MLB Player News

Sloan (eye) threw a live batting practice session Sunday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Despite having yet to pitch above the High-A level, Sloan didn't look out of place while facing off against some of the Mariners' top hitters in Cal Raleigh, Randy Arozarena and Josh Naylor during the BP session. According to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, the 20-year-old righty sported a four-seamer that hit 99 miles per hour and a two-seamer that reached 98 mph. Sloan missed the final month of the 2025 campaign after undergoing a procedure on his eye, but he's seemingly free of restrictions heading into 2026 and could establish himself as one of the game's top pitching prospects if health prevails this season.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Schlittler (back) is expected to resume mound work Tuesday, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

The 25-year-old right-hander reported to camp this week nursing mid-back inflammation, and his scheduled return to mound work Tuesday appears to confirm that the injury is minor. Schlittler should have a fairly normal ramp-up for the regular season and appears set for an Opening Day rotation spot for the first time in his career.

The Tigers announced Sunday that Gipson-Long (oblique) has been playing catch daily since reporting to spring training, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

While the right-hander hasn't been shut down from activity entirely as he works his way back from a left oblique strain, he still has multiple checkpoints to hit in the recovery process before making his Grapefruit League debut. Assuming the Tigers plan to have Gipson-Long get stretched out for starting duty, he appears likely to either open the season on the 15-day injured list or in the rotation at Triple-A Toledo.

Tolle plans to mix in more secondary offerings to complement his fastball during the upcoming season, Christoper Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Over his 16.1 regular-season innings in the big leagues last season, Tolle's fastball averaged 96.7 miles per hour with a perceived speed of 98.7 mph due to extension and ride. The heater can be a weapon for the young left-hander, but opponents were able to hit the pitch in 2025, going 13-for-46 (.283 average) against it with a .565 slugging percentage. That's likely due to Tolle's heavy reliance on the offering, which he threw 64.1 percent of the time. Tolle feels his changeup -- which he threw just 6.9 percent of the time -- can be featured more often in 2026. Though Tolle will be given the chance to compete for the fifth spot in Boston's Opening Day rotation this spring, the fact that the 23-year-old has minor-league options remaining could work against him. Along with Tolle, Kutter Crawford, Connelly Early, Johan Oviedo and Patrick Sandoval are vying for back-end rotation spots.

Miller has been limited to playing catch thus far during spring training and is ramping up slowly after he underwent labral repair surgery on both of his hips in October, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Though he's present at big-league camp and is soaking up knowledge from veteran pitchers such as Tarik Skubal and Justin Verlander, Miller isn't expected to pitch in any Grapefruit League games while he works his way back from a pair of surgeries. Instead, the 24-year-old prospect is focusing on a throwing program and getting back to full health. Miller showed some promise in 2025 when healthy, posting a 1.80 ERA and striking out 21 batters across 20 total innings between Single-A Lakeland and Double-A Erie. He will likely begin 2026 at Double-A again and could move up to Triple-A Toledo at some point if he continues to impress.

Means (Achilles) signed a two-year, minor-league contract with the Royals on Friday.

Means missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he's now due to miss the entire 2026 campaign after rupturing his Achilles during the offseason. His two-year deal will allow him to remain with the Royals in 2027, at which point the left-hander will work toward making his first MLB appearance since 2024 and just his 11th since 2022.

The Rangers designated Kent for assignment Friday.

The transaction frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for the signing of Jordan Montgomery (elbow). Kent was a waiver claim of the Rangers in January and could be on the move again. The right-hander posted a 4.58 ERA and 16:8 K:BB over 17.2 regular-season innings with the Guardians last season.

Tiger suffered a minor setback with his rehab from an internal brace surgery and is not scheduled to face hitters until the end of spring training, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Tiger missed all of last season following the September 2024 surgery. The 25-year-old was not going to make the Opening Day roster, as he's yet to advance past High-A and is coming off a lost campaign, and it's far from ideal that his development has been further delayed.

Schmidt (elbow) threw on flat ground Friday as he continues his rehab from internal brace surgery, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Schmidt had the operation last July and will not be an option for the Yankees until at least the second half. The right-hander has already been placed on the 60-day injured list in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Sandoval (elbow) threw a live batting practice session Friday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Sandoval was unable to make it back in the second half of last season as hoped following June 2024 internal brace surgery on his left elbow. However, it appears he is without restrictions at the beginning of camp. The left-hander is competing for a spot in Boston's rotation this spring but will have some work to do to secure a slot after the team brought in Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez and Johan Oviedo over the winter. Sandoval holds a career 4.01 ERA, 22.7 percent strikeout rate and 10.1 percent walk rate over six major-league seasons.