MLB Player News

Lee seems like a near lock to require a trip to the injured list after suffering what appeared to be a painful left ankle injury while attempting to get back to the first-base bag during the sixth inning. Baseball America’s James Fegan reports that it’s veteran Omar Narváez, not top catching prospects Kyle Teel or Edgar Quero, being called up to replace him. It’ll be Matt Thaiss handling the bulk of the catching duties in his absence.

All three runs scored in the ninth, with the Rays winning on a Jonny DeLuca two-run single. Rasmussen’s velocity was down 1-2 mph today, but that’s OK for his first time out. He’s already been named the Rays’ Opening Day starter.

Seymour allowed a pair of singles, but he picked off one of the runners. The Nick Martinez signing left no room for Seymour or Joe Boyle in Tampa Bay’s rotation if everyone who stays healthy, but those two will still jockey for position in case an injury strikes.

Early averaged 94.8 mph with his fastball today, which is up from 93.4 mph in Triple-A and 94.0 mph in his four major league starts last season. There’s probably nothing Early can do to earn a spot in Boston’s rotation this spring, but he and fellow lefty Payton Tolle should both be factors over the course of the year.

Narváez’s one out was a 100-mph drive to center, and his second hit left his bat at 110.3 mph, which would have been the fourth hardest-hit ball of his career. Narváez dealt with knee problems and faded after a strong first half last year, which caused the Red Sox to flirt with bringing in a quality alternative at catcher over the winter. That hasn’t happened, though, and Narváez has a chance to be useful in two-catcher leagues.

Simon was non-tendered by the Pirates at the end of November, which is less than four months ago, and means the Pirates knew that at the time of that decision. He was then re-signed to a minor league deal in December, which cleared a spot on the 40-man roster. Simon is already swinging in the cage and could get into game action in early April, but he will likely start the season on the injured list.

Jones underwent UCL surgery with an internal brace on May 21st of last year, so Tomczyk’s statement would imply that the Pirates are hoping that he returns to their rotation at the end of May. The wording “major league game ready” also implies that Jones will have been pitching games in the minor leagues before then, and Tomczyk also reported that Jones felt good after his live batting practice this weekend. All of that means that Jones could be pitching in minor league games as early as April with the hope of joining the Pirates’ rotation by the end of May. If you’re playing in leagues with an IL spot, that’s enough to make him worth a late-round pick.

That’s surely what the Tigers wanted, and they’ll get their way here as they try to contend for a championship in Skubal’s final season before free agency. With Joe Ryan now iffy for the tournament, Team USA’s vaunted pitching staff isn’t looking quite as strong as it did a week ago.

Woodruff said he had a normal offseason while waiting for his lat strain to heal, but that it was still decided to bring him along a little slowly this spring. He threw 25 pitchers to hitters today, which is basically what the rest of the league’s starters are doing in game action, so he doesn’t seem far behind. He did indicate that he was likely in line for one more sim game before pitching in a spring game.

We were unaware that there were partial concussions, but it sounds like Blanco has avoided a serious head injury here. The Royals said “he’ll continue to be evaluated by the medical staff” and will “be taking it easy the next few days with light activity inside.”

Honeywell is a former top prospect who has battled extensive elbow injuries. The 30-year-old reliever didn’t pitch anywhere last year after excelling for the Dodgers back in 2024, registering a 2.63 ERA over 34 1/3 innings. He’ll most likely wind up at Triple-A Sacramento as organizational depth but will compete for a spot in the club’s bullpen this spring.