MLB Player News

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Crawford (knee) is feeling better but has not progressed with his baseball activities, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Crawford will not be ready for Opening Day as he battles patellar tendon soreness and things look to be trending toward longer than a minimum stay on the 15-day injured list. Brayan Bello (shoulder) is also expected to begin the year on the IL but appears likely to rejoin Boston's rotation before Crawford.

Manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Giolito (elbow) will make 2025 debut in Baltimore during Boston's second series of the regular season, which runs from March 31 to April 3, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Boston is opening its season with a four-game set in Texas, so Giolito will presumably take the hill when a fifth starter is first needed March 31. Giolito missed the entire 2024 season after requiring an internal brace procedure last March to address a torn UCL, but he was fully cleared in advance of spring training. After completing a series of live sessions without issue, Giolito will make his Grapefruit League debut Tuesday versus the Phillies and will likely make another two starts after that during spring training to get stretched out in advance of the season.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Bello (shoulder) will not be ready for Opening Day but is expected back sometime in April, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Cora confirmed that Bello will require a stint on the injured list due to right shoulder soreness, which cropped up at the start of camp. Bello has been throwing off a mound since the beginning of March and is trending in a good direction, but he simply needs more time to build up. Quinn Priester or Richard Fitts is expected to fill Bello's rotation spot to begin the season.

Rocker pitched in an intrasquad game on the backfields Saturday and tossed three hitless innings, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Rocker did issue one walk and hit a batter, but the right-hander was pleased with the progress made after allowing eight runs in his first two Cactus League innings. "That was better," Rocker said. "A lot better. That's what we needed. I was able to take a step back and work on the process and try to find the results." Texas general manager Chris Young said the 25-year-old Rocker is medically fine after undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery in 2023, and that the issues early this spring were fixable mechanical things, something he did in the team's pitching lab. It's not yet clear when Rocker will throw next in a live game.

Greene allowed one run on two hits with no walks while striking out five in Monday's spring start against the Padres.

Greene, recently tabbed to start Opening Day, was impressive in his fourth Cactus League start. His lone blemish was a first-pitch fastball to open the fourth inning that Fernando Tatis hammered over the wall in center field. Greene went on to retire the next three batters via the strikeout. "He got me on one pitch," Greene said of Tatis to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. "I had 49 pitches, it was one pitch. If that pitch or that hit derails me, there's a problem. You just get back on the horse and I was able to do that." Other than the home run, Greene got ahead of batters and was pleased with his secondary offerings against many San Diego regulars. The right-hander had a couple of shaky outings to begin spring ball but has dialed it in over the last two, allowing one run, four hits and one walk while striking out 11 over the last eight innings.

Lively scattered three hits and one walk while striking out three over four scoreless innings in Monday's Cactus League start against the Royals.

Lively strengthened his case for a spot in the rotation during his third Cactus League start against a lineup with several Kansas City regulars. He's allowed just one run over nine spring innings. The right-hander won't blow away many hitters, but he doesn't hurt himself with walks. The key will be locating and preventing the long ball. He's penciled in as one of the five members of the rotation in the latest roster projection offered by Mandy Bell and Tim Stebbins of MLB.com.

McKenzie allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out three over 3.2 innings in Monday's Cactus League start against the Cubs.

There was a lot of traffic during McKenzie's third Cactus League start, but Monday's mixed-result effort was much better than his previous outing. The right-hander walked five and retired just two of seven batters during his second spring start 12 days ago. The seven hits suggest command was inconsistent, but McKenzie amassed 13 whiffs among his 60 offerings, indicating he can be effective when locating. The improvement from his second spring outing keeps him alive in the battle for a spot in the rotation. He was among the five starters in the projected Opening Day roster compiled by Mandy Bell and Tim Stebbins of MLB.com.

Detmers entered in the sixth inning of Monday's Cactus League contest against Colorado and tossed four scoreless frames, allowing four hits and striking out four batters.

Detmers has been battling Jack Kochanowicz for the Angels' fifth-starter role this spring, but it's unclear if Detmers' appearance in relief Monday -- the first time he has come out of the bullpen this spring -- in an indication that Kochanowicz has won the job. Regardless, Detmers made a strong case to be on the Opening Day pitching staff in some capacity with his performance against the Rockies, during which he limited Colorado to four harmless hits -- all singles -- across four innings. The left-hander lowered his spring ERA to 2.31 with the outing, and he now has an 8:2 K:BB over 11.2 frames, though Kochanowicz has arguably been better with a 1.00 ERA and 6:1 K:BB over nine innings.

Gonsolin has been dealing with a minor back injury suffered while lifting, Dodgers Territory reports.

Skipper Dave Roberts cited the back issue as the reason Gonsolin won't have enough time to ramp all the way up in spring training. As a result, Roberts stated that Dustin May makes the most sense to open the regular season as the team's fifth starter. Gonsolin still has one minor-league option remaining, though the club would more likely elect to deploy the right-hander out of the bullpen, assuming the decision is to roll with May at the back end of the starting rotation.

Yamamoto pitched five innings against Arizona in a Cactus League game Monday, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters.

Yamamoto was sharp in his final exhibition appearance, throwing 50 of 75 pitches for strikes and getting 12 whiffs. He hit 97 mph on the radar gun with his fastball and included 23 splitters among his offerings. Yamamoto finished the Cactus League slate with a 4.15 ERA and 14:3 K:BB over 13 innings spanning four starts. His next game action is expected to take place next Tuesday, March 18, in Tokyo, Japan in the first game of the MLB regular season.