MLB Player News

Frazier appears to be the leading candidate to open the season as the Angels' starting second baseman after Christian Moore and Kyren Paris were optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Angels thinned the competition further by reassigning Nick Madrigal to minor-league camp, leaving Frazier, Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom (hand) as the main contenders for playing time at the keystone. Neither Peraza nor Grissom have minor-league options remaining, giving them good odds of making the Opening Day roster, but as the lone left-handed hitter of the trio, Frazier -- who is attending camp as a non-roster invitee -- may actually have a better chance of seeing the bulk of the at-bats at second base. A career .264 hitter, Frazier possesses strong contact skills, but his lack of power and modest speed limits his overall fantasy appeal. Expect the 34-year-old to shift into a utility role once the Angels decide that Moore is ready for an extended run.

Olivares had surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow in early October, and he will start the season on the minor league injured list, Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

Olivares had a 4.11 ERA and 111:59 K:BB in 96.1 innings at High-A Cedar Rapids last season. His strong strikeout rates make him a mildly intriguing prospect, but he was left off the 40-man roster this offseason and went unclaimed in the Rule 5 Draft.

Brieske (ribcage) worked around a walk to toss a scoreless inning of relief in Friday's 7-5 loss to the Pirates in Grapefruit League play.

After he was briefly shut down with right ribcage tightness, Brieske returned to the mound Friday for his third appearance of the spring and his first since March 2. Manager A.J. Hinch was satisfied with how the right-hander looked Friday, noting that he hit 96 miles per hour with his fastball and displayed "pretty good" stuff, per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. Brieske looks poised to break camp with the Tigers and is likely to fill a middle-relief role.

Dingler, who went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays, is batting just .188 through seven exhibition contests.

The start to Dingler's spring was delayed after he underwent arthroscopic right elbow surgery in the offseason. So far, the catcher has looked a bit sluggish offensively, but he's seeing regular playing time ahead of the regular season. Dingler had an impressive 2025 with a .278/.327/.425 slash line and 13 home runs across 126 regular-season contests, and he should be Detroit's clear No. 1 backstop this year with Jake Rogers in a reserve role.

Vierling, who went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays, is sporting a 1.039 OPS this spring.

Vierling has gone 11-for-31 with six extra-base hits and seven RBI in 11 Grapefruit League contests to date. The 29-year-old is expected to serve as a fourth outfielder and possible infield option this year, though his strong play could ultimately lead to elevated playing time. Parker Meadows and Wenceel Perez are struggling this spring, and both are candidates to cede time to Vierling if he continues to outperform them at the plate in the regular season.

Skubal allowed one run on three hits across 4.2 innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays. He struck out seven.

After making just one appearance for the United States in the World Baseball Classic, Skubal returned to the Grapefruit League and looked sharp in his latest tune-up. The lefty now has a 2.79 ERA and 12 strikeouts across 9.2 innings this spring, and he also allowed one run over three innings with five strikeouts for Team USA. Skubal has been named Detroit's starter for Opening Day on March 26 against the Padres.

Langeliers went 3-for-3 with three solo homers in Saturday's Cactus League win over the Royals.

Langeliers was locked in at the plate, going yard three times against Ryan Bergert. Fresh off a breakout 2025 campaign in which he slugged 32 doubles and 31 homers with an .861 OPS in 123 games, the catcher has continued to rake in Cactus League play, slashing .351/.429/.919 with six homers, three doubles and 11 RBI across 15 games.

Varsho went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.

After launching two homers Friday against the Twins, Varsho went deep again Saturday to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, this time against two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal on a 95.5 mph sinker that he crushed to right-center field. Varsho now has four home runs in 35 spring plate appearances as part of a .455/.486/1.000 slash line, and the 29-year-old center fielder might only need to stay healthy to put together breakout campaign in 2026.

Scherzer gave up two hits and two walks over 4.2 scoreless innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers. He struck out five.

With Tarik Skubal on the mound for Detroit, Scherzer's competitive fire kicked in even in a low-stakes exhibition game, and he tossed 42 of 65 pitches for strikes before exiting the mound with the Jays ahead 1-0. Scherzer has yet to give up a run in two spring starts since re-signing with Toronto in late February, posting a 6:3 K:BB in 8.2 innings, and with Jose Berrios (elbow) looking uncertain for Opening Day, the 41-year-old appears ticketed for a spot in the rotation to begin 2026.

Astros manager Joe Espada said that De Los Santos (knee) is slated to pitch in a game Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Espada didn't specify whether De Los Santos will be pitching in the Astros' Grapefruit League game against the Pirates that day or in a minor-league game, but either way, it will be the first action of the spring for the 30-year-old righty. De Los Santos has been slowed by a right knee strain suffered at the beginning of camp, but he's since resumed facing hitters and is slated to take part in pitcher's fielding practice Sunday. He shouldn't require much of a ramp-up period and appears on track for Opening Day.