MLB Player News

Stowers will undergo medical imaging after being scratched from Saturday's Grapefruit League lineup due to hamstring tightness, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Stowers should be considered day-to-day for now, but if it's any sort of strain, it could jeopardize the outfielder's availability for Opening Day. The 28-year-old has gone 1-for-6 with two walks and two strikeouts in his limited action so far this spring.

Walls (oblique) will start at shortstop and bat seventh in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Walls was slated to make his spring debut last weekend before being scratched due to oblique tightness. The issue didn't set him back much, however, and Walls still has plenty of time to ramp up for Opening Day assuming no further delays. Walls' 2025 season was cut short when he underwent sports hernia surgery in September.

Rafaela is in the lineup for Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

Rafaela was involved in a scary collision with teammate Roman Anthony on Friday as the two players tracked a flyball to left-center field, which left both players down for a brief period of time. Anthony got the wind knocked out of him, but both players stayed in the game and will start Saturday's contest. Impressively, Rafaela later homered against Atlanta ace Chris Sale in the third inning, Rafaela's second home run of the spring.

Anthony said he just got the wind knocked out of him in a collision with teammate Ceddanne Rafaela during Friday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

It was a rather ugly incident that left both players down and drew the training staff onto the field, but both Anthony and Rafaela stayed in the game and are right back in there for Saturday's exhibition, per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. Through five spring games, Anthony has gone 3-for-16 with a double and four strikeouts. He is primed to serve as Boston's leadoff hitter to begin 2026.

Nola gave up one run on two hits in two innings during Friday's Grapefruit League game against Miami. He struck out two.

It was a decent spring debut for Nola, who fired 20 pitches for strikes among his 31 offerings and induced six swings and misses. The 32-year-old right-hander got his fastball velocity up to 92.9 mph, which is an encouraging figure after he averaged just 91.4 mph amidst an injury-plagued 2025 campaign. Nola is hoping to rebound for the Phillies in 2026 -- he turned in a career-worst 6.01 ERA and 1.35 WHIP covering 17 regular-season starts last year.

Pepiot allowed one unearned run on one hit and two walks in two innings during Friday's Grapefruit League game against Toronto. He struck out two.

Pepiot showed some signs of rust in his first spring outing, throwing just 19 of his 32 pitches for strikes. The right-hander's fastball velocity topped out at just 94.6 mph as well after averaging 95.2 mph in 2025, so he'll be looking to round into form in the coming weeks. Though he did manage a strong 3.41 ERA and 1.12 WHIP across 16 home starts at hitter-friendly Steinbrenner Field last regular season, Pepiot is still likely looking forward to the Rays moving back to pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field in 2026.

Schmidt (elbow) is tentatively slated to being throwing bullpens in March and could face hitters in April or May, per MLB.com.

Schmidt is rehabbing from the internal brace surgery he underwent last July. To this point, he's thrown only on flat ground and up to 90 feet, so he still has multiple hurdles to clear on his way back to game action. Should Schmidt continue to progress without setbacks, he could return to a big-league mound shortly after the All-Star break.

McMahon is using a "narrower stance" while batting this spring, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

McMahon reportedly worked with the Yankees' coaching staff to adjust his approach at the plate. The veteran third baseman expressed optimism about the reworked stance, saying, "A lot of good things happen from being a little bit closer together." McMahon added, "My hands don't drop as much, which is a super helpful thing. They travel a little bit higher, and that's something that I do when I'm swinging it well." Per Hoch, McMahon had the fourth-widest stance in MLB last season, and that didn't translate into good results -- over 54 regular-season games with the Yankees, he slashed just .208/.308/.333 with four homers, 18 RBI and 62 strikeouts across 185 plate appearances.

Mullins went 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBI in Friday's Grapefruit League game against Toronto.

It was the first homer of spring training for Mullins, who is trying to bounce back with the Rays in 2026 after he fell to a .690 OPS covering 498 regular-season plate appearances last season. With Josh Lowe having been dealt to the Angels over the winter, Mullins should open the season as Tampa Bay's primary center fielder.

Baz allowed two walks in 2.1 hitless and scoreless innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates. He struck out four.

Baz looked to be in midseason form during his spring debut, with his fastball topping out at 98.6 mph. The 26-year-old right-hander should be relieved to move away from hitter-friendly Steinbrenner Field -- he had a 5.90 ERA and 1.46 WHIP over 16 home starts with the Rays in 2025 -- and Baz is lined up as a back-end starter to begin his first season with the Orioles in 2026.