MLB Player News

Okert heads to Houston as extra left-handed relief depth after struggling to a lackluster 5.09 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 33/16 K/BB ratio across 35 1/3 innings (44 appearances) last season with the Twins. The 33-year-old veteran southpaw has made 272 appearances in the big leagues dating back to 2016. He’ll compete in spring training for a spot in the Astros’ season-opening bullpen.

Rodríguez and Ryan O’Hearn both hit wind-aided three-run homers off Dietrich Enns in a sixth-run fifth inning. Rodríguez’s would have been a routine flyout most days, but he was due for some good luck in his first game appearance since June 6. The former top prospect has been unable to put together a full season since 2022, and he’ll probably have to enjoy some success in Triple-A at the beginning of the year in order to earn another shot. If he could stay healthy, he might still have the most upside of the Pirates’ catchers.

Kremer walked three in a row to begin the second and then got three straight groundouts, with the first two scoring runs. Kremer hasn’t typically had much on the line in spring training, but his status is a little bit up in the air now, as the Orioles have six starters for five spots. The situation will probably resolve itself without Kremer being forced to the pen, but he doesn’t have his usual margin for error and he has gotten off to bad starts two of the last three years.

The Orioles say they’re still treating Wells as a starter, but he’s seventh or eighth on the depth chart now right there, which suggests that he’s bullpen bound to start the year. He might be the team’s big win vulture while working in the middle innings.

O’Hearn started in right field today. He figured to be the Pirates’ first baseman and DH when he signed six weeks ago, but with Marcell Ozuna joining the club and Spencer Horwitz mostly limited to first base, it now seems like the bulk of O’Hearn’s playing time will come in the outfield. That’s not really ideal from a defensive standpoint, but it’ll work out if Ozuna bounces back.

Marsee reached base safely in two of his three plate appearances out of Miami’s leadoff spot and is the presumptive favorite to serve as their primary table-setter in the regular season. The 24-year-old center fielder is a top-30 range fantasy outfielder this spring after slashing a robust .292/.363/.478 with five homers and 14 steals during a 55-game big-league debut last year.

Snelling set down Marcus Semien, Juan Soto and Bo Bichette in a flawless 10-pitch opening frame. The 22-year-old southpaw toeing the rubber for Miami’s spring opener qualifies as a notable fantasy storyline. Yet, his path to a spot on the club’s season-opening rotation appears slim after the club brought in former top prospect Chris Paddack as a reclamation project to fill out the rotation. He figures to arrive in the big leagues at some point later this season after compiling an impressive 2.51 ERA and 30.3 percent strikeout rate across 136 innings last year in the upper minors. He’s a name to watch as a potential in-season pickup for fantasy managers.

Lewis connected on a 96-mph heater from Red Sox top pitching prospect Peyton Tolle, launching a titanic blast to left field with two outs in the opening frame. He also tacked on a run-scoring single and collected a stolen base later in the contest. The oft-injured 26-year-old third baseman has always possessed elite over-the-fence pop but physical issues have limited him to just 106 and 82 games, respectively, in each of the past two seasons.

Tolle served up a two-out homer to Royce Lewis in the opening frame before responding with a flawless second inning to close out a strong spring debut. The 23-year-old top pitching prospect averaged a crisp 96.5 mph on his fastball in this one. He’s technically in the mix for the final spot in Boston’s season-opening rotation, but that spot seems likely to go to a veteran arm like Johan Oviedo or Kutter Crawford. Tolle offers enough strikeout potential that he should remain on fantasy manager’s radar screens as an in-season pickup.

It was surprising when the Braves signed Yastrzemski for $23 million while possessing a full outfield, but putting him in left field against righties and using Jurickson Profar as a DH definitely seems like an upgrade. Because Yastrzemski won’t play much against lefties and doesn’t offer much in terms of batting average or steals, his fantasy ceiling is quite low.

Carrasco, who turns 39 in 10 days, finessed his way to six outs today, as his hardest pitch checked in at 90.5 mph. He’s in the mix for a spot in Atlanta’s rotation, though it hurts his case that the club has so many out-of-options candidates (Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder, José Suarez and Joey Wentz, to be specific). Carrasco is in camp on a minor league deal, though he will have the right to become a free agent if he doesn’t make the team.