MLB Player News

McCullers between 23 and 24 pitches in his live bullpen session Friday, and that reportedly went well. The Astros will give him at least one more live BP before potentially putting the right-hander into a game. If things go well, McCullers could be back for the Astros by the end of April.

Vierling has been working his way back from a rotator cuff injury for a few weeks now, but has not yet begun swinging a bat. Once he can cross that off the list, he should head out on a rehab assignment and could be back in the Tigers’ lineup by the end of April.

Alexander, who was to vie for a utility role, missed essentially the entire spring, so he’ll be due a few weeks in Triple-A before he’s a candidate for the Diamondbacks roster. He might be optioned out once healthy.

Graveman, who missed last season following shoulder surgery, hasn’t pitched in two weeks after a back flareup. He’ll contend for a setup role once healthy.

Pérez is slated to get a cortisone injection on Friday and will miss at least a month. Manuel Margot will man center field in the meantime since Parker Meadows is also battling an injury; however, Pérez could push for playing time when he comes back if Meadows is still out.

Yoshida has been hitting in spring training, going .286/.286/.400 and one home run in 35 plate appearances; however, he is still not able to throw from the outfield. With Rafael Devers set to be the everyday designated hitter for Boston this season, the team needs Yoshida to play the outfield in order to be in the lineup. The most likely outcome is that the Red Sox will want to show Yoshida can play the outfield before trying to trade him so that they can keep giving at-bats to Wilyer Abreu and Roman Anthony.

Crawford’s injury is mildly concerning. He claims he pitched through a knee injury last season and then aggravated the injury in December. Considering it was an injury he dealt with last year as well, it’s not great news that he’s still dealing with it. As of now, the Red Sox are hopeful that Crawford will return in May, but it’s unclear what kind of role he’ll be returning to.

McNeil is expected back in mid-April. Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña will play second base until then, with Acuña getting the nod against a lefty today.

Giolito was making his first spring start after missing all of last year when he hurt his hamstring. The injury was not major, but his spring was already delayed thanks to last year’s Tommy John surgery, so he will need more time to ramp up his workload. He will start the year in Triple-A but should be back in the Boston rotation before the end of April.

Mauricio’s recovery from the injury sustained in winter ball nearly 16 months ago hasn’t gone as smoothly as expected, and he was unable to play in any spring training games. He still might factor into the Mets infield at some point this summer, but he’ll spend a fair amount of time in Triple-A first.

Bello’s spring training was delayed due to shoulder fatigue, but he has been throwing regularly for weeks now and even pitched 1 2/3 innings in a minor league game this weekend. He sat 94-96 mph on his fastball in that outing and is likely to return to the Red Sox rotation within two to three weeks. He’s a worthwhile IL stash if you have the space.