MLB Player News

Stassi being placed on the 60-day IL opens a spot on the 40-man roster, and the White Sox are using it to promote Nick Nastrini. Stassi now won’t be able to return to the Chicago lineup until the end of May at the earliest.

The first batch of cuts from Cardinals camp includes one of the more unique talents in Cijnte, a switch-pitching prospect acquired from the Mariners in the Brendan Donovan trade over the offseason. The 22-year-old ambidextrous phenom is significantly better from the right side where his fastball sits in the mid-to-upper 90’s with a plus sider. The fact that he can still operate from the left side is a nice wrinkle to have at his disposal but he’s probably going to wind up pitching exclusively from the right side at the highest level.

Pallante struck out two and had a successful outing even though his velocity is down by about two mph at the moment. He’s certain to be a part of the Cardinals’ rotation to begin the year, but he has a lot to prove after finishing 6-15 with a 5.31 ERA last year.

Blewett’s fastball averaged 93.4 mph while he was posting a 5.48 ERA in 44 1/3 innings for the Twins, Orioles and Braves last year. However, he was up to 94.7 mph in his first two outings this spring and 96.5 mph today. Even more impressive, he averaged 89.5 mph with his six sliders, a 5.5-mph gain from last year. He’s quickly becoming someone to watch in a St. Louis pen lacking an experienced closer.

Mazur hasn’t allowed a hit in three innings this spring. He’s yet to show much upside in striking out just 14% of the batters he’s faced in 14 major league starts, so he’s a fallback option for the Marlins at the moment.

Wetherholt’s drive to center in the third inning was hit 106.8 mph with a 35-degree launch angle, earning it a 430-foot projection from Statcast. The wind, though, howled “not today, rook.” Wetherholt is now 3-for-10 with six walks this spring.

We’re inclined to believe Nightengale on this one since Skubal is unlikely to approach the century mark in an abbreviated outing at this early stage of his ramp-up process. The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner will head back to rejoin the Tigers following his lone outing during the international showcase.

Venezuela skipper Omar López made it official that Suárez will take the ball at the front of a rotation that also includes Eduardo Rodriguez and Antonio Senzatela. The 30-year-old southpaw will make his Red Sox debut in the next few weeks after signing a five-year, $130 million contract in the offseason following eight seasons with the Phillies.

Elder has opened up with five scoreless innings as he tries to secure the fifth spot in Atlanta’s rotation. He gave up six hard-hit balls today, but he was able to limit the Tigers to three singles, and he walked no one.

He struck out three and walked two against his former team. Wentz wound up with a 4.92 ERA in 13 starts and one relief appearance for Atlanta last season, but his peripherals were somewhat better than that. He’s pretty likely to have a spot in middle relief if he fails to crack the team’s rotation.

The only sure major leaguer Valdez faced in this one was Jonah Heim, so it wasn’t a great test. Still, he showed his velocity was already up to par in spite of his rather late signing, and he threw 30 of his 43 pitches for strikes. That’s a fine first outing.