3/20-3/21 MLB Updates

American League

East 

• Blue Jays: Santiago Espinal was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Chris McElvain. Davis Schneider made an unbelievable catch in the outfield here.
  

• Orioles: Gunnar Henderson will get most of his work at shortstop this season.
  

• Rays: Infielder Jonathan Aranda broke his right ring finger on Tuesday and will miss at least four weeks.
  

• Red Sox: Kenley Jansen looked good in Thursday's second spring outing as he tries to prepare for Opening Day.
  

• Yankees: Giancarlo Stanton hits three home runs, one of which was a Grand Slam on Wednesday night. His eight RBIs were the most by a player since 2006. 💪 

Central

• Guardians: Chase DeLauter has done everything he can to make the roster, batting .520 with 4 homers and 10 RBIs. 📈 
  

• Royals: Alec Marsh has won the fifth rotation spot.
  

• Tigers: Outfielder Akil Baddoo did not make the opening day roster, as he was reassigned to Triple-A camp on Thursday.
  

• Twins: Top prospect Brooks Lee exits Thursday's game early due to back spasms.

• White Sox: Opening Day starter Garrett Crochet and offseason addition Martín Maldonado get in-game work together for the first time.

West

• Angels: Anthony Rendon might be the leadoff hitter for the team this year. At least for the 50 or so games he’ll play. 🤕 
  

• Astros: Facial recognition technology will debut at Minute Maid Park on Opening Day, allowing fans to have an expedited entrance.
  

• Athletics: Brent Rooker goes back-to-back days with a homer as he returns to form for Opening Day.
  

• Mariners: Gregory Santos will have an MRI in the next few days to see if inflammation has gone down enough to start a throwing program.
  

• Rangers: Michael Lorenzen signed a 1yr, $4.5M deal to help bolster this rotation.

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National League

East

• Braves: If Spencer Strider can come out of Saturday's start unscathed, he will join Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw as the only pitchers since 2006 to pitch for more than 20 innings in the spring without allowing a run.
  

• Marlins: Director of Minor League Operations says the sky is the limit for pitching prospects Noble Meyer and Thomas White. 🚀 
  

• Mets: J.D. Martinez signed a 1yr deal worth $12M and will receive just $4.5M this season with $1.5M deferral payments through 2034-38.
  

• Nationals: Top prospects James Wood and Dylan Crews work to get the team's first walk-off of the spring.
  

• Phillies: Manager Rob Thomson had a few nice things to say about Johan Rojas after he knocked an RBI single on Thursday.

Central

• Brewers: Wade Miley was scratched before his Thursday start and will not be ready for the start of the season.
  

• Cardinals: With a week to go, there are still a few battles going on for roster spots, including center field.
  

• Cubs: Shota Imanaga has been impressing the Cubs this spring. Let’s hope he doesn’t look like Yoshinobu Yamamoto did in his debut yesterday.
  

• Pirates: Bryan Reynolds smokes his fourth homer of the spring to continue this team’s home run party this spring. 💨 
  

• Reds: Mike Ford went on a revenge tour last night against the Mariners with two homers.

West

• Diamondbacks: Episodes 1 & 2 of a five-part docuseries on the World Series run debuted on YouTube this week. I was lucky enough to be at Chase Field for most of the postseason run, and boy, that place was loud.

• Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, allegedly stole at least $4.5M from Shohei to cover gambling debts to an illegal bookmaker. An interesting story that has changed a few times. 🤔 
  

• Giants: The club released Amir Garrett on Thursday after a tough spring.
  

• Padres: Jackson Merrill becomes one of three players to record their first MLB hit outside of North America.
  

• Rockies: Speedy prospect Greg Jones was acquired from the Rays in exchange for Joe Rock on Thursday.

🥔 Today’s Tater

The first tater of the regular season belongs to none other than Mookie Betts. I can’t get enough of the 4D view.

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