MLB Player News

Cisnero was reassigned to minor-league camp Saturday.

Cisnero hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2014, so it's little surprise to see him fail to win a job despite a 1.86 spring ERA. He'll head to Triple-A and wait for his chance at a roster spot.

Loaisiga was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday but is expected to return six games into the season once CC Sabathia (knee, chest) has served his suspension, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Sabathia will occupy a roster spot at the start of the year but will then head to the injured list for a brief period as he recovers from offseason knee and chest surgeries. Loaisiga will be preferred ahead of Luis Cessa in the rotation due that time, although the Yankees could also use an opener when Sabathia's spot in the rotation comes up.

General manager Jon Daniels said Saturday that Gomez would be included on the Rangers' Opening Day roster, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

The Rangers will select Gomez's contract after the veteran right-hander yielded only two runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out nine over 10.1 innings in Cactus League play. The 31-year-old is expected to fill a middle-relief role out of the Texas bullpen.

Manager Ned Yost said Saturday that Lopez will likely stay at extended spring training after the Royals wrap up their Cactus League slate this weekend, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

Lopez showed some flashes of promise late in 2018 with the Royals but hasn't taken a major step forward through his first five spring outings, posting a 4.41 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and 11:9 K:BB across 16.1 innings. Despite the underwhelming results, Lopez looks likely to fill a rotation spot for the rebuilding Royals, though Yost hasn't indicated when the right-hander might be ready to make his first turn. At this point, only Brad Keller and Jake Junis are locked in as starters for the first two games of the season, but Lopez could be summoned when a third starter is required March 31 versus the White Sox. If the Royals look go with another pitcher as their No. 3 starter, Lopez may not be summoned to the majors until April 9 or 10, when the team would first require a fourth and fifth man in the rotation.

Borucki (elbow) will be re-evaluated in the upcoming days but has already been ruled out for at least one turn through the rotation to begin the season, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reports.

The Blue Jays open their season March 28 and will play 10 consecutive days, so the team won't have the luxury of shortening its rotation to four men while they wait for Borucki to recover from a sore elbow. As a result, Toronto will likely turn to one of Thomas Pannone, Sean Reid-Foley, Tyler Thornton or Sam Gaviglio to make a spot start when Borucki's first turn comes up April 1 versus the Orioles. Once Borucki gets re-evaluated, the Blue Jays should have a better sense of the lefty's timeline to rejoin the big club.

The Tigers placed Fulmer (elbow) on the Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press Saturday.

The transaction creates an opening on the 40-man roster for Gordon Beckham, who has emerged as the victor in the spring job battle for the top utility infield job with the Tigers. Per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, Fulmer is slated to undergo Tommy John surgery Wednesday and will be sidelined for the entire 2019 season and quite likely, a sizable portion of the 2020 campaign.

Sadzeck allowed three runs on two hits and two walks while striking out one over two innings Friday against the Cubs.

Sadzeck is fighting for a one of the final spots in the bullpen and hasn't earned it based on his spring performance. Friday's results pushed his ERA to 8.59, and he's walked eight over 7.1 innings. The right-hander is out of options, which could work in his favor, but the Rangers need to decide if he's a power arm with potential or a power arm that will never materialize as they want.

Burdi suffered an aggravation of his latissimus early in spring training that delayed his work and will require him to participate in extended spring training, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

The White Sox were already being careful with Burdi, a 2016 first-round draft pick who returned from Tommy John elbow surgery late in the 2018 season. "Worst comes to worst, maybe I stay here for a couple of extended [spring camp] games, because I probably won't get as many looks as these guys," Burdi said. "A week or two into the season, it's missing baseball, which sucks. But at the end of the day, I missed an entire year. It's not worth risking an entire other one." Burdi had reached Triple-A before the elbow injury and could work his way to the majors later this season.

Borucki removed himself from a minor-league game Wednesday after experiencing elbow discomfort, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The issue isn't considered to be anything major at this point. That said, elbow problems of any kind are always a worry for a pitcher, so Borucki's status will be worth keeping an eye on, especially with Opening Day less than a week away. The southpaw should be considered day-to-day.

Coulombe was reassigned to minor-league camp Friday.

Coulombe posted a solid 2.79 ERA and 10:3 K:BB through 9.2 innings this spring, but there simply isn't room for him in the Yankees' stacked bullpen. The southpaw, who owns a career 4.27 ERA across parts of five big-league seasons (143.1 innings), should provide bullpen depth for New York.