MLB Player News

Eshelman has been booted from the Orioles’ 40-man roster after allowing a whopping 22 runs on 34 hits with an 11/10 K/BB ratio across 27 2/3 innings (nine appearances, six starts) this season. The 27-year-old righty will function as organizational pitching depth if he chooses to accept the outright assignment.

O’Hoppe’s homer was hit 112 mph, and he also had a 104-mph lineout to right. He was one of the league’s worst regulars last year at age 25, but he’s put in the work since and hopefully will be improved both offensively and defensively this year.

There probably isn’t any way to get both Lowder and Chase Burns into the Reds rotation unless someone gets hurt, and the team might prefer it that way anyway, since it’s unlikely that either will be allowed to top 150 innings this year. Still, whichever one that gets cut might qualify as the best pitcher not currently in an MLB rotation at spring’s end.

It’s pretty cool seeing “Franco, J.” finishing up a game for the Reds. Jose generated an incredible 15 whiffs on the 24 swings he got in the 39-pitching outing. The 25-year-old was added to the Reds’ 40-man in November after finishing with a 3.11 ERA and a 118/54 K/BB in 110 innings between Double- and Triple-A last year. He’ll probably keep starting games in Triple-A to open 2026, but he should earn a look out of the pen at some point.

Turner, who had been 0-for-6 this spring, was removed for a pinch-runner after singling in the fourth. He’ll be sticking around Phillies camp next month after going uninvited to rejoin Team USA for the WBC. He was one of the stars of the tournament last time around, going 9-for-23 with five homers in six games, but Bobby Witt Jr. got the nod over him this time and the club probably didn’t want to carry two shortstops who couldn’t be asked to play other positions.

Nola allowed two hits, walked none and struck out two. He’ll have one more outing next week before joining Team Italy for the World Baseball Classic.

That the Marlins parted with Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers in trade offers hope that Snelling could make his debut pretty early this season, but he’ll have to earn it. Working against him is that he’s not yet on the 40-man, though that’s not going to be much of an obstacle if he keeps dominating in Triple-A like he did at the end of last year.

The Marlins really tested J.T. Realmuto today and went 5-for-5 stealing bases against him, with Xavier Edwards also collecting two and Connor Norby getting one. Hernández totaled one steal in two attempts in 87 games for the Marlins last season, so don’t expect a lot of this from him. He hasn’t stolen more than seven bases in any season since his pro debut in 2018.

The 25-year-old superstar gave the Royals a 4-2 advantage as he crushed a Jeffrey Springs slider for a 346-foot (103.4 mph EV) three-run shot in the second inning. Witt also singled and walked in the contest, reaching base safely in all three of his plate appearances. He’s locked in as a top three pick in fantasy drafts this spring and there’s certainly an argument to be made that he deserves consideration for being the top overall selection.

The 33-year-old closer came on to pitch in the fourth inning of this one with the Royals leading 5-3. He allowed a leadoff single to Joey Meneses and after retiring Henry Bolte on a pop up, Estévez coughed up the lead by allowing a two-run blast to Jacob Wilson. He then rallied to retire the final two hitters that he faced. Estévez has battled diminished velocity this spring and that was on full display on Friday, with his slider averaging 81.1 mph (-6.2 mph) and his changeup checking in at 85.7 mph (-2.2 mph). He did not throw a fastball in his 16 offerings. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor this as the spring progresses as it’s difficult to have any level of confidence in him at the moment.

Falter also issued one walk while striking out three in the ballgame. All of the damage done against him came in the opening inning as Max Muncy delivered a two-out, two-run double. His three punchouts on the afternoon came via Carlos Cortes, Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom. Falter got four whiffs on 44 pitches in the game, registering a solid CSW of 30 percent. As long as he doesn’t completely implode this spring, he’s slated to open the regular season as the Royals’ fifth starter, though he’s unlikely to have much value from a fantasy perspective.