MLB Player News

Pilkington was optioned to Triple-A Columbus by the Guardians on Friday.

Pilkington will begin the year in the minors after failing to secure a bid on the Opening Day staff. The southpaw will likely be an up-and-down option for Cleveland during the 2023 campaign.

Cano struck out on in a perfect inning in Friday's Grapefruit League win over the Twins.

Cano has had an uneven spring, allowing four earned runs on five hits over 2.2 innings across four appearances. The Orioles still have a lot of trimming down to do with the pitching staff, and it's unclear if Cano will fit into the Opening Day plans. He had an 11.50 ERA, 2.33 WHIP and 21:16 K:BB across 18 innings between the Orioles and the Twins in 2022, which was his first taste of action in the big leagues.

Smith has pitched to a 5.79 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 7:3 K:BB across 4.2 innings in four Cactus League appearances.

Smith struggled out of the gate in his Athletics debut against the Diamondbacks on Feb. 25, getting tagged for three earned runs on three hits and a walk over one inning. However, the veteran right-hander has bounced back to fire 3.2 scoreless, one-hit frames. Smith has flashed some solid swing-and-miss stuff and a penchant for keeping the ball in the park throughout his minor-league career before getting his first MLB opportunity with the Rockies in 2022, during which control issues (7.5 BB/9 across 18 innings) helped lead to a bloated 7.50 ERA and 1.72 WHIP.

Yarbrough (groin) made it through a one-inning minor-league appearance without issue Thursday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

He's set up for a two-inning Cactus League appearance next in what will be his first official spring outing since late February. Yarbrough has been battling a groin strain but doesn't appear to be in any danger of missing Opening Day.

Bachman (general soreness) is slated to make a Cactus League appearance Friday, Taylor Blake Ward of The Sporting Tribune reports.

Bachman has been held out of game action since February because of general soreness, but he appears ready to roll. The 2021 first-round pick appears ticketed for the Double-A Rocket City rotation to start 2023.

Vest has been held out of Grapefruit League games lately as he works on his delivery, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Vest has been blasted for eight runs over just three innings this spring. He'll throw live batting practice Saturday and could get into a game after that. "We have to get him moving down the mound the way he normally does," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.

Leclerc allowed one hit and two walks while striking out three over 1.1 scoreless relief innings in Thursday's spring game against the Dodgers.

Leclerc entered in the eighth inning and extricated the Rangers from a jam created by Marc Church. An inning later, Texas' probable closer had to escape a bases-loaded jam of his own making. The right-hander appears to be over the neck injury that paused his spring development for a week and has yet to allow a run over 4.1 Cactus League innings.

Sewald has fired two scoreless innings during which he's allowed one hit and recorded two strikeouts across two Cactus League appearances.

Sewald hasn't failed to throw a strike yet, finding the zone on all 11 of his pitches over his pair of appearances. The hard-throwing right-hander, who underwent heel and elbow procedures this offseason, is slated to see a fair amount of ninth-inning work this year after recording a career-high 20 saves in 25 chances in 2022, but Andres Munoz (foot) and Diego Castillo should also log an allotment of high-leverage opportunities.

Speier has a 4.76 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 8:0 K:BB across 5.2 innings over six Cactus League appearances.

Speier's slightly elevated ERA is almost exclusively the byproduct of having allowed two earned runs on three hits across one inning against the Angels on Monday, as he's been highly effective otherwise. Speier has given up just an earned run on two hits over 4.2 frames in his other five Cactus League outings, a caliber of performance similar to that which produced the 2.00 ERA and 1.15 WHIP he generated in 27 innings over 24 appearances for the Royals between the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Gott has a 2-0 record, 6.35 ERA and 1.41 WHIP across 5.2 innings over six Cactus League appearances.

Gott has actually been much more effective than his ERA and WHIP would indicate, as the bloated figures are essentially the byproduct of one poor outing against the Guardians on Feb. 28. The veteran right-hander allowed four earned runs on two hits and two walks over two-thirds of an inning, but he has otherwise fired five scoreless frames during which he's conceded four hits while recording three strikeouts. Gott is expected to be a key middle-innings asset for manager Scott Servais after posting 11 holds alongside a 4.14 ERA and 1.03 WHIP across 45 appearances for the Brewers in 2022.