MLB Player News
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Pablo Lopez SP | MIN
Twins' Pablo Lopez: Will have Tommy John surgery
Lopez (elbow) will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery next Wednesday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
It's a massive loss for a Twins team that was already thin on talent, as Minnesota will now be without its ace for the entirety of the 2026 campaign. Lopez suffered a torn UCL in his right elbow earlier this week and had hoped to avoid the dreaded Tommy John operation. With Lopez's season done before it even got started, the Twins will now head into Grapefruit League play with Joe Ryan atop the rotation, followed by Bailey Ober, Zebby Matthews, Simeon Woods Richardson and Taj Bradley.
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Sawyer Gipson-Long SP | DET
Tigers' Sawyer Gipson-Long: Will throw bullpen Friday
Gipson-Long (oblique) is scheduled to throw a bullpen Friday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Gipson-Long has been dealing with a strained left oblique early in spring training but is making progress in his recovery. The right-hander appeared in eight regular-season games for Detroit in 2025, making three starts. He figures to open the campaign at Triple-A Toledo.
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Jose Berrios SP | TOR
Blue Jays' Jose Berrios: Looking good early in camp
Berrios has appeared to be fully healthy to begin spring training, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports. "Jose is fully healthy. He's looked sharp," manager John Schneider said Thursday on TSN 1050's OverDrive. "His stuff is back to where it was probably two years ago in terms of velocity and his breaking ball."
The veteran right-hander is coming off a rough 2025 campaign in which he threw just 166 innings, his lowest total in a full MLB season since 2017. Berrios didn't pitch in the final week of the regular season or in the playoffs due to elbow trouble, but the Blue Jays will need him to be healthy to start 2026 with Shane Bieber (forearm) set to begin the year on the shelf. Berrios posted a 3.63 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over 382 innings from 2023-24, and him regaining that form would provide a big boost to Toronto's rotation.
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Keagan Gillies SP | BAL
Orioles' Keagan Gillies: Nursing serious quad injury
Gillies will be sidelined for at least six weeks with a quad injury, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Gillies had been in camp as a non-roster invitee and will now get a late start to the minor-league season. The 6-foot-8 right-hander posted a 2.68 ERA and 51:13 K:BB over 53.2 frames between Double-A Chesapeake and Triple-A Norfolk in 2025.
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Gerrit Cole SP | NYY
Yankees' Gerrit Cole: First time facing hitters since TJS
Cole (elbow) will throw a live batting practice session Friday, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.
It will be Cole's first time facing hitters since last March's Tommy John surgery with an internal brace. The veteran hurler's rehab has gone swimmingly to this point, and he will continue to check off boxes as he eyes a season debut in late May or early June.
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Johan Oviedo SP | BOS
Red Sox's Johan Oviedo: Team wants more explosion
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Thursday that coaches are working with Oviedo to be more explosive with his delivery, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports. "Just a big dude that we gotta get moving," Cora said of the 6-foot-6, 275-pound right-hander. "Not work faster as far as like tempo, but move faster. And I think we accomplished that today."
Oviedo threw a two-inning live batting practice Thursday, and the manager said he's getting closer to what coaches are looking for. Cora also raved about the right-hander's extension, but strike-throwing remains key for the hurler, whose first spring start is scheduled for Wednesday against the Twins. Oviedo appears to be the frontrunner for a spot at the back end of the rotation. One candidate, Kutter Crawford (wrist), could open the season on the injured list, and two others, Connelly Early and Payton Tolle, may begin the year at Triple-A Worcester. Left-hander Patrick Sandoval is also in the mix, but he missed all of 2025 with an elbow injury.
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Shane Bieber SP | TOR
Blue Jays' Shane Bieber: Throwing from 120 feet
Manager John Schneider said Thursday that Bieber (forearm) has progressed to throwing from 120 feet, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
The team has already confirmed that Bieber will begin the regular season on the injured list due to forearm fatigue -- something he pitched through during Toronto's playoff run in 2025. Schneider added that he expects Bieber to begin throwing bullpen sessions within the next two weeks, at which point more information may emerge regarding how much time the right-hander will miss to begin the new campaign.
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Kutter Crawford SP | BOS
Red Sox's Kutter Crawford: Could begin season on injured list
Crawford (wrist/illness) could begin the season on the injured list, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Crawford is behind other pitchers in Red Sox camp following last year's right wrist surgery and a recent bout with the flu. He's throwing off the mound, but with several other candidates to fill the last spot in their rotation, the Red Sox could choose to slow-play Crawford after he missed the entire 2025 campaign. Crawford made 33 starts for Boston in 2024, posting a 4.36 ERA and 175:51 K:BB over 183.2 innings.
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Cameron Schlittler SP | NYY
Yankees' Cam Schlittler: Close to facing hitters
Schlittler (back) recovered well from Tuesday's bullpen session and will throw one more before likely moving on to facing hitters, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports.
Schlittler has been slowed a bit early on in camp by a mid-back issue, but he's on the mend. If the young right-hander is indeed cleared to face hitters soon, pitching in a Grapefruit League contest should follow shortly after. Schlittler is locked into a spot in the Yankees' rotation after holding a 2.96 ERA and 84:31 K:BB over 73 regular-season innings in 2025.
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Gavin Williams SP | CLE
Guardians' Gavin Williams: Mechanical tweak leads to success
Williams credits a midseason mechanical adjustment to explain his improvement in the second half of 2025, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Williams made a subtle adjustment during on off day in June, raising the position of his hands from resting at the belt to the chest. The goal was to create a longer arm path to better locate his pitches, and he described it as "night and day" from that point on. Following a period of adjustment, Williams was one of the better pitchers in the game after the All-Star break. He went 7-1 with a 2.18 ERA while pitching at least six innings in eight of 12 starts following the break. Additionally, the walks (5.3 BB/9) that were a pesky issue and raised his pitch counts over the first half of the season dropped to 3.3 per nine innings in the second half. The right-hander, who made 31 starts in 2025, is now an anchor in the Guardians rotation entering 2026.