MLB Player News

Soroka allowed one run on four hits and one walk while striking out two over three innings in Team Canada's win over Columbia on Saturday at the World Baseball Classic.

Soroka was on the mound for Team Canada's first game of the WBC. The right-hander threw 54 pitches (30 strikes), touching 97 mph and averaging 94.7 mph with his four-seamer after managing 93.6 mph with the pitch in 2025. He was signed by the Diamondbacks for rotation depth but has experience out of the bullpen. Soroka's exact role to start the season will be determined by whether Merrill Kelly (back) can avoid a stint on the injured list. Kelly recently threw a bullpen and is set to throw live batting practice Sunday.

Fuentes struck out four over two scoreless innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles.

A hit-by-pitch produced the only baserunner against Fuentes, who fired 15 of 25 pitches for strikes in a dominant performance. Per Mark Bowman of MLB.com, Fuentes' velocity was up noticeably in the outing, with his four-seamer topping out at 98.8 miles per hour and averaging 97.4 mph. However, it bears mentioning that the 20-year-old right-hander didn't enter the game until the sixth inning, and the most notable batter he faced might have been non-roster invitee Sam Huff. Fuentes is expected to begin the season at Triple-A Gwinnett, but after making his big-league debut under emergency circumstances in 2025, he might be just one or two more injuries away from getting the call again given the hits Atlanta has already taken to its rotation depth.

Holmes gave up two hits and three walks over 2.2 scoreless innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles. He struck out three.

Facing a mostly young split-squad Baltimore lineup that included Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers, Holmes built up to 58 pitches, but only 31 of them were strikes. The 29-year-old right-hander sports a 7:5 K:BB through 7.1 spring innings, and while he hasn't given up a run yet, Holmes' inability to find the strike zone consistently is a little worrying for an Atlanta rotation that can't afford any more attrition with Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow), Hurston Waldrep (elbow) and AJ Smith-Shawver (elbow) all set to miss significant time.

Albies went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Team Netherlands' 4-3 win over Team Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic on Saturday.

With the Netherlands down to its last out, Albies took Angel Obando deep for a three-run shot -- the first walk-off homer in WBC history. The 29-year-old second baseman has two 30-homer campaigns on his MLB resume, but he's coming off a down 2025 in which he slashed .240/.306/.365 with 16 home runs and 14 steals in 157 games.

The Astros optioned Alexander to minor-league camp Sunday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The veteran right-hander had a 4.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 65:26 K:BB across 77.1 innings between Atlanta and Houston last season but was never a likely bet to crack the Astros' Opening Day roster. Alexander is likely to work out of the rotation at Triple-A Sugar Land to begin 2026 and could get another look in the majors as a swingman at some point this year.

Team Dominican Republic manager Nelson Cruz said that Perdomo is on the bench for Sunday's game against Team Netherlands due to an illness, Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports.

With Perdomo battling the flu, Cruz will turn to Erik Gonzalez to man shortstop in the Dominican Republic's second game of pool play. Perdomo will rest up and recover with the aim of returning to the starting nine Monday versus Team Israel.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Mullins is "doing better" in his recovery from back tightness and will take part in an on-field workout Sunday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mullins last played Tuesday before succumbing to the back injury, but the veteran outfielder looks to be making good progress and is being viewed as day-to-day. Assuming he's able to move past the back issue and play in at least a few more games before the end of the Grapefruit League slate, Mullins should be in good position to begin the season in the strong side of a platoon in center field.

Manager Kevin Cash said that Diaz has been out of the Rays' Grapefruit League lineup since Tuesday due to a sore left hand, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Cash downplayed any concern about the injury, noting that Diaz is expected to rest for a couple more days before he begins swinging a bat again Tuesday. If all goes well, Diaz could check back into the lineup later in the week.

Stock (shoulder) said Sunday that he'll require surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome and could be sidelined for the remainder of the season, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Stock is leaving the door open to pitch late in the season, but since he had been attending Mets camp on a minor-league deal, he's unlikely to surface in the majors at any point in 2026. The right-hander first experienced discomfort in his shoulder following his start Tuesday for Team Israel in an exhibition game against the Marlins.

Team Venezuela manager Omar Lopez said Saturday that Chourio (hand) should rejoin the lineup for Monday's World Baseball Classic game against Nicaragua, Kevin Barral of FishonFirst.com reports.

Chourio has been out of Venezuela's lineup for both of the last two games while nursing a left hand injury that he suffered in an exhibition game Wednesday, when he was hit by a pitch. The good news for Chourio is that the injury isn't considered a long-term concern, and the 21-year-old should be back in the lineup in short order.