MLB Player News

Raley went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 5-1 win over the Guardians.

Raley provided some insurance in the sixth inning with his second homer in as many games to begin the year. He went deep just four times in 219 plate appearances during the 2025 regular season, adding a .630 OPS, though he had 22 homers over 455 plate appearances in 2024. Playing time will be crucial for Raley's success, and he has the early edge for at least a strong-side platoon role in right field. Victor Robles and Rob Refsnyder are in the mix to see the majority of the time versus lefties.

Young went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Friday's 5-1 win over the Guardians.

Young was held hitless Thursday, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts to start the season. He bounced back with a go-ahead blast in the fourth inning Friday, the fifth homer of his young major-league career. The second baseman launched six homers and added 18 RBI over 19 games in spring training, so there's some power potential, though he'll likely be negatively impacted by playing half his games at T-Mobile Park. He posted a .607 OPS, four homers, 24 RBI, 24 runs scored and one stolen base over 257 plate appearances during the 2025 regular season. Young looks to have a clear path to at-bats versus right-handed pitchers this season, and a strong start to the year could make him a near-everyday player.

Kirby (1-0) allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings to earn the win Friday over the Guardians.

The lone blemish on Kirby's line was a solo shot by Chase DeLauter in the first inning. Kirby pitched to a 3.77 ERA over 14.1 innings across four starts in spring training, and his 11:5 K:BB was an unusual showing of shaky command. The right-hander had a 4.21 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 137:29 K:BB across 126 regular-season innings in 2025. Kirby should offer strong command and plenty of bounce-back potential in 2026, which is already off to a good start after his strong season debut. He's lined up for a home start versus the Yankees next week.

Okamoto went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored during the Blue Jays' 3-2 win over the Athletics on Friday.

Okamoto took his first major-league base in the fifth inning with a walk before being brought home on a two-run triple by Andres Gimenez. Okamoto's single in the seventh was the first hit of his MLB career, and after getting on base again in the ninth, he crossed home as the game-winning run on a single from Gimenez. It was a promising start for Okamoto, who joined the Blue Jays on a four-year, $60 million contract in the offseason after a successful stint in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

Gimenez went 2-for-3 with a walk, a two-run triple and an RBI single in Friday's 3-2 win over the Athletics on Friday.

Gimenez gave the Blue Jays their first runs of the 2026 season in the fifth inning, when outfield miscommunication between left fielder Tyler Soderstrom and center fielder Lawrence Butler resulted in a two-run triple. Gimenez followed that up with an walk-off RBI single in the ninth, which brought Kazuma Okamoto home to give Toronto the Opening Day victory in front of a home crowd. It's been a busy start to 2026 for Gimenez, who played a key role in Team Venezuela's triumph in the World Baseball Classic. He saw his slash line drop last year in what was his first campaign with the Blue Jays but will look to get back to the kind of form he had with the Guardians in 2022, when he recorded an .837 OPS with 20 steals, 17 homers and 69 RBI in 557 plate appearances.

Severino did not factor into the decision in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays. He allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out three across five innings.

Severino went relatively unscathed through the first four innings of Friday's start. He allowed the Blue Jays to take the lead after yielding a two-run triple to Andres Gimenez in the fifth frame, but Severino escaped with the no-decision after Shea Langeliers tied things up at 2-2 in the ninth with a solo homer off Jeff Hoffman. It was a solid start to the season for Severino, who is looking to bounce back from a 2025 campaign in which he posted an 8-11 record (across 29 starts) with a 4.54 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 124:50 K:BB across 162.2 innings. He's slated to make his next start next week on the road against Atlanta.

Langeliers went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs during the Athletics' 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays on Friday.

Langeliers provided all of the offense for the Athletics on Opening Day, with the All-Star catcher blasting solo home runs in the fourth and ninth innings off Kevin Gausman and Jeff Hoffman, respectively. It was Langeliers' second multi-homer game since 2025 and the seventh in his four-plus-year major-league career. The 28-year-old catcher is looking to build off his strong 2025 campaign, during which he posted a .861 OPS with 31 home runs, 72 RBI and seven steals across 523 plate appearances.

Hoffman (1-0) blew the save but came away with the win in Friday's game against the Athletics. He allowed one run on one hit while striking out four across one inning.

Hoffman was deployed in the ninth inning to preserve the Blue Jays' 2-1 lead. He struck out the first batter he faced before yielding a solo home run to Shea Langeliers. Hoffman struck out each of the next three batters faced (one reached base on a wild pitch), and he ended up coming away with the win after Andres Gimenez drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the frame. It wasn't the start to the season that Hoffman was hoping for, especially given that he blew the save opportunity in Game 7 of the World Series against the Dodgers in November. He's still considered the Blue Jays' closer, but guys like Yimi Garcia (elbow) and Louis Varland could get save opportunities if Hoffman can't get the job done this season.

Gausman did not factor into the decision in the Blue Jays' 3-2 win over the Athletics on Friday. He allowed one run on one hit while striking out 11 across six innings without issuing a walk.

Gausman was dominant right out of the gate, striking out the side in the first inning and punching out seven of the first 10 batters he faced. His lone blemish came in the fourth inning, when he gave up a solo home run to Shea Langeliers, but the veteran right-hander struck out four more batters and finished Friday's game with 17 whiffs on 83 pitches (60 strikes) while setting a new franchise record for strikeouts on Opening Day. Gausman was in line for the win after the Blue Jays took a 2-1 lead in the fifth, but he had to settle for the no-decision after Jeff Hoffman yielded a solo shot to Langeliers in the ninth. Gausman will look for his first win of 2026 in his next start, tentatively slated for next week at home against the Rockies.

Bednar came away with the save in Friday's 3-0 win against the Giants, issuing one walk in a hitless, scoreless ninth inning.

Bednar was brought in for the ninth inning to protect the Yankees' three-run lead. He yielded a two-out walk to Matt Chapman but was able to close things out after getting Rafael Devers to ground out. After a rocky start to the 2025 season for the Pirates which saw him spend a few weeks in the minors before returning in late April, Bednar enters 2026 as the top closer option for the Yankees. He finished the 2025 regular season with the Bronx Bombers and logged 10 saves (in 13 attempts) with a 2.19 ERA and 0.93 WHIP over 24.2 innings.