MLB Player News

The Phillies optioned Chace to Double-A Reading on Saturday.

Chace was promoted to Double-A shortly after being acquired from Baltimore in the Gregory Soto trade. The 21-year-old righty will now officially return to Reading to open 2025 in its rotation, and he'll likely be a candidate for a promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley before the end of the year.

The Phillies optioned Cabrera to Double-A Reading on Saturday.

Cabrera was promoted to Double-A in July after turning in a 3.39 ERA and 1.09 WHIP across 77 innings at High-A Jersey Shore last season. He was awarded a 40-man roster spot during the offseason for Rule 5 protection but will return to Reading to begin the 2025 campaign. The 23-year-old righty isn't likely to crack the majors this year, but Triple-A Lehigh Valley should be within reach.

Lopez surrendered five runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk over 3.1 innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game versus the Twins. He failed to record a strikeout.

Lopez worked up to 57 pitches (36 strikes) Thursday compared to 44 in his previous outing, though his velocity was noticeably down and inconsistent, as noted by David O'Brien of The Athletic. He averaged just 93 mph on his fastball after averaging 95.5 mph with his heater in 2024, and his slider and curveball experienced similar drops in speed as well. Arm fatigue is fairly common at this stage in spring training, though it may be worth keeping an eye on Lopez, who had issues with a tired arm last season after making the move from the bullpen to the rotation.

Villar appears unlikely to win a roster spot as he's behind both Brett Wisely and Casey Schmitt in the battle for San Francisco's final bench utility role, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Villar is out of minor-league options, so he may be auditioning for a job on another big-league roster this spring. He's hitting .176 (3-for-17) in nine Cactus League contests.

The Dodgers informed Sauer on Friday that he will be part of the team's travel roster during the Tokyo Series versus the Cubs, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Over his four spring training appearances, Sauer has given up seven earned runs on 10 hits and a walk while striking out eight batters over 7.2 innings. Despite his poor numbers, the Dodgers have liked what they've seen from the 26-year-old enough to give him a spot in their bullpen while in Japan. Sauer owns a 7.71 ERA over his 14 career MLB appearances, so he'll likely be used only in low-leverage situations.

The Cardinals optioned Robberse to Triple-A Memphis on Friday.

Robberse spent nearly all of last season in Triple-A, where he finished with a 4.59 ERA and 1.22 WHIP across 84.1 innings. He didn't find much success during spring training, surrendering seven earned runs over just 2.2 frames, and he'll likely remain in Memphis until he can find his footing on the mound.

The Cardinals optioned Svanson to Triple-A Memphis on Friday.

Svanson spent all of 2024 with Double-A Springfield, where he logged a 3.25 ERA and 1.49 WHIP across 63.2 innings. The Cardinals gave him a spot on their 40-man roster this offseason to prevent him from being scooped up in the Rule 5 Draft, and he'll now get to test his abilities at the Triple-A level for the first time.

Roupp has become the leading candidate for San Francisco's fifth-starter role and appears set to win a roster spot either in the rotation or as a long reliever, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Roupp has had an impressive spring so far, tossing 8.1 scoreless innings with an 11:1 K:BB. Meanwhile Kyle Harrison has struggled this spring (12.27 ERA). There's still time for the race to shift, but Roupp merits a look in deeper fantasy formats. Roupp's sinker-curveball approach induces ground balls and could make him an interesting home streaming candidate at spacious Oracle Park.

Harrison has fallen behind Landen Roupp this spring in the competition for the Giants' fifth-starter role, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports. Harrison has given up five runs in 3.2 innings this spring with a 5:1 K:BB.

Harrison reached a maximum velocity of 92.3 mph in his last spring outing. He had said before spring training that he's rediscovered his fastball velocity after the pitch dipped below 93 mph on average last season, but that hasn't shown up yet this spring. If he doesn't make the rotation, he's a candidate for the bullpen but could also be kept as a starter at Triple-A.

Atlanta optioned Rodriguez to Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.

Rodriguez was able to secure a major-league contract from Atlanta during the offseason despite having just 31 games of Triple-A experience from his time in the Brewers organization. Unsurprisingly, he'll head back to the minors to begin the 2025 campaign, though the 24-year-old could crack the majors if Atlanta runs into depth problems with its big-league outfield.