MLB Player News

Junis (back) will throw a simulated game Sunday and could make a Cactus League start after that, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

He will get stretched back out in the sim game, and if all goes well he could return to game action in about a week. His previously scheduled start was skipped due to a minor back strain.

Graveman was scratched from Saturday's start due to an illness, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

He has the flu, which has apparently been making it way through Mariners camp. Zac Grotz will start in his place while Graveman throws a side session.

Stiever has yet to pitch in the Cactus League due to soreness in his forearm, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Stiever said he was bothered by soreness "in a weird spot in my arm," but an MRI showed it was normal. White Sox general manager Rick Hahn described the injury as a muscle strain in the forearm, something the team discovered following a side session. As such, he was shut down for two-to-three weeks and is currently halfway through the break. The White Sox reassigned him to minor-league camp to continue his rehab. The 22-year-old is the team's sixth-ranked prospect per RotoWire (fifth-ranked by MLB Pipeline) and will be behind other starters to begin the season.

Chapman made his spring debut in Friday's 5-1 loss to the Orioles, allowing one hit and striking out one in a single scoreless inning.

The spring training season began nearly two weeks ago, but the Yankees waited until Friday to give their veteran closer his first live game action of 2020. Per Pete Caldera of USA Today, Chapman evaluated his outing as "a little out of rhythm, but overall good." With Opening Day less than three weeks away, Chapman should see his Grapefruit League workload ramp up in the coming days.

Jurado was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Friday.

Jurado was going to need a lot of dominoes to fall in order for him to break camp with the Rangers, so him being optioned to Nashville does not come as a surprise. The right-hander remains a candidate to draw spot starts for Texas in 2020.

Honeywell (elbow) completed a 20-pitch bullpen session Friday, Josh Tolentino of The Athletic reports.

It's Honeywell's third bullpen session this spring as he continues to build up his arm strength after June elbow surgery. The 24-year-old hasn't seen game action since 2017 with Triple-A Durham due to injury issues, so the Rays figure to remain cautious and avoid rushing him back.

Perez was optioned to minor-league camp on Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Perez finished 2019 with the major-league club but will return to Triple-A for the beginning of the 2020 campaign. The 23-year-old allowed 10 earned runs over nine major-league innings and posted a 5.36 ERA and 1.64 WHIP in 13 games (10 starts) at Triple-A.

Yarbrough fired three scoreless innings during which he allowed three hits and no walks in a Grapefruit League win over the Pirates on Thursday. He struck out two.

The left-hander continued his stellar start to the spring at the expense of a Pittsburgh lineup that featured multiple regulars, giving him a 0.00 ERA through six innings. Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports Yarbrough threw 43 pitches, 32 of which found the strike zone, and despite allowing the leadoff man to get on in each inning, the 28-year-old was pleased with the extra work those slight struggles allowed him to get in. Yarbrough isn't likely to find out whether his quest for a spot in the starting rotation is successful until the end of Grapefruit League play, but he's certainly making a strong case thus far.

Phillips (elbow) will be shut down from throwing for a few weeks, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Phillips visited Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a second opinion on his elbow Thursday and received relatively good news, but he's still about a month away from being cleared to pitch. The 25-year-old was attempting to secure a spot in the Opening Day bullpen, but he's now unlikely to see game action until mid-April.

Hernandez allowed two hits and a walk while striking out four over three scoreless innings in Thursday's spring game against the Cubs.

Hernandez got the start against the Cubs' regulars and handled himself well. "I knew this was a good test for me," Hernandez told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. "I felt like I controlled myself pretty good and did a good job of making them hit the pitches I wanted. I was trying to attack on every pitch." The right-hander allowed one hard-hit ball among his 47 pitches and got ahead of seven of the 12 batters he faced. Hernandez was originally scheduled to pitch relief in the Rangers' other spring game Thursday, but an injury to Joe Palumbo (heel) forced the team to adjust. Hernandez is competing for a job in the bullpen, though his performance against the Cubs may have sealed the deal. He could fill a multi-inning, middle-relief role, an area of need for the Rangers, who were 23-33 when starters failed to go six innings in 2019.