MLB Player News

Lopez (elbow) is scheduled to start Sunday's Cactus League game against the Angels.

The left-hander built up slowly early in camp after finishing 2025 on the injured list due to an elbow strain, and he's now ready to make his Cactus League debut this weekend. Lopez received his first extended look in the majors last season and was a decent rotation piece for the A's with a 4.08 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 113:37 K:BB across 92.2 innings. The 27-year-old is expected to open the campaign as a member of the starting rotation.

Del Castillo (calf) has begun hitting in cages and catching bullpen sessions, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

Del Castillo has been sidelined since mid-February, at which point his recovery time was estimated to be about a month. He's not running yet, but the resumption of baseball activities indicates Del Castillo could be available for Opening Day.

Kelly (back) threw a bullpen session Thursday and said he felt fine afterwards, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

Kelly unleashed his entire arsenal during the session, throwing close to 30 pitches. "I got a chance to speak with him directly after the bullpen, and he said he feels really good," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. The Diamondbacks have yet to determine the next steps for the right-hander, but the fact that Kelly was able to return to the mound this early in spring training bodes well for his availability for the regular season.

Chourio is out of the lineup for Venezuela's World Baseball Classic game against the Netherlands on Friday due to a left hand injury, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com.

The 21-year-old was hit by a pitch during Wednesday's exhibition game and won't start Friday, but he's expected to be available to pinch run and play defense after X-rays came back negative, per Alvarez-Montes. The injury doesn't appear to be a serious concern, but it's unclear if Chourio will be cleared to rejoin the lineup for Saturday's matchup with Israel.

Briceno said Friday that he expects to be sidelined a few months after having surgery Wednesday to repair a tendon in his right wrist, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Briceno injured the wrist in a Grapefruit League contest last weekend and is now looking at an extended absence. The 21-year-old slashed .266/.383/.500 with 20 home runs over 100 games between High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie in 2025. Once healthy, he'll likely head back to Erie.

Merrill went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, two total runs and two total RBI in a Cactus League win over Seattle on Thursday.

Merrill's third-inning, two-run blast was one of eight long balls hit by San Diego during the 27-6 thrashing of the Mariners. It's been a strong spring so far for Merrill, who is slashing .333/.400/.778 with two homers and four RBI through eight games. He's locked in as the Padres' everyday center fielder and will look to rebound from a somewhat disappointing sophomore campaign, which saw him post a .774 regular-season OPS (down from his rookie .826 mark) while missing nearly 50 games due to injuries.

Espinal went 2-for-2 with a pair of home runs and six RBI in Thursday's Cactus League loss to Cincinnati.

Espinal got the scoring started quietly in the first inning with a sacrifice fly, then produced much louder output with a solo homer in the third frame and a three-run blast in the fourth. He finished off his big contest with another sacrifice fly in the fifth. The veteran utility man is now slashing an absurd .625/.636/1.125 over seven games this spring. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts suggested prior to Thursday's contest that Espinal is likely to make the team's Opening Day roster, and if that's indeed the case, he'll likely serve in a super-utility role similar to what Enrique Hernandez -- who will begin the campaign on the 60-day IL due to an elbow injury -- typically logs. With that being said, Espinal is a career .261 hitter with just 20 home runs across 579 regular-season contests, so his power display Thursday shouldn't lead to expectation that he's suddenly going to be a major source of homers.

Luzardo allowed two hits and no walks in three shutout innings during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against Boston. He struck out five.

The hard-throwing southpaw appeared to be just about in midseason form during his spring debut, getting the velocity on his fastball as high as 98.5 mph. Luzardo is looking to build off an excellent first campaign with the Phillies a year ago, when he recorded a career-high 216 strikeouts over 183.2 regular-season innings and finished seventh in National League Cy Young voting.

Eflin (back) allowed one hit and one walk in two scoreless innings during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays. He struck out three.

It was an impressive outing by Eflin, who made his first game appearance since undergoing back surgery last year. The 31-year-old right-hander even showcased some increased velocity, with his fastball topping out at 94 mph after averaging 91.9 mph the past two seasons. If all continues to go smoothly during spring training, Eflin remains on track to dodge the injured list and be part of Baltimore's Opening Day rotation to begin 2026, per Jake Rill of MLB.com.

Mendez was optioned to Double-A San Antonio on Thursday.

Mendez made two appearances with the Padres during spring training, giving up six runs on five hits and four walks while striking out three batters over two innings. The right-handed pitcher is one of San Diego's top prospects, but he'll need some time in the minor leagues to refine his craft before potentially getting a shot with the big-league squad.