MLB Player News

Pivetta allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five over four-plus innings in Tuesday's spring training start against the Pirates.

Pivetta took the mound for the third time and clearly didn't have his best stuff. In addition to the three free passes, the right-hander gave up two home runs. He did, however, get his pitch count up to 78, which puts him on schedule with one more Grapefruit League start before facing the Yankees in the second game of the regular season. The plan is for Pivetta to throw six innings the next time out, Dawn Klemish of MLB.com reports.

Alexander is expected to be included in the Tigers' Opening Day rotation as the No. 5 starter while Michael Pineda's arrival at spring training remains delayed by visa issues, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.

Though Pineda's visa issues could be resolved any day now, the 33-year-old won't have enough time to complete a buildup program that would put him on track to handle a starter's workload by the time the regular season begins. Prior to Detroit's addition of Pineda earlier this month, Alexander had already been stretching out for a possible starting role. According to Morosi, the Tigers are expecting Alexander to take up to two turns in the rotation before transitioning into a long-relief role once Pineda is available.

The Angels reassigned Weiss to minor-league camp Tuesday.

Considering Weiss hasn't pitched in the majors since 2018, his exclusion from the Angels' Opening Day roster comes as little surprise. After inking a minor-league deal with the Halos earlier in the offseason, Weiss is expected to serve as organizational bullpen depth at Triple-A Salt Lake in 2022.

The White Sox optioned Lambert to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.

He was one of nine players optioned or reassigned Tuesday in the latest round of the White Sox's cuts from big-league camp. Lambert is expected to slot into the Charlotte rotation for the second year in a row after producing a 4.76 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 64.1 innings across 19 starts. The 27-year-old will be an option to make spot starts for the big club in 2022 if the White Sox's rotation depth should be tested at any point.

The Guardians reassigned Gibaut to minor-league camp Tuesday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Gibaut, who had been attending big-league camp as a non-roster invitee, is expected to open the season at Triple-A Columbus. Between stops with the Rays, Rangers and Twins, Gibaut has made 27 relief appearances at the big-league level across the past three seasons, generating a 5.40 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 33.1 innings.

Kittredge has a clear path to saves with the news that Pete Fairbanks (lat) is facing a multi-month absence.

One of the best relievers in baseball, Kittredge posted a 1.88 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 22.0 K-BB% and a 53.5 GB% in 71.2 innings last season. He also had nine wins and eight saves. The Rays typically give relievers scheduled days off, but when he is available, Kittredge will be used in the late innings. He may not push for 30 saves, but he could get to 30 wins-plus-saves if he stays healthy.

Otto allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out one over 2.2 innings in Monday's spring training start against the Mariners.

Otto made his second Cactus League start, and it was slightly better than the first but not good enough to stake a claim to a spot in the rotation. The 26-year-old right-hander has given up six runs (four earned) on five hits and four walks over 4.1 spring innings. Texas manager Chris Woodward said earlier this spring that Otto might benefit from more time in Triple-A, and the results seem to confirm that notion.

Hall was optioned to Double-A Bowie on Monday, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Hall made just one appearance in spring training prior to his demotion, striking out a pair of batters in one scoreless inning of relief work. He'll begin the season at Double-A, where he posted a 3.13 ERA and 1.03 WHIP to go along with a 56:16 K:BB across 31.2 innings a year ago. Although he'll begin 2022 with the Baysox, reports emerged earlier in the spring that the southpaw could progress through Baltimore's farm system quickly with the possibility of making his big-league debut at some point during the upcoming campaign.

Bolanos was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Monday.

Bolanos came up short in his pursuit of the Opening Day roster and will head to Triple-A, where he posted a 6.34 ERA and 1.73 WHIP with a 34:27 K:BB over 38.1 frames a season ago. He'll be a candidate for a midseason promotion should the Royals need bullpen help.

With the Tigers sending down a few relievers Monday, Foley now appears more likely to make the Opening Day roster, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Bryan Garcia was optioned to Triple-A Toledo, while Jacob Barnes, Miguel Diaz and Wily Peralta were all optioned to minor-league camp Monday. Foley is on the 40-man roster, which helps his chances of sticking around as the roster is trimmed down further. The 26-year-old would likely slot in as a low-leverage reliever for the Tigers with limited fantasy appeal.