MLB Player News

Abbott allowed two runs on two hits and struck out two over two innings in Tuesday's spring start against Kansas City.

Abbott was pleased with his Cactus League debut, telling Mark Sheldon of MLB.com that he threw all five of his pitches and was encouraged by his efficiency (27 pitches, 17 strikes, no walks). The lone blemish was a two-out, two-run home run allowed to Josh Rojas. The left-hander is having a normal camp, which is a change from last season, when he didn't make his spring debut until March 17 due to recovery from a shoulder injury before opening the regular season on the injured list.

Latz allowed two hits over two scoreless innings in Tuesday's spring start against Arizona.

Latz made his Cactus League debut and was all over the strike zone, landing 20 of his 26 pitches for strikes. The left-hander delivered first-pitch strikes to six of the eight batters he faced. He's competing with Kumar Rocker for the fifth spot in the rotation, but he could ultimately land in a hybrid role.

Burger went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's spring game against the Diamondbacks.

Burger is coming off a disappointing season in which he made three trips to the injured list for various reasons. He's healthy to start camp and looking to regain the 30-homer stroke he showed off in 2023 and 2024 when playing for the Marlins. The right-handed-hitting Burger will be part of the rotation at first base and designated hitter.

Leiter worked on adding a cutter to his arsenal during the offseason, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports. "You're not looking for swing and misses with it, per se," he said. "It's more to just finish at-bats quicker, which is what I've been needing in order to be more efficient."

Leiter is toying with the cutter grip he learned from Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet this offseason, when the two worked out together in Tennessee. Leiter introduced the pitch in his spring debut Monday, throwing two of them and inducing a flyout and groundout. Efficiency has been an issue for Leiter, although the right-hander showed some improvement in that area over the second half of 2025.

Thomas started in center field and went 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's spring game against Texas.

Thomas made his third spring appearance and has hits in all three contests. Following injuries to fellow outfielders Corbin Carroll (hand) and Lourdes Gurriel (knee), the plan is to have Thomas get reps at corner outfield, though he's been used in center field for two of his three games. He'll get a few more chances in camp before jetting off to Houston for the World Baseball Classic as a member of Team Mexico.

Soroka allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out three over two innings in Tuesday's spring start against the Rangers.

Soroka made his spring debut, throwing 33 pitches (24 strikes). He had a little trouble in the first inning but settled in for a perfect second frame. With six starters in camp with MLB experience, there was talk of Soroka moving to the bullpen, but a recent injury to Merrill Kelly (back) cut into the Diamondbacks' surplus in the rotation.

Feduccia went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

The Rays have a fairly open competition for the top catcher gig ahead of the regular season, though the expectation for now is that the righty-hitting Nick Fortes will handle the primary spot to start the new year. That said, it's not out of the question that the lefty-hitting Feduccia could eventually carve out a strong-side platoon role behind the plate if he outperforms Fortes during spring training.

Diaz went 1-for-1 with a solo home run, two walks and an additional run scored in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

Diaz crushed a career-high 25 homers in 2025, and he's off to a fast start in spring training. It'll be interesting to see how Tampa Bay's move back to pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field in 2026 might affect the 34-year-old first baseman's power numbers -- 18 of Diaz's long balls came from the more hitter-friendly George M. Steinbrenner Field last season.

Helsley allowed one hit in a scoreless third inning during Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

After signing a two-year, $28 million contract with the Orioles in November, Helsley pounded the zone for 10 strikes among his 12 pitches in his spring debut. The 31-year-old right-hander's fastball velocity topped out at 97.7 mph, and he'll likely be looking to increase that as spring training progresses. With Felix Bautista (shoulder) likely to miss 2026, Helsley is gearing up to function as Baltimore's closer to begin the season.

Griffin went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox.

Griffin was hitless across his first five at-bats of Grapefruit League action, but he blasted a pair of long balls over the replica Green Monster at jetBlue Park on Tuesday. Both of those homers came on breaking balls -- the first of which was a curveball from Ranger Suarez -- and had exit velocities of 104.8 and 111.2 mph, respectively, per Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Griffin now has four flyballs measured over 104 mph this spring.