MLB Player News

Phillips (elbow) threw to a standing catcher "with noticeably more intensity" Tuesday, Courtney Hollmon of MLB.com reports.

It's a small but tangible step for Phillips, who is recovering from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last June. The righty reliever has already been placed on the 60-day injured list, so he still has a long way to go before making it back to pitching in games. If all goes well for Phillips moving forward, he may be able to join the Dodgers' bullpen in July or August.

Ryan has impressed this spring and has a chance to open the regular season in the Dodgers' rotation, Courtney Hollmon of MLB.com reports.

Ryan was particularly impressive Tuesday in an outing versus Cleveland, firing two scoreless and hitless innings while issuing one walk and striking out three batters. Through two Cactus League appearances, the right-hander has tossed three scoreless frames with a 4:2 K:BB. Ryan missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he reportedly had a normal offseason and put on about 30 pounds in an effort to increase his durability. He's still more likely than not to begin the campaign in the minors, but injuries within the Dodgers' starting corps -- including to Blake Snell (shoulder) and Gavin Stone (shoulder) -- along with Roki Sasaki's struggles have at least cracked the door open a bit for Ryan to break camp with the big-league club.

Through two Grapefruit League appearances, Lagrange has given up one run on four hits and two walks while striking out six batters over 5.2 innings.

Lagrange is one of New York's top prospects after posting a 3.10 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 104:50 K:BB across 78.1 frames over 16 games (15 starts) with Double-A Somerset last season. The fireballing right-hander has been flashing eye-popping velocity this spring, hitting 102.4 mph -- tied for the fastest pitch thrown by any pitcher during preseason play -- and averaging over 100 mph on his fastball, per David Adler of MLB.com. Lagrange isn't on the 40-man roster and will almost certainly begin the regular season in the minors, but he could be a roster fixture (either as a starter or reliever) as soon as 2027.

Canning (Achilles) tossed a "high-intensity" bullpen session Tuesday, and his next step could be facing hitters, per MLB.com.

Canning continues to progress in his recovery from a torn left Achilles, though he's yet to be cleared for fielding drills. The veteran hurler is going to begin the regular season on the injured list, with late April likely the earliest feasible date for his Padres debut. San Diego's rotation is unsettled beyond the top three slots, so Canning has a good chance of getting a chance to stake his claim to a starting role once he's healthy.

Sasaki allowed four runs on two hits and three walks while striking out one batter over two innings in a Cactus League start versus Cleveland on Tuesday.

Sasaki began his outing in disastrous fashion, allowing two walks and a single before serving up a grand slam to Kyle Manzardo. After the Japanese hurler walked the next batter, he was pulled without having recorded an out. Under spring training rules, Sasaki was allowed to re-enter the contest in the second frame and looked infinitely better after his return, retiring the final six batters he faced. Despite the strong finish, this was a second consecutive concerning appearance for the youngster, especially in terms of control -- through two starts, he's thrown just 38 of 81 pitches for strikes while walking five batters across 3.1 innings. Still, manager Dave Roberts suggested after the exhibition that Sasaki isn't in danger of missing out on a rotation spot to begin the campaign, stating, "I think it can change, but I don't think it's going to change before we break (camp). I think that, keep building him up. We see him as a starter and giving him every opportunity for success," per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Roberts added, "I don't think there are concerns. There just has to be continued progression." It sounds like the team is going to give Sasaki a decent amount of runway to work out his struggles and remain in the big-league rotation, though he'll ultimately need to provide much better results to keep that role over the course of the regular season.

Mantiply signed a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays on Tuesday that includes an invite to big-league spring training.

The 35-year-old lefty spent the previous six seasons with the Diamondbacks but was released last June. Mantiply then inked a minor-league pact with Toronto in July. He appeared in 14 games out of the bullpen for Triple-A Buffalo, posting a 3.45 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 19:0 K:BB across 15.2 innings but didn't appear in any big-league games for the Blue Jays. Mantiply will compete for one of the final spots in the bullpen ahead of Opening Day.

The Blue Jays optioned Macko to Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

The left-hander delivered two scoreless appearances early in camp but was never a likely bet to make Toronto's Opening Day roster. Macko started in 10 of his 18 appearances at Triple-A last season, finishing with a 5.06 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 65:36 K:BB over 64 innings.

Gonzalez left Tuesday's spring training game versus the Padres due to tightness in his lower back.

Gonzalez took the mound in the top half of the seventh inning, and he struck out his first batter but then allowed a single and three consecutive walks. He departed the game after walking in a run on what turned out to be his final batter. The White Sox labeled the righty as day-to-day after his exit.

Rojas failed a drug test for performance-enhancing drugs and is appealing his 80-game suspension, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Barring a surprise during the appeals process, Rojas is poised to sit out the first half of 2026 due to the positive drug test. The 25-year-old appeared in 71 regular-season games for the Phillies last season and had a .569 OPS. Even if the appeal goes his way, Rojas is not guaranteed to make Philadelphia's Opening Day roster.

Baez was scratched from Tuesday's exhibition game versus Team Dominican Republic due to lower-back tightness.

Baez should be considered day-to-day for the time being. Max Clark subbed in for Baez in center field in the Tigers' lineup Tuesday.