MLB Player News

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.

The Reds announced Sunday that Abbott will start Opening Day against the Red Sox on March 26.

The left-hander had a breakout 2025 campaign during which he posted a 2.87 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 149:43 K:BB across 166.1 innings in the regular season. He was always in the mix to start Opening Day, but Hunter Greene's elbow issues left Abbott as the obvious answer to take the ball first for Cincinnati in 2026.

Littell agreed to a one-year contract with the Nationals on Sunday, Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The right-hander produced a 3.81 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 130:32 K:BB across 186.2 regular-season innings between the Rays and Reds last season, but he was unable to secure a contract for 2026 until well after the start of spring training. There's now less than three weeks until Opening Day, so Littell doesn't have a ton of time to get built up for the start of the season. Once ready to go, the 30-year-old Littell should step in at the top of Washington's staff alongside Cade Cavalli and Josiah Gray.

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.

Lodolo allowed one run on six hits and two walks while striking out four over three innings in Saturday's spring start against the Royals.

Lodolo faced adversity from jump street when former teammate Jonathan India led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run. More traffic followed in the next two innings, but the left-hander managed to work out of jams in his second Cactus League outing. Pitchers like to avoid that type of stress when the games count in the standings, but in the spring it can be helpful, and Lodolo worked his pitch count up to 58 (32 strikes).

The Marlins optioned Kempner to Triple-A Jacksonville on Sunday.

Kempner was added to Miami's 40-man roster in November but was never a likely bet to crack the Opening Day roster. The 24-year-old had a quality showing in his first taste of Triple-A last year with a 2.65 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 25:15 K:BB over 17 innings, and he could make his MLB debut at some point in 2026 if he continues to pitch well for Jacksonville.

Cavalli allowed one unearned run on one hit over four innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros. He struck out six without walking a batter.

The 27-year-old right-hander carved up a top-heavy Houston lineup that featured Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez, flashing a fastball that topped out at 98.6 mph. Cavalli has never been able to capitalize on the upside that made him a first-round pick in 2020, largely due to injuries, but he's on track to be the Opening Day starter for the rebuilding Nationals this season. Over 10 starts and 48.2 innings in 2025, Cavalli managed a 4.25 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 40:15 K:BB.

Senga gave up two runs on three hits over 2.2 innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals. He struck out two without walking a batter.

The two runs came on solo shots, one by top prospect Joshua Baez, but Senga was consistently topping 97 mph with his fastball and hit 98.9 mph on a four-seamer to Alec Burleson. That's a huge improvement on 2025, when he averaged just 94.7 mph with the pitch. The 33-year-old right-hander credited some mechanical tweaks for the improved velocity, per Chuck King of MLB.com. "My body is different from where it was three years ago now, so I'm not really trying to get back to that," Senga said after Saturday's start. "It's a new me, and I'm trying to find new mechanics." If Senga's new-found life on his fastball holds into the regular season, he could return to the level of performance he showed in his first MLB season in 2023, when he posted a 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 202:77 K:BB in 166.1 regular-season innings.