MLB Player News

Diaz topped out at 98 mph with his fastball while striking out the side in a perfect fifth inning during Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Seeing his first game action in almost exactly a year after he blew out his knee in the WBC last March, Diaz fanned Jesus Sanchez, Avisail Garcia and Jon Berti and showed no rust at all in his return to the mound. The right-hander fired nine of 14 pitches for strikes, and he's on track to resume the closing duties that saw him record exactly 32 saves in 2021 and 2022 for the Mets.

Santos will not be ready for Opening Day after an MRI revealed a mild right lat strain, Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 AM reports.

Santos had been slated for a bullpen session Monday, but that was scratched after he felt a pinch in his lat area. Testing has revealed a minor strain, and he will presumably be shut down from throwing for a while. Santos is slated to serve in a setup role once he's healthy, but he now joins Matt Brash (elbow) on the shelf for the time being.

Jansen (lat) completed a bullpen session Tuesday and is still expected to make his spring debut Friday against the Twins, Ian Browne of MLB.comreports.

The veteran closer came into camp dealing with lat soreness but has ramped up his throwing program recently, and he's now on the cusp of game action. Jansen will have just under two weeks to prep for Opening Day in Seattle on March 28.

Mayza gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning of relief during Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays.

Entering the game in the fourth inning, Mayza fanned Jose Caballero en route to another clean frame. The veteran southpaw has a 0.00 ERA through four spring innings with a 5:1 K:BB, and after recording a career-high 22 holds in 2023, he's on track to be the top left-handed set-up man for closer Jordan Romano in the Toronto bullpen.

White allowed two runs on five hits and a walk over three innings in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays. He struck out two.

The 29-year-old right-hander got his first start of the spring after three relief appearances, and White tossed two scoreless frames before running into trouble in the third after giving up back-to-back singles to Rene Pinto and Yandy Diaz. White has a lackluster 5.00 ERA and 4:7 K:BB through nine Grapefruit League innings, and he appears to be behind Bowden Francis in the battle for the fifth starter role that has opened up due to Alek Manoah's shoulder issues.

Iglesias walked one and struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief during Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

The Atlanta closer followed Spencer Strider in the game and took over for the sixth inning, fanning Willi Castro and Carlos Santana before escaping a bit of a jam created by an error on the part of minor-league second baseman Luke Waddell. Iglesias has a 4:2 K:BB through three spring innings, and he appears on track to be ready for Opening Day after reaching 30 saves for the fourth time in his career in 2023.

The Tigers optioned Englert to Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Englert has had a solid spring, yielding four runs and posting a 10:2 K:BB over 7.2 innings. He'll get a chance in the Tigers' bullpen eventually, but for now, he'll report to Toledo.

Criswell allowed two hits and struck out four over 3.2 scoreless innings in Monday's spring start against Pittsburgh.

Criswell was added to the rotation competition after an elbow injury to Lucas Giolito will require him to undergo surgery Tuesday. "We see [Criswell] as a starter until he's not," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "Whatever decision we make, I'm intrigued." With two open rotation spots following Giolito's injury, Criswell joins a mix that includes Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock and Josh Winckowski. Criswell had a 5.97 ERA over 12 games with the Angels and Rays from 2021-23, but the Red Sox felt he could benefit from a personalized plan for improvement, which included changing the grip on his slider and improving his fastball. The right-hander has allowed four runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out 10 over 10.1 spring innings.

Sewald struck out two over a hitless and scoreless inning in Monday's spring game against Oakland.

Sewald made his fourth Cactus League appearance and left a scoreless spring intact after pitching a perfect seventh inning. His velocity was down compared to last season, per Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports, but manager Torey Lovullo downplayed that as the normal ramping up through the course of spring training. Additionally, none of the 14 pitches (nine strikes) he threw were a changeup -- a pitch he's incorporating to his arsenal this spring to prevent batters from keying in on his fastball. "I need something to drop to make my fastball look even more like it rises," Sewald told Jesse Borek of MLB.com about the new pitch. "So that's kind of the point -- that people can't cheat to my fastball." Sewald's allowed two hits and one walk while striking out three over four scoreless spring innings as he prepares to be Arizona's closer.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that Wilson is one player who has caught his attention in camp, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Wilson is with the Dodgers on a minor-league contract, so he's not on the 40-man roster and is far from guaranteed to break camp with the big club. However, given Roberts' comments, there's at least a chance that the left-hander hurler could make the Opening Day roster, and he's made his presence known with a 10:1 K:BB over four innings across four spring outings (though he's also given up two runs on five hits). Wilson has had plenty of success in the majors with 18 career saves and 132 career holds, but he hasn't pitched in the big leagues since undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of 2022.