MLB Player News

Church went 1-for-2 with a solo home run Saturday versus the Nationals in his spring training debut.

He started the game in center field and took southpaw Shinnosuke Ogasawara deep in the second inning. Church could get significant reps in left field for the Cardinals early on in the season while Lars Nootbaar (heels) is out before eventually settling into a fourth outfielder role. The 25-year-old had a .504 OPS in 27 games with the big club in 2025, but slashed .329/.386/.524 with 13 home runs and 16 stolen bases at Triple-A Memphis.

Holiday (elbow) is throwing bullpen sessions in the Cardinals' camp, Brian Walton of TheCardinalNation.com reports.

A third-round pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, Holiday has yet to make his professional debut following Tommy John surgery last May. The right-hander remains in the rehab phase and is likely looking at a season debut around June 1.

Rocker allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out two over two innings in Saturday's spring start against the Cubs.

Rocker began his quest for the final spot in the Rangers' rotation. There was traffic on the bases in each inning, and the right-hander allowed a stolen base in both frames, which was an issue that plagued him in 2025 (11 steals, 64.1 innings). Texas manager Skip Schumaker said prior to the start that one of the things he was looking for was first-pitch strikes, according to Matt Postins of SI.com. Rocker, who only threw two of them among the nine batters he faced, said after the game he was trying to be too fine. Another area of the manager's focus was his use of the changeup, and Schumaker was pleased with what he saw Saturday. Rocker and Jacob Latz are the primary competitors for one available rotation spot.

Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said Saturday after the signing of Ramon Urias that the roster addition wouldn't "get in the way, substantively, for the opportunities for (Gorman)," Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The 25-year-old infielder is in line to be the team's primary third baseman in 2026, and that won't change even after Urias was brought aboard. Urias does offer a short-side platoon partner for the lefty-swinging Gorman and is also a superior defender, so he'll get reps versus lefties and could handle third base while Gorman is used at designated hitter. Gorman is looking to bounce back from a two-year drought at the plate, having slashed just .204/.284/.385 with a 35.7 percent strikeout rate over that stretch.

Hoskins was seen in the Guardians' clubhouse Sunday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

The move has not been officially announced, but it's believed to be a minor-league contract with a base salary of $1.5 million if he makes the major-league roster. Hoskins already has his own locker and was even in Guardians gear Sunday, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Hoskins slashed .237/.332/.416 with 12 homers and 43 RBI in 90 regular-season games with Milwaukee last season, leading the Brewers to decline his mutual option for 2026.

Messick is one of four pitchers competing for three available spots in the Guardians' rotation, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

Messick begins his mission for a rotation spot Sunday against the Athletics. The 25-year-old left-hander, who is working on adding a cutter per the Cleveland Plain Dealer, is competing with Logan Allen, Joey Cantillo and Slade Cecconi for spots in the Opening Day rotation.

Morel handled a number of tough chances at first base without issue during the Marlins' Grapefruit League opener against the Mets on Saturday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The 26-year-old has never played a game at first base as a professional, but after signing a one-year contract with Miami in December, Morel got to work over the winter to learn the new position. He compared the footwork necessary around the bag to learning a popular dance in his native Dominican Republic. "It's more the feet when you go to cover first base, trying to put your feet correctly," Morel said after Saturday's game. "But we're getting better. Today, we got a few ground balls, and I'm trying to dance bachata today. We need to dance bachata to be a first baseman." While getting his glovework in order is a good first step, he'll likely need to improve his offensive contributions as well to secure a full-time role at first base -- over the last two seasons between the Cubs and Rays, Morel launched 32 homers with 15 steals in 257 games but slashed just .204/.288/.363 with a 29.3 percent strikeout rate.

Marsee went 1-for-2 with a walk, two runs scored and a stolen base in the Marlins' Grapefruit League game against the Mets on Saturday.

The 24-year-old got the start in center field and hit leadoff, swiping his first bag of the spring after drawing a leadoff walk against Joe Jacques in the sixth inning. Marsee stole 60 bases in 80 attempts between Triple-A and the majors last season, and while that middling success rate may limit the number of green lights he gets once Opening Day rolls around, hitting regularly at the top of the order should still give him plenty of opportunities to take an extra base.

Cantillo allowed two runs on three hits while striking out two over 1.1 innings in Saturday's spring start against the Brewers.

Cantillo started a split-squad game to begin his candidacy for one of three available spots in Cleveland's rotation. After giving up two hits and a run in the first inning, the left-hander was removed to ensure he could get a second up-and-down. Cantillo then allowed a home run to lead off the second frame but was able to build his pitch count up to 33 (22 strikes). He is competing with Logan Allen, who started the Guardians' other game Saturday, Slade Cecconi and Parker Messick for spots behind Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams.

Snelling tossed a perfect first inning in the Marlins' Grapefruit League game against the Mets on Saturday.

Getting the start in Miami's spring opener, Snelling faced Marcus Semien, Juan Soto and Bo Bichette and retired them on just 10 pitches (six strikes). The young left-hander doesn't have a clear path to a spot in the Opening Day rotation following the signing of Chris Paddack, but after an astonishing close to the 2025 campaign with Triple-A Jacksonville in which he posted a 1.27 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 81:17 K:BB over 63.2 innings, Snelling could force the Marlins to make a tough choice with a strong performance in camp.