MLB Baseball 24-Hour Briefing
×Last updated: March 20, 2026, 8:30 PM ET
MLB Roster Moves & Player Status
The final stages of spring training yielded several significant roster adjustments across the league, primarily involving top prospects being reassigned to the minor leagues to refine their skills. The New York Yankees optioned outfielder Jasson Dominguez down to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday, while the Washington Nationals followed suit by sending top prospect Dylan Crews to Triple-A due to persistent hitting struggles nationals option top prospect Crews to Triple A. Further south, the Miami Marlins made a rotation decision, optioning left-hander Braxton Garrett to Jacksonville and opting instead to keep right-hander Janson Junk as the team’s fifth starter marlins send P Garrett down. Conversely, the Philadelphia Phillies confirmed that rookie right-hander Andrew Painter successfully secured the final rotation spot, making the Opening Day roster as the No. 5 starter following an announcement from manager Rob Thomson rookie Painter makes Phils' roster.
In other personnel news, the Minnesota Twins elected to release several veterans from minor league contracts on Friday, including high-profile arms Liam Hendriks and Andrew Chafin, alongside infielder Gio Urshela hendriks, Chafin and Urshela released by Twins. Meanwhile, off-field legal issues impacted the Cleveland Guardians, as pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were moved to unpaid non-disciplinary leave pending trial regarding an alleged pitch-rigging scheme, following an agreement between the club and Major League Baseball officials clase, Ortiz put on unpaid non-disciplinary leave. On the injury front, the Houston Astros confirmed that left-hander Bennett Sousa will commence the season on the injured list due to an oblique issue, as announced by manager Joe Espada astros LHP Sousa (oblique) to start season IL.
Spring Training Takeaways & Collectibles Market
While teams finalized rosters, insights emerged from the final weeks of exhibition play, with the New York Mets reportedly experimenting with calling pitches directly from the dugout during spring training contests, mirroring the approach recently adopted by the division-rival Marlins mets experiment with pitch calls from the dugout. Beyond immediate team decisions, the collectibles market saw a massive transaction involving two of the sport's biggest stars: a one-of-one 2025 Topps Chrome dual Logoman card featuring game-worn patches from both Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani sold for $2.16 million dual MVP gold Judge, Ohtani card sells for $2.16M. Separately, despite a strong debut showing, one analyst suggests that Texas Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford, currently viewed as potentially overlooked, remains a sleeper pick for the American League MVP award heading into the 2026 season why Wyatt Langford is an AL MVP sleeper pick.
Off-Field Litigation
In somber off-field developments, the family of former Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner initiated legal action, filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the Costa Rican resort where Gardner's 14-year-old son, Miller, was tragically found deceased from carbon monoxide poisoning family of ex-Yankees player Gardner sues resort.