MLB Player News

Wentz will be sidelined for the entire 2026 season after being diagnosed Monday with a torn right ACL, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Wentz was injured on a collision near first base during Grapefruit League play Sunday versus the Rays, and an MRI has revealed bad news. It's yet another blow to the rotation depth for an Atlanta club that's already lost Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow) and Hurston Waldrep (elbow) to surgeries this spring.

The Pirates optioned Dotel to Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday.

Dotel was one of eight players dismissed from big-league camp in the Pirates' latest round of roster cuts. The Pirates added the 23-year-old right-hander to the 40-man roster in the offseason after he turned in a 4.15 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 131:43 K:BB over 125.2 innings in 27 starts for Double-A Altoona in 2025.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker indicated Monday that Smith will not be in a strict platoon at second base, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The left-handed-hitting Smith has hit only .223/.309/.322 against lefty hurlers in his career, but Schumaker plans to give Smith some starts at the keystone versus left-handed pitching. Smith entered play Monday slashing .333/.429/.542 with one home run and a 4:5 BB:K in his first 10 Cactus League contests.

The Pirates optioned Bidois to Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday.

Bidois was one of eight players dismissed from big-league camp in the Pirates' latest round of roster cuts. The Pirates added the 24-year-old right-hander to the 40-man roster in the offseason after he turned in a 0.74 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 69:27 K:BB while holding opposing hitters to a .110 average over 61 innings across four minor-league stops in 2025.

Buxton (elbow) will start in center field and bat eighth in Monday's World Baseball Classic game versus Team Mexico.

Buxton was pulled from Friday's contest versus Team Brazil after being hit on the right elbow by a pitch. He did not play Saturday against Team Great Britain, but Buxton is fine and ready to roll for Monday's tilt.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker indicated Monday that Carter will be given some chances to start against left-handed pitching early on in the season, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The left-handed-hitting Carter is just 5-for-60 (.083) against left-handed pitching in his major-league career, but Schumaker likes how Carter has looked versus southpaws this spring. While it sounds like Carter will not be in a strict platoon, he will likely have to get off to a good start against lefties in order to avoid sitting versus them most days. Carter has a 1.159 OPS with two home runs and one stolen base in his first eight Cactus League contests.

Pederson, who will start at first base and bat second in Monday's game against the Padres, has gone 4-for-17 with one walk and four strikeouts through his first eight Cactus League contests.

Coming off a rough first season with Texas in which he posted a career-low .614 OPS over 305 plate appearances, Pederson decided against becoming a free agent over the winter and picked up his $18.5 million player option to remain with the Rangers for 2026, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. While Pederson is likely to maintain a regular spot in the lineup as the Rangers' primary designated hitter against right-handed pitching, he hasn't shown many early signs of reclaiming the power production that eluded him in 2025. All four of his hits so far in spring training have been singles.

Davis swatted a pair of home runs Monday in Grapefruit League action versus the Orioles.

Davis launched a 423-foot blast off of Trey Gibson in the third inning before adding a more modest 376-foot shot to the opposite field in the seventh. It was the first multi-homer spring training game for a Cardinals player since 2023. The former first-round pick is coming off a disappointing 2025 season, having slashed just .242/.358/.353 with 10 home runs in 113 games at Double-A Springfield. Davis is likely headed back to Springfield for the start of the 2026 season.

The Brewers reassigned Jones to minor-league camp Monday, Sophia Minnaert of FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin reports.

The 28-year-old had fared well in Cactus League action prior to getting reassigned, going 3-for-11 with a 3:5 BB:K and two stolen bases through eight games. Jones has seen limited big-league action with the Rockies and White Sox over the past two seasons, but he'll face an uphill battle to resurface in the majors with Milwaukee in 2026 since he doesn't possess a spot on the 40-man roster.

The Brewers reassigned Rodriguez (undisclosed) to minor-league camp Monday, Sophia Minnaert of FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin reports.

Rodriguez didn't see any action after May 16 last season after landing on Double-A Biloxi's injured list, but the 27-year-old backstop looks to be fully healthy entering the 2026 campaign. He appeared in six Cactus League games before the Brewers reassigned him Monday.