MLB Player News

Hendriks (elbow) threw a live batting practice session Monday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Hendriks underwent right elbow ulnar nerve transposition with posterior interosseous nerve release surgery last September, and this appears to be the first time he's faced hitters since that operation. The 37-year-old made only 14 appearances for the Red Sox in 2025, collecting a 6.59 ERA and 12:7 K:BB over 13.2 innings. Hendriks is in Twins camp as a non-roster invitee, but if he looks sharp this spring he could push for a leveraged bullpen role.

Falter allowed a hit and no walks across two scoreless innings in Sunday's Cactus League win over the Brewers. He did not record a strikeout.

Falter got the start Sunday and delivered a clean outing, allowing just one baserunner on a 77.8 mph single by Jake Bauers in the second inning. The southpaw didn't record a strikeout, though that's not especially surprising given his low-90s fastball and 5.8 K/9 across 125.1 innings last season. After finishing 2025 on the injured list with a left biceps contusion, it's encouraging to see the 28-year-old healthy and without restrictions this spring. With a deep group that includes Noah Cameron, Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert competing for rotation spots, Falter is a strong candidate to open the year in a long-relief role for the Royals.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Monday that Areinamo is slated to undergo further imaging on his right hamstring in the coming days and will likely miss "a little bit" of time, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Areinamo has had a history of soft-tissue injuries during his minor-league career, so the Rays will seemingly proceed cautiously with the 22-year-old infielder after he tweaked the hamstring during Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates. The Rays should have a clearer timeline for when Areinamo might be ready to play again once the results of the MRI are read. Tampa Bay added Areinamo to its 40-man roster over the winter, but he's expected to open the season at either Triple-A Durham or Double-A Montgomery.

McNeil (shoulder) started at second base and went 1-for-1 with a walk in Sunday's Cactus League loss to the Guardians.

McNeil suited up for the first time as a member of the Athletics and reached base in both plate appearances, though he also committed a fielding error before being lifted Sunday. The veteran underwent thoracic outlet surgery shortly after the conclusion of the 2025 season, so his early participation in spring is an encouraging sign. The 33-year-old hit .243/.335/.411 with 21 doubles, 12 home runs and 54 RBI across 122 regular-season games with the Mets last year and will look to produce for his new club in 2026, likely entrenched at second base to open the campaign.

Collins has been held out of Cactus League play thus far after receiving platelet-rich plasma injections in his knees over the offseason, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Collins is "feeling great" and is slated to make his spring training debut Tuesday against the Reds. Kansas City traded for Collins in December and Quatraro said the team knew about the PRP injections at the time of the deal. Collins is competing for the Royals' left-field job with Lane Thomas.

Severino allowed a hit and a walk across two scoreless innings in Sunday's Cactus League loss to the Guardians. He struck out three.

Severino made his spring debut Sunday and delivered a solid outing, striking out three Guardians while touching 97.8 mph on his fastball across two scoreless frames. The right-hander will aim to improve in 2026 after posting a 4.54 ERA and 1.30 WHIP with a career-low 6.9 K/9 over 29 starts and 162.2 innings in his first season with the Athletics last year.

Blubaugh is a candidate to fill one of the Astros' final two rotation spots, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Houston will open the year with a six-man rotation to smooth Tatsuya Imai's transition from the NPB. Per Rome, Spencer Arrighetti and Lance McCullers are the early favorites to claim the final two spots, though Blubaugh, along with Ryan Weiss and Peter Lambert, remains in the mix and could bolster his case with a strong spring. Blubaugh was impressive as a rookie in 2025, posting a 1.69 ERA with a 0.88 WHIP and 35 strikeouts across 32 innings. Even if he doesn't crack the rotation out of camp, Blubaugh figures to make the Opening Day roster as a bullpen option.

Caballero did some training at Driveline Baseball this offseason, where he focused on increasing his bat speed, Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty of The Athletic report.

Caballero's goal is to get his average bat speed up to 71 mph this season, which is a bit below the league average of 71.7 mph but would be a notable jump from his 69.1 mph average in 2025. The super utility player went deep in Grapefruit League action Sunday against the Mets and believes reaching double digits in home runs in 2026 is a reasonable goal, per Kuty. That would be a career high for Caballero, who popped nine homers in 2024 and five in 2025. The 29-year-old is slated to open the upcoming season as the Yankees' everyday shortstop while Anthony Volpe (shoulder) recovers.

Teng has impressed the Astros' staff early in spring, giving him a chance to make the Opening Day roster, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

Per Rome, Houston has been impressed by Teng's ability to record swinging strikes "with multiple breaking balls". The right-hander was traded to the Astros in late January after posting a 6.37 ERA across 29.2 innings with San Francisco last year. Teng's ability to provide multiple innings out of the bullpen is certainly viewed as an asset, as Houston plans to open the season with a six-man rotation. Their middle relief depth has already been tested, as Enyel De Los Santos (knee) has yet to resume throwing, opening the door for Teng to claim a roster spot.

Abreu could start the season as Houston's closer, with Josh Hader's (bicep) status unclear, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

Hader has been limited to playing catch off flat ground thus far in spring, leaving his availability for Opening Day in doubt. If Hader does ultimately start the year on the IL, Abreu would be the clear choice to assume closing duties. The right-hander has been excellent as a setup man for the Astros, posting a combined 2.30 ERA over his last four seasons. Abreu logged 25 holds and a career-high seven saves in 2025.