Yankees optioned LHP Matt Krook to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The 28-year-old southpaw held his own in six Grapefruit League outings this spring, posting a 3.75 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 15 strikeouts over 12 innings of work, it just wasn't enough to crack the Opening Day roster. He'll hone his craft at Triple-A to start the season until he's called upon.
Yankees reassigned LHP Nick Ramirez and C Carlos Narvaez to minor league camp.
Ramirez, 33, pitched pretty well in Grapefruit League play -- posting a 4.15 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and an 11/3 K/BB ratio over 8 2/3 innings -- but it wasn't enough to land him a spot in the Opening Day bullpen. He'll start the year as extra bullpen depth for the Bombers at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Xander Bogaerts returned to the lineup Sunday and went 0-for-3 against the Mariners.
Bogaerts missed just two days after getting a cortisone shot for soreness in his left wrist. It's something he's dealt with regularly and overcome, so it's not a big concern at this point. That said, Bogaerts is high on our players-to-avoid list this year after last season's decline in power and the switch to a far worse ballpark for hitters.
Andrés Muñoz gave up a two-run homer in his inning against the Padres on Sunday.
Muñoz was brought along slowly this spring after this winter's foot surgery, so he's probably not going to be at peak performance right away in April. He still projects to be one of baseball's best relievers over the course of the year.
Michael Wacha surrendered four runs in five innings versus the Mariners on Sunday.
Wacha settled for one strikeout today. It's still a solid spring for him (5 ER in 11 1/3 IP), particularly given that he signed so late. He's not a very good bet for fantasy purposes this year, and even if he does surprise again in the ERA department, there's a good chance he'll get hurt again at some point. He hasn't topped 130 major league innings in a season since 2017.
Charles Leblanc made his spring debut Sunday, going 1-for-3 with a walk against the Mets.
Leblanc had been sidelined by back stiffness. He entered camp as a long shot to make the Marlins, and his absence assured that he'll be Triple-A bound for the start of the year.
Seby Zavala crushed his fifth home run of the Cactus League season on Sunday, but it wasn't enough to power the White Sox past the Rockies.
Zavala finally got the White Sox on the board with his two-run blast off of Gavin Hollowell in the eighth inning. That would be the extent of their offense. The 28-year-old has really flexed his muscles this spring, hitting .293 (12-for-41) with five homers and 11 RBI.
Austin Gomber was terrific in Sunday's Cactus League victory over the White Sox, allowing just one hit over five shutout innings.
Gomber walked one and punched out three in the impressive outing. The only hit that he allowed was a two-out double by Gavin Sheets in the second inning. The 29-year-old southpaw has looked sharp overall in his five Cactus League starts, registering a 3.78 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and a 10/6 K/BB ratio over 16 2/3 innings.
Michael Toglia went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and an RBI on Sunday, helping to lead the Rockies to a 4-2 victory over the White Sox in Cactus League play.
Toglia opened the scoring in the ballgame with an RBI double off of Jake Diekman that plated Alan Trejo. He also led off the eighth inning with a double off of Gregory Santos and came around to score on an RBI single by Brian Serven. With the two-hit attack, Toglia is now hitting .246 (17-for-69) with three homers, seven RBI and a stolen base in Cactus League action.
Eduardo Escobar went 0-for-3 versus the Marlins on Sunday.
Escobar has dodged a bullet with Brett Baty getting demoted by the Mets, but he's probably not going to have too long to get it together. He's 4-for-34 this spring after going 1-for-10 for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic.
Justin Verlander pitched five innings and allowed three runs Sunday against the Marlins.
Verlander has shown very good velocity all spring, btu that wasn't the case today, as he averaged 92.3 mph with his fastball and topped out at 95, which is what he averaged last year. We're guessing it was a conscious decision to back off a little in his final tuneup. Another possibility was that he's battling a dead arm. We're not overly concerned at the moment.
Starling Marte finished 3-for-3 with two doubles Sunday as the Mets and Marlins played to a 3-3 tie.
Marte is hitting .344/.361/.563 this spring. He almost certainly would have hit in the bottom half of the Mets order had the team followed through with the Carlos Correa signing, but as is, he has the second spot all to himself. He figures to miss time at some point, but he'll perform as a top-15 or maybe even top-10 fantasy outfielder when he's in the lineup.
Ryan Yarbrough, who is returning from a groin injury, gave up three runs in three innings versus the Cubs in a start Sunday.
Yarbrough was set for the Royals rotation before getting hurt and probably will get a spot there soon enough, but it sounds like he'll open up in the bullpen while continuing to build strength. Kris Bubic is likely to take the open rotation spot.
Justin Steele struck out six over six innings in the Cubs' 5-0 shutout of the Royals on Sunday.
Steele's stuff has been up and down this spring, but the important thing is that he's finishing on a high note. We're not sold on him as a mixed-league starter this year, but it's certainly not something to be ruled out after he posted a 3.18 ERA in 24 starts last year.
Christopher Morel struck out all three times he was up Sunday against the Royals.
A poorly timed bad game for Morel, what with his roster spot coming down to the wire. If it was our call, he'd be the Cubs' primary third baseman. It doesn't look like it'll work out that way, though, and while he could be carried as a utilityman, the Cubs might prefer to have him play regularly in Triple-A.
Yoan Moncada was removed from Sunday's Cactus League tilt against the Rockies due to lower back stiffness.
The White Sox are saying that his early removal was precautionary and that he should be considered day-to-day. It doesn't sound like this will impact his availability for the start of the regular season.
Patrick Wisdom hit his third homer and walked against the Royals in Sunday's win.
Wisdom's big spring (.351/.478/.649 in 46 PA) should ensure that he won't lose any playing time initially this season. Between the .300 OBP and the worsening defense at third base, he's not a great choice for the Cubs as a full-timer. He surely will hit some homers, though.
Trevor Rosenthal allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning in his spring debut Sunday against the Rays.
Working at 92-96 mph, Rosenthal, who had thoracic outlet surgery in 2021, gave up hits to four of the six batters he faced today. His 93.9 mph average on his fastball was down about four mph from when he was last seen in 2020. He'll probably get some of that back with time, but he's going to have to do so in the minors initially.
Jonathan Schoop went 3-for-3 with a homer Sunday as the Tigers beat the Rays 11-10.
The Rays scored in each of the final seven innings and tied the game with three in the ninth, but the Tigers were able to win it in the bottom of the inning. Schoop was 5-for-27 with no homers this spring coming into this one. The Tigers seem prepared to use him as their primary second baseman at the beginning of the year. They'd love for some team to make an offer for him, but Schoop will have to experience some regular-season success if that's going to happen.
Cavan Biggio went hitless for the fifth time in six games Sunday, finishing 0-for-3 against the Yankees.
Biggio got off to a hot start this spring, but he's currently down to .229/.302/.292 in 53 PA. He probably won't be much of a part of the infield mix to begin the year. Starts in the outfield won't be too frequent, either, at least as long as the current group is healthy.