MLB Player News

Jimenez (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning with a strikeout and recorded the win in Tuesday's game against the Yankees.

Jimenez breezed through three New York hitters on just 11 pitches (nine for strikes), then grabbed his first win of the year when Detroit scored twice in the top of the ninth to pull ahead 3-1. The 24-year-old is still stuck behind Shane Greene in Detroit's bullpen pecking order, but that could change if the latter struggles or gets traded at some point this season.

Burke will start the season opener for Double-A Frisco on Thursday, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Burke is a left-handed pitcher Texas acquired from Tampa Bay during the offseason as part of a three-team deal involving Jurikson Profar. He made nine starts at the Double-A level in the Rays organization. The 22-year-old will lead the next wave of prospect pitchers currently assigned to the Rough Riders. After Burke on Thursday, right-hander Jonathan Hernandez will throw Friday and lefty Joe Palumbo goes Sunday.

VerHagen (forearm) will require a rehab assignment before coming off the IL, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The minor-league season begins Thursday, so VerHagen likely won't be returning this week if he needs a tuneup in the minors. He is without a timetable to even begin that rehab assignment, but once fully healthy he will assume a mid-leverage relief role.

Betances (shoulder) will face hitters soon and will likely return quickly after that, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

He threw a bullpen session over the weekend and it sounds like he could advance to facing hitters sometime this week. If all goes according to plan, Betances should return from the IL sometime in mid-April.

Loaisiga will be recalled to start Wednesday's game against the Tigers, Coley Harvey of ESPN.com reports.

This was widely anticipated, but fantasy owners who plugged Loaisiga into lineups this week can breathe a sigh of relief now that we have confirmation from the team. Per Lindsey Adler of The Athletic, CC Sabathia (knee/chest) is expected back in mid-to-late-April, so Loaisiga may not stick in the rotation indefinitely. However, this is a pretty appealing matchup for a pitcher who logged a 2.95 xFIP and 33 strikeouts in 24.2 innings in the majors last season.

Gibaut (lat) will open the year on the 7-day IL with Triple-A Durham, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Gibaut is perhaps the best reliever on a loaded Durham pitching staff, but a mild lat strain that he suffered in February is still bothering him. When he gets healthy, it may not be long before he joins the big-league bullpen. Long term, he profiles as a high-end setup man.

The Giants traded Law to the Blue Jays on Wednesday along with infielder Alen Hanson and pitcher Juan De Paula in exchange for outfielder Kevin Pillar.

Law posted an impressive 2.13 ERA and 0.96 WHIP over 61 relief appearances as a rookie with the Giants in 2016, but he's fallen on hard times ever since. After back-to-back rough seasons, Law lost his spot on the Giants' 40-man roster in February, which indicated that he wasn't a major part of the team's future plans. He'll look for a fresh start in a new organization but will probably need to find success with Triple-A Buffalo before receiving the call to Toronto.

Armstrong (oblique) threw a successful bullpen session Sunday and will throw again Tuesday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Armstrong appears to be on track for a return at some point over the next several days. The right-hander is likely to log one minor-league rehab outing if he gets through Tuesday's session without setbacks and could be a candidate for activation by this coming weekend.

Chapman struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Monday to record his first save of the season in a 3-1 win over the Tigers.

His first pitch of the night clocked in at 95 mph, but by the time an overmatched Mikie Mahtook got to the plate, Chapman was humming at 97-98 mph and ended the game with a four-pitch strikeout. That's still a step back from the 99 mph he averaged last season, but it's progress, and there's no reason to think his velocity will pick up further as the weather gets warmer. Chapman's collected at least 30 saves in six of the last seven seasons, and is now on his way to making it seven of eight.

Yarbrough (1-0) allowed one run on three hits in 4.1 innings during Monday's 7-1 victory over Colorado. He struck out three and earned the win.

Yarbrough started the second frame after Ryne Stanek tossed a scoreless first. His offense spotted him a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning before he allowed his lone run on a Nolan Arenado double in the sixth. Like in 2018, the 6-foot-5 lefty will likely be the primary pitcher after an opener starts for most of the season. Yarbrough should next face San Francisco on Sunday.