MLB Player News

The Cardinals announced Wednesday that Liberatore will start the team's March 26 season opener against the Rays in St. Louis.

It will be Liberatore's first career Opening Day nod, and it comes against the team that selected him 16th overall in the 2018 Draft. After working mainly as reliever in 2024, Liberatore started all 29 games in which he appeared last regular season, posting an 8-12 record, 4.21 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 122:40 K:BB across 151.2 innings. He's been stellar this spring, with a 2.70 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 14:1 K:BB across 10 innings.

Irvin allowed three hits and a walk over five scoreless innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals. He struck out five.

The right-hander appears to be on the outside looking in for a spot in the Nationals' rotation, but Irvin isn't going down without a fight. He tossed 42 of 66 pitches for strikes against a young St. Louis lineup that featured top prospect JJ Wetherholt as well as Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker, lowering his spring ERA to 1.35 with a 15:4 K:BB over 13.1 innings. Irvin still has minor-league options remaining, so despite his strong camp he's likely to begin the year with Triple-A Rochester after Washington added Zack Littell, Miles Mikolas and Foster Griffin to the rotation mix this offseason.

Snelling gave up three runs on six hits and a walk over three innings during Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets. He struck out five.

The 22-year-old southpaw entered the game in the sixth inning and immediately ran into trouble by serving up back-to-back singles, before things really fell apart for him in the seventh thanks to a three-run homer by Bo Bichette. Snelling did get stretched out to 64 pitches (45 strikes), but he remains on track to begin the season back at Triple-A Jacksonville, where he posted a dazzling 1.27 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 81:17 K:BB over 63.2 innings in 2025. Snelling should make his big-league debut this season, but it may not come quickly, especially if the Marlins elect to begin the year with Janson Junk as their fifth starter -- which would position Braxton Garrett as the next man up once he's proven he's fully recovered from his December 2024 elbow surgery.

Alcantara allowed two runs on three hits and one walk over four innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets. He struck out five.

The veteran righty built up to 70 pitches (46 strikes) as he continues to get ready for an Opening Day assignment March 27 against the Rockies. Alcantara topped out at 97.2 miles per hour with his four-seamer on a first-inning strikeout of Jorge Polanco and was comfortably maintaining 96 mph in his final inning of the day, further suggesting he's not far away from being in midseason form -- he averaged 97.7 mph with the pitch in 2025. Through eight spring innings, Alcantara has a 10:2 K:BB and 0.88 WHIP, but an unlucky 5.63 ERA.

Marquez allowed three runs on three hits and a walk while striking out nine over five innings in a Cactus League start against Seattle on Tuesday.

Marquez had his swing-and-miss stuff working, as he racked up 13 whiffs among his 78 pitches. It wasn't all good news for the veteran hurler -- he gave up two homers -- but this was easily his best start of the spring. Marquez still has a poor 9.26 ERA and 1.54 WHIP over four outings spanning 11.2 frames in exhibition play, though his strong performance Tuesday may have solidified his place in San Diego's Opening Day rotation, which will be missing Joe Musgrove (elbow) and Griffin Canning (Achilles).

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Wednesday that Berrios has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right elbow and won't be available for Opening Day, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Schneider noted that Berrios is pain free, and the hope is that the right-hander will resume throwing soon with the intention of pitching through the injury. With Shane Bieber (forearm) opening the season on the injured list and Trey Yesavage being brought along slowly to monitor his workload, Berrios could still have a significant role this season after finishing the 2025 campaign in the bullpen, but first he'll need to show he can be effective despite the elbow issue.

The Cardinals optioned Fitts to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.

Fitts' demotion signals that Kyle Leahy and Andre Pallante have beaten him out in the camp competition for the final two spots in the Cardinals' Opening Day rotation. After being acquired from the Red Sox over the winter, Fitts had an uneven performance over his three Grapefruit League starts, posting a respectable 9:3 K:BB but allowing six earned runs on nine hits across 9.1 innings.

Falter allowed no hits or walks across three scoreless innings in Tuesday's Cactus League loss to the Dodgers. He struck out five.

Falter was originally slated to start Tuesday's contest, but manager Matt Quatraro instead deployed the southpaw out of the bullpen to evaluate his versatility and adaptability, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. Falter responded with his best outing of the spring, entering in the fourth inning and striking out five of the nine batters he faced while averaging 93.6 mph on his fastball, up from 92.1 mph last season. The 28-year-old appears to be on the outside looking in for a spot in the Royals' rotation, especially if the club sticks with a traditional five-man group, so his ability to pitch effectively in relief could boost his chances of making the roster as a left-handed bullpen option.

Lodolo allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits while striking out seven over 4.2 innings in Tuesday's spring start against the Guardians.

Lodolo made his fourth Cactus League start and upped his pitch count to 77 (46 strikes), with one start remaining before the regular season begins. The lefty allowed a home run for the third consecutive outing but was much improved from his previous outing, when the Dodgers touched him for six runs. Lodolo is set to start the Reds' second game of the regular season.

Boyle allowed two runs on two hits and four walks in three innings during Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees. He struck out six.

Through four Grapefruit League outings (two starts), Boyle now has a 3.72 ERA, a shaky 1.66 WHIP and 16:8 K:BB covering 9.2 innings. The 26-year-old right-hander is in contention for a bullpen spot with the Rays this spring as a long reliever, but he's not in position to begin the year in Tampa Bay's rotation after closing 2025 as a starter. Last year, Boyle recorded a 4.67 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 58:28 K:BB over 52 regular-season frames (nine starts).