MLB Player News

The Rangers optioned Lopez to Double-A Frisco on Sunday.

Texas awarded Lopez a spot on its 40-man roster over the winter after he compiled a 2.40 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 116:41 K:BB between Frisco and High-A Hub City in 2025. The 23-year-old righty will head back to Frisco to begin the upcoming campaign, but a strong start to the season could put him on track for an early promotion to Triple-A Round Rock.

The Rangers optioned Davalillo to Double-A Frisco on Sunday.

Texas added Davalillo to its 40-man roster over the winter, but the 23-year-old righty is still in need of further seasoning in the minors. He'll return to Frisco to open the upcoming campaign after logging a 2.73 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 58:17 K:BB across 56 frames in the Texas League in 2025.

The Guardians optioned Espino to Triple-A Columbus on Sunday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

Espino fired two scoreless innings during spring training but unsurprisingly won't make Cleveland's Opening Day roster. The 25-year-old made an appearance for Triple-A Columbus late last season, which was his first game action since 2022 after requiring multiple shoulder surgeries.

The Rangers placed Montgomery (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Sunday.

The transaction frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for outfielder Dairon Blanco, whom the Rangers claimed off waivers from the Royals. The move to the 60-day IL won't affect Montgomery's return timeline, as the veteran southpaw was already expected to miss multiple months as he continues his recovery from hybrid UCL reconstruction surgery, which he underwent last April.

Skubal, who made his World Baseball Classic debut in the United States' victory over Great Britain on Saturday, may end up pitching for the team again after previously planning to make only one appearance, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Skubal allowed a leadoff home run to Nate Eaton but righted the ship and didn't allow any other runs across three innings while striking out five. The lefty logged 41 pitches, and following the 9-1 United States win, he acknowledged the emotions of the tournament may keep him around a bit longer. "I was pretty committed to making a start and getting back to camp," Skubal said. "Things have changed, obviously, that's why I'm going to have some conversations to try and figure out a plan for me." If Skubal does pitch again in the WBC, it could come in a quarterfinal matchup on either March 13 or 14, though nothing official has been announced. The Detroit ace would likely have a similar workload in a potential second WBC outing as he gears up for the start of the regular season.

Miller (side) threw a 25-pitch touch-and-feel bullpen session Sunday at about 80 percent intensity, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.

The right-hander was able to mix in all his pitches and is now scheduled for a normal 25-to-30-pitch bullpen session in a couple days. Miller was briefly shut down from throwing after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat inflammation in his left side, which has delayed his buildup during spring training. If the 27-year-old can continue to ramp up with no further issues, it's possible he can avoid a stint on the injured list to begin the season.

Oviedo allowed two hits and struck out four over 3.1 scoreless innings in Saturday's spring start against the Rays.

After a wild, rocky start to the Grapefruit League, Oviedo has impressed in two subsequent outings and is the frontrunner for Boston's final rotation spot. That first spring appearance, when the right-hander walked three and hit a batter, has been followed by 6.1 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and zero walks.

Cecconi allowed one run on five hits and one walk while striking out five over four innings in Saturday's spring start against the Padres.

Cecconi made his third Cactus League appearance and dealt with traffic in all four innings. He induced two double-play groundouts to squelch a couple of potential rallies. The right-hander upped his pitch count to 53 (36 strikes) and has been much sharper in 2026 than he was a year ago in his first spring training with the Guardians. Cecconi finished last spring with an ERA of 16.88 over 5.1 innings compared to his 3.12 ERA over 8.2 frames this year.

Scherzer walked one and struck out one over four scoreless, no-hit innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.

Making his first appearance of the spring, the 41-year-old Scherzer ended up in something of a pitcher's duel with 22-year-old Andrew Painter in what ended up being a 1-0 win for the Blue Jays. Scherzer faced the tougher lineup of the two, as the Phillies sent out most of their Opening Day starters who weren't participating in the WBC, including Trea Turner, Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto. Scherzer tossed 29 of 40 pitches for strikes, and while it's not yet clear how Toronto will arrange its rotation to begin the season with Jose Berrios healthy and Trey Yesavage likely to handle a limited workload, the future Hall of Famer Scherzer looks like he'll be ready for a significant role right out of the gate.

The Astros optioned Alexander to minor-league camp Sunday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The veteran right-hander had a 4.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 65:26 K:BB across 77.1 innings between Atlanta and Houston last season but was never a likely bet to crack the Astros' Opening Day roster. Alexander is likely to work out of the rotation at Triple-A Sugar Land to begin 2026 and could get another look in the majors as a swingman at some point this year.