MLB Player News
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Carlos Correa SS | HOU
Astros' Carlos Correa: Scratched with neck stiffness
Correa was scratched from Friday's Grapefruit League lineup versus the Nationals due to stiffness on the right side of his neck, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Astros manager Joe Espada said of Correa that "we'll see how he feels tomorrow," so it's fair to call the veteran infielder day-to-day for now. Correa had been slated to start at third base Friday, but he is a candidate to slide over to shortstop if Jeremy Pena (finger) isn't ready for Opening Day.
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Ryne Nelson SP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Ryne Nelson: Overcomes early trouble
Nelson allowed two runs on three hits and struck out three over 2.2 innings in Thursday's start against the Cubs.
Nelson was knocked around in the first inning before settling in to retire the final seven batters faced in his second Cactus League start. He upped his pitch count to 42 (30 strikes). "Honestly, it felt like the stuff was good," Nelson told Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports. "Pretty happy with how everything's coming out right now. Just got to clean a couple things up." The right-hander continued a goal to add more secondary offerings to complement the four-seamer that he threw 62 percent of the time in 2025. On Thursday, Nelson threw 20 four-seamers along with 11 cutters and nine curveballs.
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Jacob Lopez RP | ATH
Athletics' Jacob Lopez: Making spring debut Sunday
Lopez (elbow) is scheduled to start Sunday's Cactus League game against the Angels.
The left-hander built up slowly early in camp after finishing 2025 on the injured list due to an elbow strain, and he's now ready to make his Cactus League debut this weekend. Lopez received his first extended look in the majors last season and was a decent rotation piece for the A's with a 4.08 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 113:37 K:BB across 92.2 innings. The 27-year-old is expected to open the campaign as a member of the Athletics' starting rotation.
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Adrian Del Castillo C | ARI
Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Begins baseball activties
Del Castillo (calf) has begun hitting in the cages and catching bullpen sessions, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
Del Castillo has been sidelined since mid-February, at which point he estimated a month of recovery time. He's not running yet, but the resumption of baseball activities indicates Del Castillo could be available for Opening Day.
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Merrill Kelly SP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: Feels fine after bullpen
Kelly (back) threw a bullpen session Thursday and said he felt fine afterwards, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
Kelly unleashed his entire arsenal during the session in which he threw close to 30 pitches. "I got a chance to speak with him directly after the bullpen, and he said he feels really good," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. The Diamondbacks have yet to determine the next steps for the right-hander, but that Kelly could return to the mound at this point in spring training bodes well for his availability for the regular season.
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Jackson Chourio CF | MIL
Brewers' Jackson Chourio: Nursing hand injury
Chourio is out of the lineup for Venezuela's World Baseball Classic game against the Netherlands on Friday due to a left hand injury, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com.
The 21-year-old was hit by a pitch on the left hand during Wednesday's exhibition game and won't start Friday, but he's expected to be available to pinch run and play defense after X-rays came back negative, per Alvarez-Montes. The injury doesn't appear to be a serious concern, but it's unclear if Chourio will be cleared to rejoin the lineup for Saturday's matchup with Israel.
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Josue Briceno C | DET
Tigers' Josue Briceno: Expected to miss multiple months
Briceno said Friday that he expects to be sidelined a few months after having surgery Wednesday to repair a tendon in his right wrist, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Briceno injured the wrist in a Grapefruit League contest last weekend and is now looking at an extended absence following surgery. The 21-year-old hit .266/.383/.500 with 20 home runs over 100 games between High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie in 2025. Once healthy, he'll likely head back to Erie.
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Jackson Merrill SS | SD
Padres' Jackson Merrill: Swats second spring homer
Merrill went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, two total runs and two total RBI in a Cactus League win over Seattle on Thursday.
Merrill's third-inning two-run blast was one of eight long balls hit by San Diego in the 27-6 thrashing of the Mariners. It's been a strong spring so far for Merrill, who is slashing .333/.400/.778 with two homers and four RBI through eight games. He's locked in as the Padres' everyday center fielder and will look to rebound from a somewhat disappointing sophomore campaign during which he posted a .774 regular-season OPS (down from his rookie .826 mark) and missed nearly 50 games due to injuries.
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Dodgers' Santiago Espinal: Continues scorching spring
Espinal went 2-for-2 with a pair of home runs and six RBI in Thursday's Cactus League loss to Cincinnati.
Espinal got the scoring started quietly in the first inning with a sacrifice fly, then produced much louder output with a solo homer in the third frame and a three-run blast in the fourth. He finished off his big contest with another sacrifice fly in the fifth. The veteran utility man is now slashing an absurd .625/.636/1.125 over seven games this spring. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts suggested prior to Thursday's contest that Espinal is likely to make the team's Opening Day roster, and if that's indeed the case, he'll likely serve in a super-utility role similar to what Enrique Hernandez -- who will begin the campaign on the 60-day IL due to an elbow injury -- typically logs. With that being said, Espinal is a career .261 hitter with just 20 home runs across 579 regular-season contests, so his power display Thursday shouldn't lead to expectation that he's suddenly going to be a major source of homers.
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Jesus Luzardo SP | PHI
Phillies' Jesus Luzardo: Sharp in Grapefruit League debut
Luzardo allowed two hits and no walks in three shutout innings during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against Boston. He struck out five.
The hard-throwing southpaw appeared to be just about in midseason form during his spring debut, getting the velocity on his fastball as high as 98.5 mph. Luzardo is looking to build off an excellent first campaign with the Phillies a year ago, when he recorded a career-high 216 strikeouts over 183.2 regular-season innings and finished seventh in National League Cy Young voting.