posted a 41:16 K:BB in 29.1 innings across four levels last season in his pro debut. While he almost certainly won't break camp on the Opening Day roster, Waldrep appears poised to see action with Atlanta at some point this summer after being the 24th overall pick in the 2023 Draft.

Steele said his goal for 2024 is to make at least 30 starts and log 180 or more innings for the first time in his career, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Steele made exactly 30 starts in 2023 and tossed a career-high 173.1 innings. It was a decent jump from the 119 innings he recorded in 2022, but the southpaw didn't seem bothered by the larger workload, as he recorded a strong 3.06 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, which were both improvements from the previous season. Steele is likely in line to start on Opening Day for the Cubs, and if he can stay healthy this year, another big performance could be in store for the emerging ace.

Smith (hand) is expected to see his first game action of the spring in Monday's Cactus League game against the Padres, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Smith joined the Cubs on a minor-league deal in mid-February to provide veteran depth. He's got plenty of competition at first base, with Michael Busch, Matt Mervis, Cody Bellinger, Garrett Cooper and Patrick Wisdom all on the roster. As a result, Smith seems unlikely to come close to the 527 at-bats he received last year in Washington, though he could force himself into a larger role with a strong spring.

The Mets reassigned Gilbert to minor-league spring training Sunday, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Gilbert became one of the organization's top prospects after being acquired from the Astros in the Justin Verlander trade last year, and he went 1-for-9 in Grapefruit League play for the Mets this spring. The 23-year-old had a .984 OPS in 35 games at Double-A Binghamton following the trade, and he'll either return there or head to Triple-A Syracuse to begin the 2024 campaign.