MLB Player News

Taylor (shoulder) retired all four batters he faced Thursday in the Red Sox's 5-4 win over the Twins in Grapefruit League play.

Taylor finished the 2020 campaign on the injured list due to left shoulder tendinitis, but he looks to be fully healthy so far this spring. After tossing a scoreless inning in his spring debut Sunday, Taylor delivered another clean outing four days later. He's expected to begin the 2021 campaign as the top lefty out of the Boston bullpen.

Paredes (undisclosed) has returned to camp and is throwing a bullpen session Thursday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Paredes had been away from the team due to health and safety protocols, but he's now back in action for the Astros. The right-hander will now have three weeks to build up ahead of Opening Day.

Diekman has been credited with two holds in as many Cactus League appearances -- a pair of one-inning scoreless efforts during which he's allowed no hits and one walk while recording four strikeouts.

The veteran southpaw's second outing came Wednesday against the Brewers, when he followed starter Chris Bassitt in the fourth inning. Diekman was outstanding as a setup option last season while racking up a 36.8 percent strikeout rate and recording a minuscule 0.42 ERA over 21 innings, and he seems set to serve as one of manager Bob Melvin's most reliable bullpen options once again in 2021.

Alcala threw a scoreless inning in Wednesday's spring training game and reached 99 mph with his fastball, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports. Alcala has given up one run with three strikeouts and three walks in three innings this spring.

Alcala had a 2.63 ERA with a 30 percent strikeout rate and respectable 8.9 percent walk rate last season, powered by a fastball that topped out at 100.7 mph. He could have some growing pains, though, as Alcala had pitched just 9.1 innings above Double-A before last year. For the time being, he looks set to have a prominent role among Minnesota's setup corps.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Thursday that Honeywell (elbow) has looked good during his recent bullpen sessions and will soon advance to pitching in live batting practice, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Cash was unwilling to speculate if Honeywell would be ready to pitch in a Grapefruit League game at any point, but the right-hander looks like he'll at least be able to test himself against hitters in a controlled setting prior to the end of spring training. Honeywell is expected to open the season in the injured list while he works back from a minor procedure he required on his elbow last December. It was the fourth different elbow procedure or surgery for Honeywell, who hasn't pitched in affiliated ball since 2017.

Peters (back) will throw a bullpen session soon, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

He has been battling back spasms since late last week and will likely need to get into game action fairly soon to be considered for a spot on the Opening Day roster. Even if he were to return and make the club, Peters would likely pitch in low-leverage situations.

Naughton (elbow) resumed throwing Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Naughton was diagnosed with an elbow strain in late February. He's back to throwing within two weeks of the diagnosis, which certainly appears to be a good sign. Naughton's not considered a candidate for the Opening Day roster, so he'll have plenty of time to build up before the Triple-A season begins.

Reyes will undergo Tommy John surgery next week, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Reyes was diagnosed with a UCL sprain in early March, and it turns out that the injury is bad enough to require surgery. A typical recovery timeline would see Reyes shut down until the middle of next season. At that point, he'll be a 29-year-old coming off major surgery with just 26 big-league innings to his name.

Ottavino allowed one hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning in Wednesday's spring game against Atlanta.

Ottavino made his spring debut in Grapefruit League play, following starter Matt Andriese in the fourth inning. He's competing to be Boston's closer along with Matt Barnes, who was impressive in his spring debut earlier this week. Ottavino has 19 career saves over 460 relief appearances and briefly served as a closer for a couple of stretches with Colorado in 2015 and 2016. Boston manager Alex Cora reiterated to Ian Browne of MLB.com that a closer will not be named until later in spring training, but the manager said Ottavino will be given the ball for clean innings, facing both righties and lefties.

Lopez is the scheduled starter for Thursday's game against the Reds, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Lopez, who pitched two perfect innings against Cleveland last Saturday, is vying for the final spot in the rotation. He's competition for the job is Carlos Rodon, who has not yet appeared in a Cactus League game.