MLB Player News
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Chris Martin RP | TEX
Rangers' Chris Martin: Records scoreless inning
Martin walked one over a scoreless inning in Friday's spring game against the Rockies.
Martin pitched a scoreless sixth inning in his third Cactus League appearance. He remains in the mix to close games for the Rangers, and one obstacle was cleared Friday when the Rangers designated Alexis Diaz for assignment. That leaves Martin and Robert Garcia as the primary candidates to close games for Texas. Garcia just returned to camp after Team Mexico was ousted from the World Baseball Classic, and the competition between the two will play out over the final two weeks of the Cactus League.
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Joey Cantillo SP | CLE
Guardians' Joey Cantillo: Makes fourth spring start
Cantillo allowed three runs on three hits and one walk while striking out six over 4.2 innings in Friday's spring start against the Angels.
Cantillo had a couple of shaky stretches but overall pitched well in his fourth Cactus League start. He opened the game by issuing a walk to Zach Neto and then balked him to second before the runner eventually scored. The lefty then retired the next eight batters before allowing a two-run home run in the fourth inning, which he followed by setting down the next five batters. He left the game after throwing 74 pitches (45 strikes). Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt is still evaluating Cantillo, Logan Allen, Slade Cecconi and Parker Messick for the final three spots in the rotation.
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Chase Burns P | CIN
Reds' Chase Burns: Short outing Friday
Burns allowed one hit and struck out two over two scoreless innings in Friday's spring start against the Giants.
At a stage in spring training when most starters are ramping up to four or five innings, Burns was intentionally held back in his fourth Cactus League start Friday. Reds manager Terry Francona discussed the pitcher's usage with Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. "This kid is still working through some of his routines and stuff," Francona said. "And he had a good five days with the trainers working on the flexibility and the mobility. We just want to make sure. He's good to go. It might cost him an inning, but he's OK." Burns' previous outings were marked by falling behind hitters and running into trouble, so his 17 strikes over 24 pitches Friday were a good sign. Francona confirmed that Burns will still be stretched out as a starter going forward, which means he's still in the mix for one of two available rotation spots along with Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson.
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Merrill Kelly SP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: Expects IL stint
Kelly (back) said Friday that he expects to be on the injured list to open the regular season, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.
Kelly spoke about his chances of making the Opening Day roster following his Cactus League debut Friday. "I won't go into depth on what the tentative plan is right now, but yeah, as of right now, not very good," the pitcher said. That's the bad news; the good news is that Kelly's back held up over 1.2 innings (36 pitches), which was the priority of the day. Stints on the IL can be backdated three days, which means Kelly would miss at least the first 12 days of the regular season. He would be eligible for activation in time for April 7 against the Mets.
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Blake Treinen RP | LAD
Dodgers' Blake Treinen: Unsteady so far this spring
Treinen pitched a scoreless inning in a Cactus League outing against Seattle on Friday, allowing three walks and striking out one batter.
Treinen entered in the fifth frame and walked the bases full, but he managed to escape the inning without giving up any runs. The veteran reliever hasn't looked sharp this spring -- he's given up four earned runs with a 3:5 K:BB over 4.1 frames -- but he's essentially a lock for Los Angeles' regular-season bullpen. That said, Treinen had the worst campaign of his career last year, posting a 5.40 ERA and 1.84 WHIP with a 36:19 K:BB across 26.2 regular-season innings, so the team may be wary about using him in high-leverage situations right away, especially given his results this spring.
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Grayson Rodriguez SP | LAA
Angels' Grayson Rodriguez: Fires 4.2 scoreless spring frames
Rodriguez allowed two hits and walked four batters while striking out five over 4.2 scoreless innings in a Cactus League start against Cleveland on Friday.
Rodriguez was a bit wild in issuing four free passes, but he kept the Guardians out of the score column thanks in part to a pair of double plays. Promisingly, he worked up to 85 pitches, and though his fastball velocity was a bit below its established norm at 94.3 mph, it's worth noting that the right-hander is still working his way back into full form after not pitching in any games beyond spring training last season. Rodriguez hasn't dropped jaws this spring, but he's looked healthy and has posted a tolerable 4.97 ERA with 12 punchouts (albeit alongside 10 walks) over 12.2 frames, so he looks to be headed toward a spot in the Angels' Opening Day rotation.
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Taylor Rogers RP | MIN
Twins' Taylor Rogers: Still in unsettled closer mix
Rogers has a 4.50 ERA this spring with a 6:3 K:BB in four innings. He's still likely in the mix to close games but manager Derek Shelton said he has no plans for how he'll distribute save opportunities, Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports.
Rogers has the most experience closing games in the bullpen, but his declining velocity to an average fastball of 92.8 mph last season from a peak of 95.8 mph in 2021 may not make him ideal as the primary closer. He still had a decent 9.4 K/9 last season, so he could be part of a committee. However, at this point it's unclear how the Twins will divide up the opportunities to finish games among an unsettled bullpen that also includes Justin Topa, Cole Sands and Liam Hendriks.
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Michael King SP | SD
Padres' Michael King: Struggling this spring
King allowed six runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out five batters over four innings in a Cactus League start against the Athletics on Friday.
King notched a nice strikeout total, but he was also pounded for three homers, which came on back-to-back-to-back A's blasts in the fourth inning. The right-hander began the Cactus League slate with a fine 2.2-inning, one-run outing against the Angels, but since then he's yielded 13 earned runs on 15 hits (including five long balls) over 10 frames spanning three starts. Spring training stats rarely carry much importance, and King is locked into a rotation spot for the Padres, but a bounce-back outing before the end of the exhibition slate could be useful to reset the hurler heading into the regular season.
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David Bednar RP | NYY
Yankees' David Bednar: Comes up big for USA in WBC
Bednar tossed a scoreless inning for Team USA against Team Canada in the quarterfinal of the World Baseball Classic on Friday, allowing two hits and striking out two batters.
Bednar entered in the seventh inning with the US up 5-3. He found himself in a world of trouble by allowing runners on second and third with no outs on a pair of infield singles and a passed ball, but the veteran hurler managed to escape the jam without being scored upon by getting a popout and a pair of punchouts. Bednar, who is locked into the closer role for the Yankees, has yet to give up a run in the WBC.
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Kody Clemens 1B | MIN
Twins' Kody Clemens: No clear path to regular role
Clemens doesn't appear to have a set regular role in the lineup with the Twins signing Josh Bell and with several left-handed outfielders on the roster, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
Clemens began the offseason looking like the team's starter at first base or at least the left-handed part of a platoon at the position. However, the Twins may not want to use Trevor Larnach in the outfield rather than DH against lefties, which would move Bell to first base, and Luke Keaschall looks set to play second base. Clemens hit .216/.284/.442 with 19 home runs last season in a breakout season and made significant strides in his batted-ball metrics with a 48.3 percent hard-hit rate and 12 percent barrel rate. His ability to play second base and first base should help find ways to get him into the lineup eventually, but he may find few at-bats early in the season unless the Twins trade a left-handed-hitting outfielder.