MLB Player News

Povich took the loss in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays after giving up five runs on eight hits over 4.2 innings. He struck out two.

Although his final stat line leaves a lot to be desired, Povich had allowed a lone run through four innings before getting knocked around for four runs in the fifth frame. The 24-year-old left-hander is competing with Albert Suarez for Baltimore's final rotation spot in the wake of Grayson Rodriguez's elbow injury, but manager Brandon Hyde said prior to Thursday's game that Povich wasn't entering a "make-or-break" start, per Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. Povich, who now holds a 4.66 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with nine strikeouts across 9.2 innings this spring, will likely get at least one more start in the Grapefruit League before the Orioles make a rotation decision.

Manager Dan Wilson revealed Thursday that Kirby (shoulder) has recently received a biologics injection, and the hope is the right-hander will be able to return to strengthening activities within 3-to-4 days, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.

The shot should aid the healing process for Kirby's right shoulder inflammation, but he's still slated to begin the season on the injured list while his recovery continues. In the meantime, 2020 first-rounder Emerson Hancock remains in position to open 2025 as Seattle's No. 5 starter despite struggling with a 9.53 ERA and 1.94 WHIP over 5.2 innings this spring.

Baz was happy with his outing Thursday against the Nationals despite allowing four earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and no walks across 4.1 innings, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Baz was hit hard early, as he allowed two singles and a homer to the first three batters he faced. He managed to settle in from there, and more importantly, both he and manager Kevin Cash were happy with the shape and execution of his pitches. Baz has allowed 10 earned runs with a 4:5 K:BB across 9.1 innings this spring, though his rotation spot seems secure given there haven't been signs of panic from either he or the team.

Fried pitched four innings in a Grapefruit League game against Detroit on Thursday, allowing one run on one hit while striking out three batters.

Fried gave up a solo home run to Gleyber Torres with one out in the first inning, but the Tigers were unable to put any additional runners on base against him. The southpaw threw 35 of his 57 pitches for strikes and sat at 94 mph with his fastball, per Statcast. Fried's role in the Yankees' rotation has taken on added importance with Gerrit Cole (elbow) slated to miss the entire 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery Thursday. Fried figures to slot in as New York's ace following Cole's injury, though the Yankees may opt to keep Fried on schedule and have another hurler start on Opening Day, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Arrighetti is working on a new two-seam fastball against right-handed hitters this spring, because his four-seam fastball last year was hit hard, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. He only threw the new pitch three times in his last start against the Cardinals, because they had six left-handed batters.

The four-seam fastball got hit to the tune of a .302 batting average and .516 slugging percentage last year, hence the need for a new offering. "[I want to] throw something hard that doesn't get barrelled," he said. "Simply put." The new pitch is still a work in progress for Arrighetti, who already gets good results on his offspeed offerings.

Murdock looks set to win a spot in the Athletics' Opening Day bullpen, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports. He threw a scoreless inning in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Reds and has a 4.05 ERA with a 6:4 K:BB in 6.2 innings this spring.

Murdock was a Rule 5 pick in December, so he'll need to stay on the major-league roster all season for the A's to retain his rights. He has logged groundball rates over 55 percent at his three most recent stops thanks to a quality sinker and posted a 3.76 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 46:26 K:BB and 62.1 percent groundball rate in 38.1 innings at Triple-A last season. Murdock should work in low-leverage situations initially but could have some upside as a middle reliever.

Cole's (elbow) season-ending Tommy John surgery included internal bracing, which could speed up his recovery time, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Cole underwent the operation Tuesday and is still certain to miss the entire 2025 season. However, the internal bracing procedure could allow him to return closer to the short end of the 12-to-18-month recovery timeline typically given to Tommy John patients. The Yankees still haven't announced how they plan to replace Cole and Luis Gil (lat) in their Opening Day rotation, though Marcus Stroman and Will Warren are the likely candidates to make the cut if no outside help is brought in.

Rocker is competing with Jack Leiter to fill the spot in the Rangers' rotation vacated by Cody Bradford (elbow), Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

The former college teammates and current pro teammates will go head-to-head for the right to serve as the Rangers' fifth starter while Bradford recuperates from left elbow soreness. Rocker has been blasted for eight runs over two innings in his two Cactus League starts this spring, but he threw three hitless frames in an intrasquad game last weekend. Leiter, meanwhile, has pitched much better with a 2.53 ERA and 13 strikeouts over 10.2 innings, although he was shaky his last time out. It's unclear which of the two righties might have the current edge, but with the injury history of some of the other Rangers starters, there's a decent chance both Rocker and Leiter will wind up spending a significant portion of the season in the Texas rotation.

Manager Joe Espada said Thursday that Whitley has a bone bruise in his left knee and will hold off throwing for a couple of days, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Whitley reportedly suffered the injury during his appearance Saturday against the Yankees. There's been no official indication whether the injury will sideline him for Opening Day, but any shutdown this late in camp is problematic. The 27-year-old righty had been having a solid camp prior to getting hurt, allowing one earned run in five innings while striking out five batters and walking four.

Leiter is competing with Kumar Rocker to fill the spot in the Rangers' rotation vacated by Cody Bradford (elbow), Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Manager Bruce Bochy announced Thursday that Bradford would begin the season on the injured list with a sore left elbow. While it seems there's hope that it won't be a long-term absence, his turn through the rotation will likely need to be filled at least a couple times. Leiter could be the favorite if the team goes mostly on spring training results, as he's allowed just three runs with a 13:6 K:BB over 10.2 innings. He was wild in his last outing, however, walking five over 2.2 frames while throwing more balls than strikes. Control has often been an issue for Leiter, but his stuff has ticked up this spring, and he has looked dominant at times.