MLB Player News

Mathews allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out seven over 2.2 frames in Thursday's Grapefruit League appearance against the Pirates.

Mathews served up a home run in his final inning of work after Nolan Gorman had committed an error. The lefty's outing was very encouraging on the whole, though. Mathews averaged 95.2 mph with his four-seamer, induced 12 whiffs on 50 pitches and didn't issue a walk to go along with his seven punchouts. The lefty had been shaky in his first two appearances of the spring, so this was a nice step in the right direction. Mathews is slated to open 2026 in the Triple-A Memphis rotation.

Pena was diagnosed with a fracture in the tip of his right ring finger Thursday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pena suffered the injury while playing in a World Baseball Classic exhibition game for Team Dominican Republic on Wednesday. He will now miss the WBC, but his status for Opening Day will depend on how he checks out during his re-evaluation in two weeks. If the 28-year-old ends up missing the first portion of the regular season, Nick Allen could step in to start at shortstop for the Astros, or perhaps Carlos Correa could shift back to short.

Briceno underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a tendon in his right wrist, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Briceno injured his wrist during Grapefruit League play this past weekend and an operation was deemed necessary. The Tigers have not revealed a timetable for Briceno's return to game action, but the 21-year-old is surely to be sidelined several weeks. One of Detroit's top prospects, Briceno slashed .266/.383/.500 with 20 home runs over 100 games between High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie in 2025.

Edwards was removed from Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros with left calf tightness, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The severity of Edwards' injury is still unclear, but the Marlins will likely provide more information following Thursday's contest. The 26-year-old infielder has gone 3-for-11 so far this spring with two RBI, a run scored and three steals over five games.

May yielded one hit and one walk over three scoreless frames in his Grapefruit League debut Thursday versus the Pirates.

The Cardinals had May work on the side and on the backfields early on in spring training to ease him into his buildup. May was sporting big velocity Thursday, averaging 97.8 mph with his four-seamer and topping out at 99.3 mph. It's a good sign after his velocity on the pitch dipped to a career-low 95.4 mph in 2025. May has some bounce-back potential after inking a one-year, $12.5 million contract with the Cardinals this winter.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Yamamoto is slated to throw three innings for Team Japan in Friday's World Baseball Classic game versus Team Chinese Taipei, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Yamamoto also went three frames in his second Cactus League outing. The right-hander is scheduled for multiple turns for Team Japan and is tentatively penciled in to be the Dodgers' Opening Day starter March 26 against the Diamondbacks, though Roberts has held off on making that official.

Atlanta optioned Lara to minor-league camp Thursday.

Lara got a cup of coffee in the majors last season but didn't make an appearance. The 23-year-old was moved to a relief role in the minors in 2025 and will continue to work on throwing more strikes at Triple-A Gwinnett. The hard-throwing Lara struck out 104 over 68.2 frames between Double-A Columbus and Gwinnett last season but also issued 65 walks and held a 7.73 ERA.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated Thursday that Espinal is likely to make the Opening Day roster, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Espinal was signed to a minor-league deal with a camp invite in February and has fit in "seamlessly" with the team, per Roberts. With Tommy Edman (ankle) and Enrique Hernandez (elbow) slated to open the year on the injured list, Espinal provides the defensive versatility Roberts seeks. The 31-year-old could see some starts at second base while Edman is out.

O'Brien (calf) will throw another live batting practice session Thursday and hopes to make his Grapefruit League debut Saturday, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

O'Brien got through a live batting practice session Monday healthy, though he had trouble with his footing due to a wet mound. He'll face hitters in a shorter live BP session Thursday before progressing to game action. O'Brien has been battling a minor calf strain but is expected to have enough time to prep for Opening Day, barring setbacks. He is in the mix to serve as closer for the Cardinals this season.

Stephenson (shoulder) will throw his first live batting practice session of spring training Friday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Stephenson continues to work his way back from a nerve issue and thoracic outlet syndrome symptoms. He's been throwing bullpens for the past couple weeks and continues to believe he'll be ready for Opening Day. Stephenson missed the entire 2024 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery and was limited to just 12 appearances in 2025, posting a 2.70 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 10:3 K:BB across 10 innings.