MLB Player News

Ynoa served as valuable rotation depth for the Braves during the 2023 season, but he was knocked around in each of his two starts at the big-league level in 2024. He was only projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $825,000 via arbitration, so the Braves must think that they have better depth options already and considered Ynoa to be expendable.

No real surprises here as Pittsburgh begins to pare down its spring training roster. Ashcraft is the most notable inclusion since he figures to be an option for the Pirates at some point later this season. Valdez could be an option at the keystone if injuries strike at the big-league level.

One of the homers was a wind-aided fly that Statcast said would have been a homer in zero of the 30 big-league parks. The first, through, left his bat at 103.6 mph and traveled 395 feet. Plucked off the scrap heap, Lopez was a fine second baseman for the Marlins last season, hitting .270/.313/.377 with 20 steals in 434 plate appearances. He’s set to keep the job this year, though if anyone wants to make the Marlins a trade offer, he could surely be had.

Weathers aired it out today, reaching 99.6 mph and averaging 98.0 mph on his 24 fastballs. That average is up 2.1 mph from last season. If the velocity boost doesn’t lead to injury, he’s a breakthrough candidate for the Marlins. He was already perfectly solid last year, posting a 3.63 ERA in 16 starts when he wasn’t being sidelined by a sprained finger ligament.

Tinoco is supposed to be part of the late-game mix for Miami, but he’s not helping the cause with a 7.94 ERA and a 5/5 K/BB ratio in 5 2/3 innings this spring. If he weren’t out of options, he might not in line to make the team at this point.

Griffin Conine’s two-run homer was a wind-aided routine fly, but Fedde gave up a couple of more legit shots to Nick Fortes and Otto Lopez. In all, he allowed nine balls in play in excess of 100 mph against a lineup that shouldn’t be producing that much hard contact. He also failed to strike out a batter. One spring training game means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but those skeptical of Fedde entering the month have been given no reason to change their minds.

Trent Grisham’s homer provided the lone run. Skenes has a 3.60 ERA and a 12/5 K/BB over 10 innings through three spring starts. He averaged 98.2 mph with his fastball today, leaving him barely off his 98.8 mph average from last year.

Schlitter, a 2022 seventh-round pick, has been moving up the SP depth chart with Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil hurt, but he cratered today after two strong outings to begin the spring. The right-hander had a 3.36 ERA and 154/55 K/BB in 120 2/3 innings in the minors last season. About two-thirds of those innings came in high-A, but he was promoted to Double-A in the second half. He’ll probably open up this season back at that level.

Cook is just 3-for-16 this spring, but he has walked seven times. The 26-year-old righty had appeared to be in line for a spot on the Pirates bench before the team added Tommy Pham in free agency. He remains one of the candidates to fill in for Spencer Horwitz at first at the beginning of the season, but he probably doesn’t have a role on a healthy Pirates roster.

Abel was one of the premier pitching prospects in baseball just two years ago, but wound up stalling out in the upper minors, and has yet to reach the big leagues. The 23-year-old was added to Philadelphia’s 40-man roster during the offseason and figures to reach the majors at some point this season if injuries strike the rotation.

Brown allowed two hits and walked none. We don’t want to read too much into 8 1/3 innings, but Brown has done a terrific job of keeping the ball out of the air so far. That was a strength of his when he debuted, but his groundball rate, while still good, has since decreased. It he can get back to being exceptional there, the sky is the limit.