MLB Player News

Casas is not in the Red Sox's lineup for Tuesday's exhibition game against Sultanes de Monterrey after taking a bad-hop grounder off the right hand in Monday's contest, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Casas attempted to barehand the grounder, but the ball bounced off his hand and into right field. X-rays after the game came back negative, so Casas sitting Tuesday seems precautionary, but more should be known about his status after the contest.

The Mariners signed Raleigh to a six-year, $105 million contract extension Tuesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The deal begins this season and buys out Raleigh's final years of arbitration eligibility as well as his first three years of free agency. Raleigh has become baseball's preeminent power bat at catcher, easily leading the position with 76 home runs over the past three seasons. The 28-year-old also captured his first Gold Glove in 2024.

The Rangers optioned Corbin to Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Corbin's tenure meant he had to agree to being sent down, which he did so that he could continue to build up stamina after signing with the Rangers last week. He is slated to make two starts in the minors, with the goal of joining the Rangers' rotation April 11 against the Mariners.

Pillar will be on the Rangers' Opening Day roster, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Pillar said late last season that he was going to retire, but he changed his mind and has now made an Opening Day roster. Manager Bruce Bochy said that Pillar could see some starts against lefties between designated hitter and center field, although the skipper noted that a platoon in center with Leody Taveras is not a guarantee.

Taveras will be the Rangers' starting center fielder after Evan Carter was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Taveras came into spring training in line to serve as the club's fourth outfielder, but he outplayed Carter by a wide margin, finishing with a .747 OPS with four home runs and four stolen bases during Cactus League play. The switch hitter could sit in favor of Kevin Pillar against some lefties, but manager Bruce Bochy said a platoon in center field isn't guaranteed, per Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News.

The Mariners selected Tellez's contract from Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.

Mitch Haniger's release signified that the move was coming, and now it's official. Tellez won a job by collecting an .894 OPS with three home runs this spring, and he could see fairly regular playing time against right-handed pitching between designated hitter and first base.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said Tuesday that he's confident that Seager (calf) will be in the lineup for Thursday's season opener versus the Red Sox, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Seager will conclude spring training having missed the Rangers' final three games due to calf soreness, but both Young and manager Bruce Bochy have downplayed concerns about the shortstop's health heading into Opening Day. That said, even if Seager is cleared to start Thursday, it wouldn't be surprising if he received a day off at some point during the season-opening four-game series if the calf issue continues to linger.

The Rangers scratched Jung (neck) from the lineup for Tuesday's exhibition against the Royals.

Jung was initially slated to start at third base and bat fifth in the Rangers' spring finale, but he'll instead get more time to recuperate after he was pulled from Monday's game against the Royals due to neck stiffness. The decision to scratch him from Tuesday's contest seems to be precautionary, as Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young expressed confidence that Jung will be back in the lineup for Thursday's season opener versus the Red Sox, per Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said Tuesday that Leiter will open the season in the team's rotation, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Leiter showed an increase in velocity this spring while striking out 21 over 20.2 innings. He also walked 10, and whether the 24-year-old is ultimately able to throw enough strikes will go a long way in determining how successful he'll be. The upside is certainly there, but there's also risk.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said Tuesday that Rocker will be in the team's Opening Day rotation, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Injuries to Jon Gray (wrist) and Cody Bradford (elbow) seemed to make this a foregone conclusion, and now it's official. Rocker mostly struggled this spring, but he ended on a high note with eight strikeouts over 4.2 innings in his final Cactus League outing. The 25-year-old's workload in 2025 will be curtailed to some degree after he threw only 48.1 innings in 2024 following a return from Tommy John surgery.