MLB Player News

The Mariners optioned Then to High-A Everett on Tuesday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Though the Mariners added Then to the 40-man roster during the offseason, he's still at least a year away from reaching the big leagues, and likely longer if the organization continues to develop him as a starter. The right-hander last appeared in the South Atlantic League with Low-A West Virginia in 2019, giving up four runs and striking out 14 over 16 innings while limiting opposing hitters to a .127 average.

The Mariners optioned Mills to their alternate training site Tuesday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Mills is expected to head to Triple-A Tacoma or Double-A Arkansas once the minor-league season gets underway. He finished the 2019 campaign at Arkansas, where he compiled a 4.27 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over 52.2 innings out of the bullpen.

Hatch was diagnosed with right elbow/forearm discomfort after leaving Wednesday's spring game against the Yankees, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

The full extent of Hatch's injury still isn't known following his early exit, but he'll undergo an MRI to determine the nature and severity of the issue. A better timetable for the right-hander's return could be revealed once the results of his additional tests are known.

Hatch exited Wednesday's spring game against the Yankees in the top of the third inning with an apparent elbow injury, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Hatch started Wednesday's Grapefruit League game and allowed two hits and two walks while striking out three over two scoreless innings to begin the contest. However, he pointed at his elbow/forearm area in the top of the third inning and left the game with a trainer. The severity of his injury is unclear, and it's not yet known whether the issue will impact his availability for Opening Day.

Andriese allowed two hits and a walk while striking out three over four scoreless innings in Tuesday's spring game against Atlanta.

Andriese pitched in relief after game starter Tanner Houck. Both pitchers were on the fringe of the rotation, as Boston manager Alex Cora kicked around the idea of six-man rotation. Cora announced Tuesday he will go with a five-man rotation, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. He didn't name the five, but it's fairly obvious it will consist of Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Richards, Martin Perez and Nick Pivetta. As such, Andriese is expected to pitch in a swing role, while Houck, who struggled mightily with command in Grapefruit League play, will likely head to the alternate site, and eventually, Triple-A Worcester.

Norris will likely fill a long-relief role for the Tigers this season, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

After dealing with injuries the past few seasons and a bout with COVID-19 in 2020, Norris settled in as a primary pitcher last year, posting a 2.77 ERA across 13 multi-inning relief appearances. A similar role seems to be on tap for the lefty in 2021, which curtails his fantasy appeal but could make him a solid real-life option for the Tigers, especially as they look to monitor the workloads of starters such as Michael Fulmer, Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal.

Puk will start Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Royals and is expected to throw 45-50 pitches, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

This confirms a Monday report that indicated matters were trending in this direction for Puk, whose velocity and breaking ball both stood out in a Saturday sim game. The urgency to get the big left-hander stretched out has gone up a notch, considering he's the leading candidate to take Mike Fiers' (hip) place in the starting rotation to open the season if the veteran is sidelined as expected.

Flores was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old struggled in three spring appearances, giving up two runs on three hits and four walks over 2.1 innings. Flores will look to get back to the big leagues in 2021 after making his debut in the majors with two appearances last season.

Stiever was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old has been talked up by new manager Tony La Russa and is expected to contribute for the White Sox in 2021, but he won't make the Opening Day roster. Stiever made his major-league debut last season and allowed seven earned runs across 6.1 innings.

Burdi was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old appeared in eight games for the White Sox last season and surrendered nine earned runs with an 11:3 K:BB over 7.1 innings. Burdi is a likely bet to join the big-league club at some point in 2021.