MLB Player News

Gausman isn't dealing with an injury and will pitch in a minor-league game Sunday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Gausman was originally scheduled to pitch Saturday against the Tigers, but it looks like the Blue Jays simply altered their plans. He could have pitched in a Grapefruit League game against the Yankees on Sunday, but he'll face minor-leaguers instead to give the Yankees' big-league bats fewer reps against him.

Manoah allowed one run on three hits and two walks over six-plus innings while striking out six in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.

Facing a Philly lineup lacking its biggest names, Manoah tossed 80 pitches (53 strikes) and cruised through six scoreless frames before watching a runner he left behind cross the plate in the seventh. The right-hander will look to build on a 2022 campaign that saw him post an outstanding 2.24 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 196.2 innings. He's set for an Opening Day assignment against the Cardinals.

Boyd will not start Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays as scheduled, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

The Tigers have yet to announce a reason for the move, but it's certainly possible it's injury-related. Boyd hasn't pitched like he's hurt this spring, posting an excellent 21:3 K:BB in 13 innings, but he missed most of last season due to elbow issues.

Keller allowed five hits and walked one while striking out nine over five scoreless innings in Friday's Cactus League win over the Giants.

Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports Keller will pitch during the Royals' first regular-season series against the Twins, so Friday was likely his last spring appearance. Keller posted a 4.95 ERA and 1.40 WHIP over 20 innings across six starts in Cactus League play. He's posted an ERA north of 5.00 over the last two seasons, but he'll get a chance in the rotation again after finishing out 2022 in the bullpen.

Gausman was scratched from his scheduled spring start Saturday against the Tigers for undisclosed reasons, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Sem Robberse will start the game in Gausman's place. It's possible this was nothing more than a change of plans from the Blue Jays, as there have yet to be reports that Gausman is dealing with any sort of injury, but it's at minimum something to monitor.

Schmidt is lined up to start the second game of the regular season, as Luis Severino is expected to hit the injured list with a low-grade lat strain, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Schmidt may be the Yankees' sixth or seventh starter when everyone is healthy, but injuries to Frankie Montas (shoulder), Carlos Rodon (forearm) and now Severino mean he'll open the year firmly entrenched in the rotation.

Cortes tossed four scoreless innings against St. Louis in a Grapefruit League game Thursday, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out seven batters.

This was a far better outing for Cortes than his spring debut March 18, when he allowed five runs in 3.2 frames. The left-handed hurler worked his way up to 66 pitches (47 of which were strikes) in the outing Thursday after throwing 52 his previous time out. Cortes didn't participate in early Grapefruit League action due to a hamstring injury, but he appears to be back to full health and set to be in the rotation to begin the campaign. Though Cortes is by hierarchy the Yankees' No .3 starter, he'll likely start New York's fifth game of the season in order to have a few extra days to ramp up.

Whitlock (hip) threw 63 pitches across four innings in a minor-league game Friday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Whitlock is set to open the year on the injured list after building up slowly this spring as he recovers from September hip surgery. He's making good progress, however, and is scheduled to start Triple-A Worcester's home opener March 30. Given that he's already up to four innings of work, he should be ready to handle a starter's workload once he's activated off the injured list.

Brito may be needed as the Yankees' fifth starter to open the season with Luis Severino dealing with a low-grade lat strain, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

The Yankees likely didn't enter the spring with Brito in their Opening Day plans, but with Severino, Carlos Rodon (forearm) and Frankie Montas (shoulder) all bound for the injured list, they'll need to turn to their eighth starter right away. The Yankees have yet to lock in Brito as their choice, but he was the only candidate explicitly mentioned by manager Aaron Boone. Brito produced a 2.96 ERA in 26 outings (23 starts) in the upper minors last season, though that came with a modest 20.0 percent strikeout rate. He's given up five runs (three earned) on 12 hits in 7.2 innings this spring, striking out seven while walking none.

Severino is dealing with a low-grade lat strain, likely sending him to the injured list to open the season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

The Yankees are hopeful that the injury won't become a long-term problem, but its timing means that Severino is very likely to miss at least a couple starts. Per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, Severino isn't expected to throw for at least five-to-seven days, so it may take some time to know just how long he's likely to be out. The righty also dealt with a lat strain last season, which kept him out from mid-July through late September despite originally carrying the same "low-grade" descriptor. Jhony Brito could step into the rotation in his place, with Clarke Schmidt and Domingo German already earning jobs due to injuries to Carlos Rodon (forearm) and Frankie Montas (shoulder).