MLB Player News

Sborz allowed two runs on three hits and one walk over one inning in Thursday's spring game against the Athletics.

Sborz allowed runs for the first time in five Cactus League relief appearances, which bodes well for the non-roster invitee's hopes of making the roster. After not pitching in 2025 following a shoulder procedure, Sborz worked hard during the offseason to re-establish the velocity he showed when pitching for the Rangers from 2021-24, when he typically sat between 95 and 97 mph. On Thursday, his four-seamer averaged 94.1 mph, the highest it's been this spring.

Langford went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI in Thursday's spring game against the Athletics.

The Rangers put up a six-spot in the bottom of the second inning, highlighted by Langford's three-run home run. It was the third round-tripper of the Cactus League for Langford, who also extended a hit streak to six contests. He's batting a robust .455 (10-for-22) with three walks and 10 RBI over nine spring games.

Leiter allowed two runs on five hits while striking out six over five innings in Thursday's spring start against the Athletics.

Leiter faced an overly aggressive Athletics team that often swung at the first pitch, and the righty needed just 57 pitches to get 15 outs while issuing zero walks. Leiter headed to the bullpen for extra work after being removed to reach his 70-pitch goal for the day. He also gave up two more home runs, upping his Cactus League total to five allowed in 12 innings, but that can be expected in hitter-friendly Cactus League ballparks. Last season, he allowed 18 over 151 big-league innings (1.1 HR/9).

Hendriks (elbow) threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout Thursday and has a 2.25 ERA and 2:2 K:BB ratio in four innings this spring. He averaged 93.6 mph on the six fastballs he threw during the outing.

Hendriks has looked healthy this spring but his velocity is down from a 94.9-mph average fastball in 2025 and 95.4 mph in 2023. It's not clear if Hendriks will even make the Opening Day roster at this point, but he's still potentially in the closer mix. The signs for Hendriks are encouraging after undergoing right elbow ulnar nerve transposition with posterior interosseous nerve release surgery in September.

Moore is batting just .189 this spring, but he's shown increased exit velocity and less swing-and-miss, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Per Fletcher, Moore ended play Monday with the 11th-highest average exit velocity in the majors this spring, with his 96-mph mark considerably higher than the 89 mph he registered in the majors last season. Despite the lack of results in terms of hits, Moore didn't seem concerned about his bad luck, saying, "Whether it falls or not, I'm not really worried about that right now. I just want to make sure I'm making consistent contact every day and making sure I'm at least catching one barrel a day, and a legit barrel. That's kind of where my focus has been and it's been good so far." It's also promising that Moore has been making decent contact -- his strikeout rate so far this spring is at 22.5 percent after he whiffed at a 33.7 percent clip last year. Moore is battling for the Angels' starting job at second base, with light-hitting journeyman Adam Frazier possibly his greatest competition for the role.

Yamamoto will stay with Team Japan for as long as the team remains alive in the World Baseball Classic, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Yamamoto is scheduled to make his final start of the tournament Saturday versus Venezuela. Initial reports indicated that the reigning World Series MVP would then join the Dodgers in Arizona for spring training, but it's since been clarified that Yamamoto will remain with Team Japan for the duration of its time in the WBC. Yamamoto is fully expected to be ready for a near-regular workload once the MLB regular season kicks off.

Wagner is dealing with an oblique strain and hasn't done any baseball activity since the beginning of March, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Per Acee, Wagner will "almost certainly" start the season on the injured list. The infielder had been slated to battle for a reserve role during spring training, but he got into only five games before getting hurt, going 0-for-9 with two walks and two strikeouts. Even if Wagner was healthy, his likelihood of making the Opening Day roster had been considered slim.

Waldron (lower body) threw "about 25 pitches" in a live batting-practice session Thursday, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The session marked Waldron's first time throwing to live hitters since he underwent hemorrhoid surgery in late February. The knuckleballer said Thursday that he expects to throw a bullpen and then get into a Cactus League game in the next 5-to-6 days, but he also stated that he isn't going to be ready for Opening Day. That means Waldron will likely begin the campaign on the IL, though he could be ready to be activated around mid-April.

Ohtani threw a four-inning, 59-pitch live batting-practice session against Team Japan during the team's workout Thursday, David Adler of MLB.com reports.

Ohtani isn't expected to pitch during the World Baseball Classic, but he continues to get in work on the mound while with Japan for the tournament. Per Adler, Ohtani faced 18 hitters Thursday and struck out seven of them over his four simulated innings. Though Ohtani's time away from the Dodgers -- and concurrent break from pitching in games -- may impact his pitch counts to a small degree in the early stages of the regular season, the two-way star is fully expected to open the campaign in the Dodgers' rotation.

Manager Dave Roberts recently said that Rushing will not see playing time in the outfield this season, Aaron Coloma of Dodgers Nation reports.

After GM Brandon Gomes indicated over the winter that Rushing could get outfield reps again this season, Roberts has shut that down. "Outfield is not on the table," Roberts said. Rushing will serve as Will Smith's backup and could get some time at first base if Freddie Freeman needs a day off. It would seem Rushing may only get into a couple games a week to begin the season as a part-time player.