MLB Player News

Crawford was scratched from the first half of the doubleheader after tweaking his neck while taking a swing in the cage. It’s not clear when he’ll be ready to return to the lineup. Conor Jackson will play left field in the nightcap while Darnell McDonald starts in right.

Panama scored three times in a miscue-riddled sixth inning for Canada, with all of the runs against James Paxton being unearned. That gave Panama a 4-2 lead, and Bradfield nearly added to it in on José Caballero’s double in the eighth, only to be thrown out at home thanks to an awesome combined effort from Owen Caissie and relay man Otto Lopez. Canada came back with one in the bottom of the eighth, but it couldn’t even the score after a rain delay in the top of the ninth. Panama won for the first time in three games in Pool A. Canada is 1-1 with Puerto Rico and Cuba still on the schedule.

Taillon was off to a miserable start this spring with the Cubs, but he acquitted himself well tonight, allowing just one hard-hit ball to the 14 batters he faced. He struck out three and had a 36% CSW.

Jarren Duran, Alek Thomas and Jonathan Ornelas also homered for Mexico. Ornelas’s ended the game in his second plate appearance after replacing Randy Arozarena in the outfield. Mexico joined Team USA and Italy at 2-0 to open Pool B play. Those three teams will begin taking each other on Monday, with Mexico and U.S. set for a prime-time battle.

Walker struck out three and allowed no hard-hit balls in an easy 64-pitch outing. With Mexico now 2-0 in pool play, Walker has a pretty good chance of getting another WBC start next week.

Bader extended Israel’s lead with a run-scoring single in the fifth inning as part of a four-run frame. The 31-year-old outfielder posted his highest barrel rate in a half-decade during a 17-homer campaign split between the Twins and Phillies last year. The move to Oracle Park doesn’t exactly raise his power ceiling but he’s a strong bet to reach 15 homers with at least double-digit steals as well. His realistic upside is limited based on his track record but he’s a solid fifth outfielder in deeper mixed leagues for fantasy purposes this spring.

Kremer struck out four and only allowed three baserunners. He got some help from reliever Josh Mallitz, who came on to wriggle out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning. The 30-year-old righty will likely go undrafted in most fantasy leagues this spring and will operate at the back end of Baltimore’s new-look rotation.

Rodriguez struck out four and issued two walks. The 24-year-old righty made four relief appearances for the Brewers last season and is likely ticketed for Triple-A Nashville to open the regular season. Milwaukee has one of the deepest pitching staffs in the game which means his most likely path would be in a swingman type role at the highest level.

The 19-year-old De Vries hit a two-run homer off Kyle Hurt in the fourth and a grand slam off Carson Hobbs an inning later. He’s a threat to make his major league debut before his 20th birthday, though there’s no way it’s happening on Opening Day. It’ll be interesting to see if the A’s start moving him around the infield if he hits in Double-A, since while he does project as a better shortstop than Jacob Wilson, the A’s might not be willing to have Wilson change positions midseason.

Lopez, whose 2025 ended in late August due to a flexor strain, was down about one mph on the whole today, though he was actually throwing his slider 1.2-mph harder than last season. His performance last season should make him a lock for the rotation if healthy, and it seems for now that he is.

Wrobleski has pitched six scoreless innings in three appearances. He’ll probably make the Dodgers as a swingman, and it’s possible he’ll prove more trustworthy than Roki Sasaki in the rotation in the long run.