MLB Player News

With Curtis Mead tearing the cover off the ball this spring, the Rays are likely looking for another way to keep Jiménez on the active roster. However, the 28-year-old is hitting just .208 with nine strikeouts to one walk in 26 plate appearances this spring. If he doesn’t make the team out of spring training, he will have to pass through waivers, where he can be claimed by any other team.

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.

Alvarez should be 3-5 weeks away from rejoining the Mets lineup. Luis Torrens and Hayden Senger will be filling in for him.

Senger beat out Jakson Reetz to serve as the Mets’ backup catcher while Francisco Alvarez continues to heal. It’ll be the 28-year-old’s major league debut. He hit .234/.302/.363 in the minors last season.

Manaea, who was injured in late February, should get into minor league games soon and rejoin the Mets rotation before the end of April.

Blackburn lost out of a rotation spot and was expected to open up in middle relief before the news came down yesterday that he was IL bound. Max Kranick figures to take on Blackburn’s innings.