MLB Player News

The Cubs reassigned Snider to minor-league camp Sunday.

Snider made 24 regular-season appearances in the big leagues with Seattle in 2025, but he lost his spot on the 40-man roster in August and then signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs over the winter. The veteran righty was unable to secure a spot in the Cubs' Opening Day bullpen and is expected to begin the season at Triple-A Iowa.

Jones accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus on Sunday, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The 27-year-old had the ability to reject the assignment and become a free agent, but he'll instead stick in the organization. Jones played in 136 regular-season games for Cleveland last year and had a .211/.296/.304 slash line with five home runs and eight steals.

Vasquez completed 5.1 innings in a Cactus League start versus Milwaukee on Saturday, allowing four runs on five hits and no walks while striking out four batters.

Vasquez allowed just five baserunners, but three of those circled the bases on home runs. This was presumably the right-hander's final appearance this spring, and if that's the case he'll finish the exhibition slate with a 4.91 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 15:5 K:BB over 18.1 innings spanning five starts. Vasquez is locked into a role in San Diego's season-opening rotation and could make his first start in the third game of the team's initial series against Detroit.

Yesavage (shoulder) is scheduled to start a minor-league game Wednesday, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

Manager John Schneider has already announced that Yesavage will begin the season on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement, but the right-hander continues to build up after having a delayed start to spring training. The 22-year-old's absence to begin the season may not be lengthy, which is good news for a Toronto rotation that's struggled with injuries this spring.

The Pirates announced that Mlodzinski will start the team's third game of the season next Sunday against the Mets at Citi Field, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Mlodzinski has emerged from spring training with a rotation spot after a wide-open competition that included Jose Urquidy, Hunter Barco and non-roster invitee Mike Clevinger. Urquidy and Clevinger could both break camp as members of the bullpen, and the Pirates could look to deploy either pitcher in tandem with Mlodzinski, who built up to five innings and 64 pitches in his most recent Grapefruit League outing March 14. Mlodzinski made 12 starts in 34 appearances for Pittsburgh in 2025 but never reached six innings in any of those outings, finishing with a 3.55 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 89:27 K:BB across 99 frames.

The Nationals acquired Vivas from the Yankees on Sunday in exchange for minor-league pitcher Sean Paul Linan.

Vivas is out of minor-league options, so the Yankees found a trade partner instead of losing him through the waiver process. The 25-year-old played in 29 games in his first taste of the majors in 2025, recording a .516 OPS over 64 plate appearances.

The Yankees acquired Linan from the Nationals on Sunday in exchange for infielder Jorbit Vivas.

Vivas wasn't in line to make the Opening Day roster and was out of minor-league options, so the Yankees opted to cash him in for an intriguing young arm in Linan. The 21-year-old right-hander spent time at three levels between the Dodgers and Nationals organizations in 2025, logging a 3.03 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 106:33 K:BB in 77.1 innings. With his new organization, Linan is likely to open the 2026 campaign at either Double-A Somerset or High-A Hudson Valley.

Vesia has allowed one earned run on three hits while posting a 7:1 K:BB over 5.2 innings through seven appearances in Cactus League action.

A personal matter resulted in Vesia not being part of Los Angeles' World Series roster last season, but the lefty reliever has been back with the team for camp. He's slated to be part of the setup crew ahead of new closer Edwin Diaz after posting a 3.02 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 80:22 K:BB across 59.2 frames last year, notching five saves and a team-high 26 holds.

Escarra is expected to serve as New York's backup catcher behind Austin Wells this season, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Escarra got his first taste of big-league action last season and posted a .202/.296/.33 slash line with two homers, 11 RBI, one stolen base and an 11:14 BB:K over 98 plate appearances. Both he and Wells bat left-handed, so Escarra's opportunities to play will likely come exclusively when Wells needs a rest day. Ben Rice, who's slated to be the team's primary first baseman, also has experience behind the plate and saw action at that position in 36 contests last year, though it's unclear how often (if at all) the Yankees will use him as a catcher this year.

Freeland was informed Sunday that he made the Dodgers' Opening Day roster, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Freeland struggled to a .116/.286/.233 slash line in 18 spring games, but an 11:11 BB:K showcased his patience at the plate. He should operate as a utility infielder to begin the season.