MLB Player News

Urshela will get his first day off of the season. Luis Urias — a former Mariner who hit a pinch-hit homer during Friday’s blowout win — will handle the hot corner and hit seventh.

It’s way too early to draw any firm conclusions, but the social media chatter hasn’t been overly positive as Bichette transitions to the hot corner in his Mets debut. His defense will be picked apart throughout spring training but there are few reservations from an offensive standpoint, which is the primary concern for fantasy managers. New York has already confirmed that he won’t take over at shortstop temporarily while Francisco Lindor recovers from a hamate injury. The other notable developments here are fellow offseason acquisition Marcus Semien in the leadoff spot with Juan Soto heading over to left field. Here is the full lineup: Semien (2B), Soto (LF), Bichette (3B), Tyrone Taylor (CF), Ronny Mauricio (SS), MJ Melendez (RF), Austin Barnes (C), Jose Rojas (1B) and Chris Suero (DH).

Wetherholt has an opportunity to break camp on St. Louis’ season-opening roster with a strong performance in Grapefruit League play and possesses the advanced hit tool and emerging power skillset to be a colossal fantasy difference-maker at a relatively weak second base position group. The 23-year-old top prospect batted .306/.421/.510 with 17 homers and 23 steals in 109 games in the upper minors last season and could split time between third base and the keystone with defensive wizard Masyn Winn occupying shortstop. It feels like only a matter of time before he ascends to the top of manager Oli Marmol’s lineup card as a top-of-the-order spark plug. The other interesting name to watch is power/speed combo threat Joshua Baez, who broke out with a 16-homer, 34-steal campaign at Double-A Springfield last year. Here’s the full lineup: Winn (SS), Alec Burleson (1B), Nolan Gorman (3B), Pedro Páges (C), Wetherholt (2B), José Fermín (LF), Nathan Church (CF), Baez (RF) and Blaze Jordan (DH).

Okamoto immediately slots into the heart of Toronto’s loaded lineup as the defending American League champions open their spring exhibition schedule. The 29-year-old infielder brings an extensive track record of success in Japan as a power-oriented bat with solid contact skills, a profile that should make his transition to the majors less volatile than most international imports. He’s been going outside the top 275 picks on average in NFBC drafts since early February, making him an intriguing late-round flyer for fantasy managers. Here is the full lineup: Ernie Clement (2B), Andrés Giménez (SS), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B), Alejandro Kirk (C), Addison Barger (RF, Okamoto (3B), Daulton Varsho (DH), Davis Schneider (LF), Nathan Lukes (CF).

Anthony will get a few exhibition games under his belt with the Red Sox before joining Team USA for next month’s World Baseball Classic. The 21-year-old on-base machine’s perch atop Boston’s formidable lineup, which features offseason acquisition Willson Contreras in the heart of the order, makes it easy to project him as an impact fantasy contributor in the runs scored department. His ability to generate consistent hard contact, as evidenced by a 94.5 mph average exit velocity — the highest single-season mark by a hitter under the age of 22 in the Statcast era — portend immediate success at the highest level as a power-hitting table-setter. He’ll be an early-round pick in all fantasy drafts this spring. Here’s the full lineup: Anthony (RF), Ceddanne Rafaela (CF), Wilyer Abreu (DH), Contreras (1B), Masataka Yoshida (LF), Connor Wong (C), Andruw Monasterio (3B), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (SS) and Brendan Rodgers (2B).

Ballesteros has been delayed from joining the Cubs in Arizona by visa issues. The 22-year-old has a great chance to open the year as the Cubs’ designated hitter while also seeing time behind the plate.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider was hopeful that García might be ready for Opening Day, but that has changed to “100 percent” that he will not be available for the start of 2026. The right-hander will be a high-leverage option in the late innings once available, but for now, there’s an open spot in the Toronto bullpen.

Murakami was initially announced as being scratched from the lineup today because he was stuck in traffic behind a car accident, but he showed up just in time to get the start at first base. He grounded out in his first at-bat and then delivered a 108-mph smash for a single in the third. His two-run double in his final at-bat was well struck to center, getting projected at 408 feet, but it would have been caught just short of the wall had Seiya Suzuki not lost it in the sun.

Taillon is going to pitch for Team Canada in the WBC, but it didn’t appear today that he was making any special preparations to be ready for the tournament, as his velocity was down about two mph from last year. That probably suits the Cubs just fine; they don’t need him peaking in mid-March.

Hodge was the victim of the one hit against him being a fly lost in the sun, but that doesn’t excuse him throwing just eight of his 25 pitches for strikes. Hodge, who had a 1.88 ERA and nine saves as a rookie for the Cubs in 2024, finished last season in the minors and seems likely to return there to open 2026. He had a 6.27 ERA in his 36 major league appearances last season.

Lee spent much of last season in Triple-A with the White Sox content to go with two rookie catchers in Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, but he did come back up for the final five weeks, allowing the team to use one of its catchers at DH. That might again be the plan this season, as the White Sox have left themselves plenty of flexibility to keep Teel and Quero in the lineup at the same time. Plus, Lee is out of options, so the White Sox would risk losing him if they tried to send him down.