AL Notes: JD Martinez, Ackley, Kopech, Red Sox, Pineda
Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez suffered a sprain in his mid-right foot while making a catch on Saturday and left the game after just an inning. (Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press has the details.) X-rays were negative and Martinez will be re-evaluated on Sunday before the club decides that any further tests are necessary. He was seen on crutches and left the ballpark in a walking boot, though Martinez told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that “it’s good that I’m able to move on it.” Needless to say, losing Martinez for any extended length of time would jeopardize both the Tigers’ lineup and Martinez’s chances at a big free agent contract next offseason as one of the top players on the open market.
Here’s more from around the American League…
- Dustin Ackley has an opt-out date near the end of Spring Training in his minor league deal with the Angels, the utilityman tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, though he hasn’t decided whether he’ll exercise the clause or remain with the Halos’ Triple-A club. Ackley’s choice is complicated by the fact that he has yet to play the field this spring as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery. The veteran tells Fletcher that he can play first base and swing more or less normally, though he isn’t yet able to handle the throwing involved with second base or the outfield. Ackley hopes he can “at least give them [the Angels] some games defensively before camp is over.”
- Michael Kopech was one of the major pieces the White Sox acquired in the Chris Sale trade, and Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago opines that Kopech could follow Sale’s career trajectory by breaking into the bigs as a reliever. The White Sox eased Sale into the majors by using him out of the bullpen in his first two seasons before unleashing him into the rotation, where Sale emerged as one of baseball’s best starters. Kopech only turns 21 in April and has yet to pitch above high-A ball, though if he continues to impress in the minors, Chicago may be tempted to get him to the big leagues by 2018 as a reliever.
- The Red Sox face a number of pressing questions as they head into the season, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com writes, including some injury concerns for key arms like David Price, Drew Pomeranz and Tyler Thornburg. If these pitchers have to miss time in April, that could be particularly difficult for the club given that Boston faces a tough schedule over the first six weeks, including a lot of division games and tough inter-league matchups against the Cubs, Cardinals and Pirates. As Gammons notes, this could add up to a slow start for the Red Sox, which will only add to the pressure for a team that is expected to challenge for a World Series.
- Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda has already experienced a lot of ups and downs in his career, in no small part due to his struggles with the language barrier, as ESPN’s Andrew Marchand details. Pineda came to MLB with little formal education and virtually no knowledge of English or American culture, which led to some inevitable growing pains (such as Pineda’s infamous suspension for using pine tar in April 2014). The piece is well worth a full read, as it chronicles Pineda’s rise to the majors and the problems that he and many other foreign-born players face upon being thrust into the pressurized environment of pro baseball.
Cafardo’s Latest: Norris, Marlins, Kendrick
In his weekly notes column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo explores the possibility of a Cubs/Red Sox World Series while also sharing some hot stove items…
- The Cardinals may have some interest in Derek Norris. St. Louis currently has Eric Fryer penciled into the backup catcher role, with prospect Carson Kelly waiting in the wings at Triple-A. Norris has received interest from multiple teams (including the Rays) since being released by the Nationals earlier this week, so he could prefer to sign somewhere that can offer him a clearer shot at a starting job, rather than settling for a role as Yadier Molina‘s understudy.
- According to scouts Cafardo has spoken to, Norris would be best served by avoiding the Cardinals and other NL teams in order to stay in the American League. The general consensus among Cafardo’s sources is that Norris isn’t much of a defender, so playing for an AL team would allow him to take the field as a DH. The scouts do praise Norris’ work ethic and leadership abilities, on the plus side.
- The Marlins are looking for third base help in the wake of Martin Prado‘s hamstring injury, and Cafardo suggests that Brett Lawrie could be a fit. There isn’t any suggestion that Miami is specifically targeting Lawrie, though it makes sense that the team is doing its due diligence on third base options. Prado is undergoing an MRI today to determine the severity of his hamstring issue. Lawrie isn’t healthy himself, as he is looking to fully recover from a lower-body injury before signing a new contract. The Marlins already have the left-handed hitting Derek Dietrich to fill in at third, so if the team did need depth in the event of an extended DL stint for Prado, a righty bat like Lawrie would make sense for platoon purposes (though utilityman Miguel Rojas is also on hand).
- Along with his previously reported June 15 opt-out date, Red Sox right-hander Kyle Kendrick will also have a chance to exit his contract Aug. 15. Kendrick signed a minor league deal in January, but he has since become a legitimate contender to serve as the Red Sox’s sixth starter at the outset of the season. The 32-year-old last pitched in the majors in 2015, when he started in all 27 of his appearances with the Rockies and logged an ugly 6.32 ERA in 142 1/3 innings.
AL Notes: A’s, Red Sox, Rangers
The Athletics optioned highly touted shortstop prospect Franklin Barreto to Triple-A on Friday, though it seems he could enter the picture in Oakland sometime this year. “I think we’d all like to see him up here at some point and that’s our anticipation,” executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane said of Barreto, who slashed .481/.500/.667 in 27 spring at-bats (Twitter link via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). Because Marcus Semien occupies short for the A’s, Barreto’s major league debut is likely to come at second base, per Beane, who noted Friday that the keystone is “probably his quickest path to the big leagues” (via Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area). The 21-year-old Barreto, whom Oakland acquired from Toronto in 2014 in the A’s ill-fated Josh Donaldson trade, tops out as Baseball America’s 40th-ranked prospect.
More from the American League:
- Beane also revealed Friday that the Athletics aren’t going to react to right-hander Sonny Gray‘s lat strain by attempting to acquire pitching. Rather, Beane’s confident in the depth the A’s have on hand. “I don’t think it’s necessarily a fertile market to be diving into right now anyway this time of year,” he said. “I think we prefer to stay in-house and give maybe somebody an opportunity.” Kendall Graveman, Sean Manaea and Jharel Cotton are set to comprise the A’s top three starters in a temporarily Gray-less rotation, leaving the final spots to two of Jesse Hahn, Andrew Triggs or Raul Alcantara, writes Stiglich. One hurler who won’t factor into the rotation is righty Frankie Montas, who will work as a reliever this year, according to Beane. However, the A’s still see him as a long-term starter (Twitter link via Slusser).
- Although Red Sox first baseman/designated hitter Hanley Ramirez hasn’t been able to play the field this spring because of a shoulder issue, manager John Farrell doesn’t regard it as a serious injury, relays Rob Bradford of WEEI. “We feel like there’s been a little bit of a breakthrough here,” Farrell said Saturday. “We’re anticipating that throwing to continue to progress and ramp up. The goal, obviously, is still to get him games at first base while in camp, and we’re moving towards that.” Ramirez hasn’t been able to throw, but Farrell pointed out that “he still continues to drill work and ground balls at first base.”
- The Rangers won’t need a fifth starter until April 15, meaning they could opt for a four-man rotation until Andrew Cashner returns, per skipper Jeff Banister (via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). Cashner has made encouraging progress since he suffered a setback in his recovery from biceps tendinitis on March 9.
- One of Cashner’s teammates and fellow starters, Chi Chi Gonzalez, was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear on Friday. That left Gonzalez “stunned,” writes Grant, who adds that the 25-year-old is likely to get a second opinion. “I had some soreness, but thought it was the usual spring training stuff,” Gonzalez told Grant. “I thought it was something minor. And it’s something people often can’t even throw with and here I was pitching. It’s disappointing.”
AL East Notes: Sanchez, Kiermaier, Owens, Thornburg
Agent Scott Boras isn’t pleased with the Blue Jays after the organization renewed righty Aaron Sanchez at the league-minimum rate, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports. (Bob Elliott of the Canadian Baseball Network first reported the renewal.) Davidi says the Jays’ formula for pre-arb salaries “is believed to be primarily based on a player’s service time,” and it seems the organization is one of several that offers only modest bumps over the $535K minimum. Even that raise wasn’t given when Sanchez declined to agree, leading Boras to criticize the organization both for its “low standard” in setting pay as well as the “poison pill” of renewing at the minimum when players don’t agree. GM Ross Atkins defended the system, which he says is a decade old and leaves the choice with the player whether to take the offered raise.
We have seen a variety of interesting pre-arb salary situations this winter as teams around the league increasingly diverge in their approaches to the process. See here and here for a few examples that compare interestingly to Sanchez, a 2+ service-class player who turned in a huge 2016 season (7th in the AL Cy Young voting, 3.00 ERA over 192 innings).
Here’s more from the AL East:
- Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier hasn’t yet officially wrapped up his extension with the club, but he tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he’s “grateful” to the organization for its commitment. As Topkin notes, the Rays have managed to lock up quite a few core players despite the organization’s low payroll levels. In this case, he argues, it’s a risk well worth taking.
- While there’s still plenty of time for 24-year-old Red Sox prospect Henry Owens to make good on his promise, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes that the clock is also ticking on the former top prospect. Owens says he’s staying positive despite struggling this spring, “working hard” but also “staying with an even keel.”
- Red Sox righty Tyler Thornburg was able to return to the mound today, as Speier tweets (with video available). The reliever threw 32 pitches and will now seek to advance towards Opening Day readiness. Thornburg hasn’t thrown in game action in over two weeks as he works to build back shoulder strength.
East Notes: Tillman, Bonifacio, Nats, Kendrick
Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman received a cortisone injection in his right shoulder today, as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun writes. Manager Buck Showalter told reporters that the O’s are “encouraged” with Tillman’s recent progress and are planning to see how he reacts to the cortisone shot a few days from now before determining exactly when Tillman can return to the mound. Showalter again stated that Tillman isn’t expected to be ready for Opening Day, but Encina notes that the cortisone injection will hopefully allow Tillman to debut for the Orioles at some point in April. Certainly the Orioles will hope for a speedy recovery, as Tillman represents one of the top three arms in their rotation. But for Tillman, personally, there’s quite a bit at stake, as he’s slated to become a free agent at season’s end.
More from the game’s Eastern divisions…
- Veteran utilityman Emilio Bonifacio is making a “strong push” to break camp with the Braves at the end of Spring Training, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bonifacio had a pair of poor seasons in 2015-16 and acknowledged to O’Brien that his conditioning in recent seasons has fallen off. Bonifacio reported to camp in better shape than he has in the past couple of years and has performed well while showing the ability to play all second base, third base and all three outfield positions. The Braves don’t currently have a fourth outfield option that has much in the way of center-field experience, so the versatile Bonifacio could fill a need in that regard.
- While the Nationals aren’t publicly acknowledging the possibility, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes that the team can very likely only carry one of Adam Lind or Clint Robinson on the bench this season. And, with Lind having inked a Major League contract with an option for the 2018 campaign earlier this year, he’s the likelier candidate to claim that vacant bench spot. The 32-year-old Robinson is out of minor league options, so he’d have to clear waivers or break camp with the team if the Nationals hope to retain him.
- Right-hander Kyle Kendrick has improbably gone from a long shot to make the Red Sox‘ roster to perhaps their best option to serve as the team’s sixth starter, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Drellich notes that Boston’s crowded rotation picture, featuring stars like Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello, made it difficult to lure starting depth on minor league deals. Kendrick, though, was drawn to a winning environment in Boston. Additionally, his agent, John Boggs, also represents Sean O’Sullivan, who spoke highly of his own experience with the Sox in a role similar to the one for which Kendrick is competing. Kendrick explains to Drellich that he was plagued by shoulder troubles in recent years and altered his pitch selection at the Rockies’ request upon moving to Coors Field. His hope is that with his more traditional mix of pitches and a healthy shoulder, he can return to the form that allowed him to log a 4.30 ERA in 862 innings with the Phillies from 2009-14.
AL Notes: Povse, Price, Mancini, A’s
While former first-rounder Alex Jackson got the headlines in the offseason trade that sent him from the Mariners to the Braves, Seattle is feeling good about its end of the deal, MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes. Righty Max Povse has impressed in camp, showing a bigger fastball than had been anticipated. Manager Scott Servais praised his current offerings while noting that “there’s a lot of room for growth” for Povse.
Here’s more from the American League:
- While the general vibe around David Price‘s elbow health has been positive, details have been sparse, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. Price and the Red Sox have expressed confidence, but little in the way of specifics with regard to the precise injury and what needs to be done for the lefty to get back on the mound. Further, as MacPherson explains, based largely upon an interview with sports medicine expert Dr. Paul Fadale, there’s still plenty of reason for concern.
- The Orioles are continuing to cram power bats in the outfield, with Trey Mancini now joining the freshly re-signed Pedro Alvarez on the grass. As Jon Meoli of the Batimore Sun reports, Mancini spent the winter preparing for the possible transition, but is only now readying to do so in game action. The long-time first baseman would surely be a much more intriguing player if he were capable of playing a passable outfield, though he’ll surely be given plenty of MLB opportunity regardless. Mancini, who’ll soon turn 25, blasted three home runs in 15 plate appearances during his first taste of the bigs last year.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle takes a look at how the Athletics‘ pen is shaping up. Righty Santiago Casilla was bombed in his spring debut, though he’s playing catch-up after a visa issue delayed his arrival. Lefty Sean Doolittle, meanwhile, is slated to make his first competitive appearance tomorrow. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be joined by another southpaw in the bullpen, but Slusser says that Ross Detwiler “is emerging as a strong possibility” to claim such a role.
Injury Notes: Seager, Price, Red Sox, Scherzer, Mariners
Dodgers star Corey Seager won’t appear in a game for the team at all this week, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (Twitter links via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times). Roberts said over the weekend that Seager, who finished third in last season’s MVP voting thanks to a .308/.365/.512 batting line and strong glovework at short, is dealing with an “oblique-ish” injury. While there’s still time for Seager to ramp back up for the season, oblique issues have a tendency to linger. Seager hasn’t played since March 3 and now seemingly won’t get into action until the final third of the month. McCullough adds that lefty Scott Kazmir also isn’t likely to pitch in a game this week as he continues to tweak his delivery after leaving his most recent Cactus League outing due to tightness and limited mobility in his hip.
A few more injury issues worth keeping an eye on around the league…
- David Price told Red Sox reporters that he’s not 100 percent certain exactly what the injury he’s facing is, but in fairly strange fashion, noted that he’d have opted for surgery if he were 22 or 23 years old (via Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald). “They said if I was 22 or 23, they’d have told me to go have surgery,” said Price. “…I’ve gone through this. This is something I feel like happens every spring training. It’s those first four to five weeks of spring training that I feel like I go through this every single year, and this year was just a little bit worse.” Pressed on the specifics of the injury Price stated that he’s not sure what precisely set off the alarm bells for doctors but added that his elbow feels good and offered no concern regarding his ulnar collateral ligament. There’s no timeline for his recovery, though Drellich notes that it’s looking likely that Price will be on the DL to open the season.
- Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal provides updates on a pair of mending Red Sox relievers (Twitter links). Setup man Tyler Thornburg, acquired in the trade that sent Travis Shaw to Milwaukee this winter, is slated to throw off a mound on Wednesday. Thornburg hasn’t appeared in a game since March 1 but appears to be nearing a return to action. As for last season’s setup acquisition, Carson Smith (who underwent Tommy John surgery before pitching in the regular season), he threw a 15-to-18 pitch bullpen session today, which marks his first mound work since undergoing his Tommy John procedure.
- Nationals ace Max Scherzer voiced with confidence on Monday that he’ll be ready for Opening Day, per Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. Scherzer, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, has been slowed by a stress fracture in his right ring finger but said plainly on Monday, “I’m gonna do it,” when asked about being ready for the start of the season. Manager Dusty Baker offered a similar take, stating that Scherzer is “a little bit behind but not as far behind as it looked like he was going to be at the beginning” of camp.
- Mariners setup man Steve Cishek is all but certain to begin the season on the disabled list, per Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. The 30-year-old side-armer had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip last October and is still at least one week, if not two weeks, away from throwing off the mound, according to manager Scott Servais. “I think coming into this camp, it was no secret that we were projecting that he might start the season a little bit late,” said Servais.“We’re still on that schedule.”
- Within that same piece, Dutton notes that the Mariners got better news on right-hander Tony Zych, who is already throwing off a mound and will face hitters in live BP this week. And in a second column, Dutton adds that the Mariners got positive news following an MRI on right-hander Shae Simmons. There’s no ligament damage in Simmons’ elbow, as the hard-thrower is instead dealing with a strained muscle in his forearm. He’ll be out for the next couple of days, but it seems that the former Brave has staved off any form of serious injury.
Quick Hits: Royals, Rebuilds, Quentin, Payrolls
The Royals are pushing to contend in 2017 but if the team is out of the race in July, GM Dayton Moore has told outside executives that impending free agents Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Alcides Escobar will all be available, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. Moore stopped short of completely confirming this report, though he did tell Sherman that “we would have to consider it [a fire sale] if things do not go right.” 2017 has long been seen as the last year of the Royals’ run of contention with this core group, though the team is considering pursuing a reunion with at least one or two of the quartet this winter once they hit free agency. As the Yankees did with Aroldis Chapman last season, K.C. could deal several of their free agents to reload on prospects or MLB-ready talent and then try to re-sign one or more of the traded players back onto the roster. Sherman figures the Mets will keep tabs on Cain and/or Moustakas given their uncertainty in center field and third base.
Here’s some more from around baseball…
- There’s no set timetable for when a rebuilding team should start trying to compete again, as C. Trent Rosencrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer hears from several general managers who have either led their teams through rebuilds or are currently within the process of building for the future. The Cubs’ blueprint for rebuilding seems to have worked perfectly, though GM Jed Hoyer noted that the team’s decision to spend on veteran talent following an 89-loss season in 2014 was made in part because too much losing would’ve been detrimental. “We were very concerned about a losing culture and bringing up our young players. If you bring your players up in a culture that accepts losing, at some point it’s going to have a negative impact on those guys,” Hoyer said.
- Now that he is finally healthy, Carlos Quentin felt he owed it to himself to give baseball one more shot, the veteran outfielder tells Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. “I didn’t want to look back five years from now and say, ‘I should have just picked up the phone and made a call and swallowed my ego and pride and done it the right way,’ ” Quentin said. The Red Sox signed Quentin to a minor league deal this winter, and at age 34 and having not appeared in a big league game since July 26, 2014, Quentin is comfortable with the fact that he faces a long road to crack Boston’s deep roster.
- The Dodgers have the more “dead money” on their payroll than any other team in baseball, Fangraphs’ Craig Edwards observes. Los Angeles has $47.4MM committed to players who are not on their 40-man roster (whether they’ve been traded, released or are still in the organization but just not on the 40-man) this season. The Padres ($35.1MM), Yankees ($26.5MM), Angels ($22.4MM) and Red Sox ($22.3MM) round out the top five, though San Diego is by far the leader in terms of dead money as a percentage of overall payroll. A whopping 54.8% of the Padres’ 2017 payroll is going towards players who are no longer on the team’s 40-man roster — Melvin Upton Jr., James Shields, Hector Olivera and Jedd Gyorko.
East Notes: Red Sox, Braves, Mets
It didn’t surprise Clay Buchholz that the Red Sox traded him during the offseason, the right-hander told reporters – including Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald – on Sunday (Twitter links). Buchholz is now with the Phillies, though he expected Boston to send him to the White Sox as part of the Chris Sale deal. “This is probably good for me, getting out of Boston in general,” said Buchholz, who had been a member of the Red Sox since they selected him in the first round of the 2005 draft. “It stinks to say that but seems like more people remember bad things that happened rather than good things.” Buchholz had his down moments in Boston, including a rough 2016, but posted respectable numbers in 1,167 2/3 innings with the Sox (3.96 ERA, 6.93 K/9, 3.21 BB/9, 47.8 percent ground-ball rate) and had arguably his best season in 2013 as part of a World Series-winning club.
More from the East Coast:
- The Braves have attempted to reel in free agent outfielder Angel Pagan, but it’s “highly unlikely” he’ll end up in Atlanta because he’s “seeking far more” than they’re willing to offer, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Pagan wants a major league contract, unsurprisingly, but Atlanta’s among a group of teams that have offered him a minors pact. Judging by Bowman’s report, the Braves aren’t going to budge.
- While the Mets’ Sandy Alderson is both the oldest general manager in the majors (69) and in a contract year, it sounds as if he aims to continue with the organization beyond the 2017 campaign. “I haven’t thought about how much longer I want to do it,” he told Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. “But I’d like to do it a little longer.” The Mets had endured four straight non-playoff seasons before hiring Alderson in October 2010, but they’ve gradually turned around their fortunes on the longtime executive’s watch. New York is coming off back-to-back playoff seasons, including a 2015 World Series berth, for just the second time in franchise history.
- Red Sox reliever Tyler Thornburg‘s lack of shoulder strength partially boils down to miscommunication, writes Silverman. After they acquired him from the Brewers, the Red Sox, who have their own shoulder maintenance program, sent Thornburg a list of exercises to perform daily. He misunderstood the directions, however. “I kind of figured that this is a list of the exercises they incorporated, I didn’t think this is what they do all in one day,” said Thornburg. “I thought, ‘here’s a list of exercises, learn them, pick five or six of them,’ because that was pretty much what we did in Milwaukee.” Teammate and fellow reliever Joe Kelly also had a difficult time adjusting to the program when the Red Sox acquired him in 2014, but he’s now on board with it. “It’s something that I didn’t buy into all the way when I first did it because it’s something new, something new you’re doing and you’re getting sore and fatigued, it’s something you probably don’t want to do,” Kelly stated. “It’s something I stuck with, and I tried it and ultimately it just felt great. It’s one of the things you’ve kind of got to get results first in order to believe.”
Pitching Notes: Rangers, Astros, Marlins, O’s, Red Sox, Jays
While it’s possible the Rangers will bring back right-hander Colby Lewis to compete for a spot in their banged-up rotation, there hasn’t been any movement toward re-signing the free agent, general manager Jon Daniels told Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. The 37-year-old Lewis is unwilling to take a minors deal, reports Fraley, so the Rangers will have to remove someone from their 40-man roster if they hand him a major league contract. Nearly all of Lewis’ career has been spent in Texas, where he pitched his first three seasons (2002-04) and the past seven (2010-16). He threw 116 1/3 innings of 3.71 ERA ball last season, though his FIP, xFIP and SIERA each hovered around the 5.00 mark.
The latest on a few other American League pitchers:
- No full-time reliever eclipsed the 90-inning mark in either of the previous two seasons, but several could do it this year, observes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. There’s “a growing desire” among GMs and managers to utilize certain relievers for multiple innings, relays Sherman, who writes that the Astros’ Chris Devenski and the Marlins’ David Phelps are prime candidates to serve as bullpen workhorses in 2017. “Not every reliever is built for a versatile role. [Devenski] is,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. The right-hander was sensational across 108 1/3 frames as a rookie last year, when he threw 83 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and delivered a 1.61 ERA, 8.98 K/9 and 1.26 BB/9. Phelps was great at preventing runs in both roles (2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 innings as a starter, 2.31 ERA in 62 1/3 relief frames), but the righty only worked an inning at a time from the bullpen. Miami’s now stretching him out to throw 50 pitches in a given appearance, if necessary. “I look at Phelps like Andrew Miller,” manager Don Mattingly told Sherman. “I can use him in multiple ways. I can pitch him a few innings or I can have him close a game. You can’t do it on a daily basis. He still needs his rest. You know in bigger situations in the fifth and sixth innings you can see him.”
- One of the Orioles’ top starters, righty Chris Tillman, will open the season on the 10-day disabled list, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Tillman has been dealing with shoulder issues for the past few months, and he underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection in December. The Orioles won’t need a fifth starter until April 15, notes Kubatko, who lists Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson, Gabriel Ynoa, Jayson Aquino and Chris Lee as possibilities to slot into their rotation during Tillman’s absence.
- Red Sox left-hander David Price threw Saturday for the first time since suffering a flexor strain earlier this month, per Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Manager John Farrell came away encouraged, calling it “a good day for David,” but a return still doesn’t exactly seem imminent for the ace. “All of the early phase of throwing are going to be short, controlled effort and energy,” said Farrell. “We’re not even mapping out distances right now. We’re more interested in seeing how his arm responds to even the light throwing.”
- Blue Jays southpaw T.J. House left the team’s game against the Tigers in an ambulance Friday after a line drive struck him in the head. Fortunately, he didn’t suffer any skull fractures and is “doing well,” GM Ross Atkins told Jayson Stark of ESPN on Saturday. The club will be “extremely conservative” in deciding when to clear House to return to the mound, Atkins added.