MLB Player News

Wong (illness) is expected to return to camp Saturday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Wong, who was scratched from Wednesday's lineup, is feeling better and will rejoin the club. He'll likely need a few days before appearing in a Grapefruit League game.

Bello (shoulder) is set to throw a bullpen session Saturday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Bello will not be ready for Opening Day and will begin the 2025 regular season on the injured list. With Bello, Kutter Crawford (knee) and Lucas Giolito (hamstring) expected to open on the IL, Quinn Priester, Richard Fitts and Cooper Criswell are candidates to be part of the rotation in the early weeks of the regular season.

Gimenez went 1-for-2 with a walk, a triple, a run scored and two RBI in Friday's Grapefruit league game against the Astros.

The second baseman dropped a deep fly to right-center field over the head of minor leaguer Quincy Hamilton in the first inning and raced around the bases for his second triple of the spring. Gimenez has gone 8-for-30 (.267) in Grapefruit League action with a 4:6 BB:K, and he's gotten a number of looks in the leadoff spot. While he isn't likely to begin the season at the top of the order, Gimenez's fantasy value would get a boost if he worked his way into that assignment later in the year.

Crawford (knee) is scheduled to throw bullpen sessions Tuesday and Friday of next week, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Crawford has thrown a few low-intensity bullpens this spring to avoid aggravating the knee, but next week's sessions will be at normal effort. Given the amount of time he'll need to build up, Crawford is expected to miss the start of the regular season and likely all of April.

Pillar started in right field and went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI in Friday's spring game against San Diego.

Pillar, who signed as a non-roster invitee after spring training began, has helped his chances of making the roster during Cactus League competition. He's batting .296 (8-for-27) with a double, six RBI and two steals over 10 spring games. He could serve as a utility outfielder, capable of filling in at all three spots. His primary competition for the roster appears to be Ezequiel Duran, who's struggles in 2024 have carried over to the spring. Duran is batting .185 (5-for-27) with one double and two steals over 12 games. Pillar won out over Duran in the latest projected Opening Day roster compiled by Kennedi Landry of MLB.com.

Rocker allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two over 2.1 innings in Friday's spring start against the Padres.

Against San Diego's potential Opening Day lineup, Rocker showed slight improvement from his first two Cactus League starts, when he allowed eight runs over two innings. His 22.85 spring ERA suggests a rotation spot is a long shot, but events elsewhere Friday improved Rocker's chances. Jon Gray suffered a fractured wrist during a split-squad game against the Rockies which contributed to the unsettled nature of Texas' rotation. Gray will join Cody Bradford (elbow) on the injured list to open the season, potentially opening up spots for both Rocker and Jack Leiter.

The Mariners optioned Locklear to Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.

Locklear will end up missing the cut for Seattle's Opening Day roster after going 4-for-18 with three RBI and three runs scored over 11 games in the Cactus League. The 24-year-old owns just a .535 career OPS in the majors through 49 plate appearances and will likely need to bounce back offensively in Triple-A before the Mariners consider bringing him back to the big leagues.

Brennan went 2-for-4 with two two-run home runs in Friday's spring game against the Mariners.

Brennan logged his first two homers of the Cactus League during the latter innings of the game. He's ostensibly battling with Jhonkensy Noel for the starting job in right field, but the position may become a platoon between the two. Brennan is batting .286 (8-for-28) with three extra-base hits and five RBI, while Noel is 10-for-35 (.286) with one homer, three RBI and 15 strikeouts.

Thomas batted third and went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Friday's spring game against Seattle.

Thomas generated the first positive event for the Guardians when he went deep in the fifth inning. It was his third homer of the Cactus League, and he leads Cleveland with 11 spring RBI. He's spent a good deal of his career batting first or second in orders, but Thomas has spotted in at third (twice), fourth (six times) and fifth (twice) during Cactus League games. With Steven Kwan locked at leadoff and manager Stephen Vogt suggesting Friday that Jose Ramirez may hit second during the regular season, it looks like Thomas will be counted on as a middle-of-the-order bat. That will be a wise move if Thomas resurrects the power he had in 2023, when he swatted a career-high 28 home runs for the Nationals.

Manager Alex Cora confirmed Saturday that Crochet will start Opening Day against the Rangers, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

After throwing 6.1 shutout innings in spring training, Crochet has officially earned the honor of starting on the bump Opening Day for his new team. His Red Sox debut will come against a Rangers squad that finished 11th in the American League with a .685 OPS last season but has brought that number up to .790 this spring.