MLB Player News

Gonsalves is opening the year at Double-A Chattanooga, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports.

This comes as a bit of a surprise, as Gonsalves dominated at Double-A last year and reached Triple-A late in the season. He struggled for the first time at the highest level of the minors, so perhaps there are things the Twins want him to work on against less advanced hitters before sending him back to Triple-A Rochester. He is on the 40-man roster and turns 24 in July, so it would not be surprising if he made his big-league debut at some point this season.

Rodney threw a scoreless ninth inning in a non-save situation in Wednsday's win at Pittsburgh. He had two strikeouts but gave up two hits.

Rodney entered the game with a four-run lead. It was an encouraging outing after he took the loss in his last outing by allowing a walk-off home run. Rodney looks set as Minnesota's closer, but he may have a shorter leash than last year in Arizona as setup man Addison Reed is capable of taking over closer duties.

Manaea (1-1) picked up the win over the Rangers on Wednesday, allowing one run on three hits and a walk over eight innings while striking out four.

The left-hander threw 64 of his 94 pitches for strikes in a strong outing. Velocity remains a potential issue for Manaea, however -- by the end of the night he was having trouble hitting 90 mph with his fastball, and he generated only seven swinging strikes in his eight innings. He gets an exploitable matchup Tuesday on the road against a Dodgers squad that has already shown signs of struggling against southpaws.

Fulmer allowed three runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts over five innings in a no-decision Wednesday against the Blue Jays.

Fulmer was strong through five innings, but he couldn't get an out in the sixth and was swiftly pulled after serving up a single and a double to open the frame. Both runners would score, spoiling what was an otherwise encouraging outing for the right-hander. If Fulmer can get past the troubles he encounters the third time through the order, his future is promising. He needed just 73 pitches to get through five innings and change Wednesday night, and with that efficiency, he can become a valuable member of Chicago's pitching staff.

Hendriks fired 1.1 scoreless innings in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Rangers, allowing a hit and a walk while recording a strikeout.

The 29-year-old righty had allowed an earned run on a pair of hits in his 2018 debut against the Angels last Saturday, so Tuesday's effort affords him a little early season equilibrium. Hendriks has been serviceable across 123 appearances in his first two seasons in Oakland, amassing four wins, 26 holds and one save along the way. However, the long-ball issues that have plagued him frequently throughout his long career have also surfaced at times, as he's allowed 13 home runs over 128.2 innings during that span. Still blessed with a mid-90s fastball, Hendriks would naturally stand to see an uptick in multiple metrics if he can succeed at keeping the ball in the park more often this season.

Coulombe fired a scoreless eighth inning in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Rangers.

He breezed through the potent trio of Joey Gallo, Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre on six pitches, giving him three scoreless efforts to open the season. The 28-year-old southpaw could see a workload akin to the career-high 72 appearances he logged in 2017, given the scarcity of his handedness in the Athletics' relief corps.

Pruitt (1-1) allowed six runs (five earned) on three hits and two walks over 2.1 innings in Tuesday's 11-4 loss to the Yankees. He struck out four.

Originally scheduled to start Monday, Pruitt saw the opportunity evaporate when that game was postponed due to inclement weather. He had the chance to get some work in Tuesday, but that produced disastrous results, as the right-hander was walloped for a three-run home run by Didi Gregorius among the trio of hits he gave up. Having thrown 50 pitches in Tuesday's long-relief stint, it would appear highly unlikely that Pruitt takes the mound Thursday against the Red Sox, although he could conceivably be part of a cadre of relievers that sees action if manager Kevin Cash opts to make it one of the team's bullpen days.

Almonte (shoulder) was dealt to the Angels on Wednesday in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Almonte was recently designated for assignment by the Royals. In a corresponding move, the Angels removed Juan Graterol from the 40-man roster. Almonte has only appeared in 11 big-league games over the course of his career, but performed well between the Double- and Triple-A levels in 2017. Due to a recent bout of shoulder soreness, he will likely begin the year on the DL at Triple-A Salt Lake.

Norris will be available as a reliever over the next two games before likely being optioned to Triple-A Toledo upon the return of Mike Fiers (back) from the 10-day disabled list, Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group reports.

Unfortunately for Norris, it appears as though Wednesday's postponement cost him his lone chance at earning a start in the Tigers' rotation. Even in the event that Fiers will require a little extra time before returning to the major-league mound, the club will likely just plug Francisco Liriano in for Sunday's start. Barring anything unexpected, Norris will be in Toledo's rotation to start its campaign.

Barnes was saddled with a blown save Tuesday while allowing one run on two walks and a hit while striking out one over one inning, but Boston defeated the Marlins 4-2 in extra innings.

Barnes was the logical choice to save the game in the 11th inning after Boston plated a run in the top half of the inning. Craig Kimbrel was used in the 10th, and Barnes had authored three impressive scoreless outings to start the season. Facing the best part of the Marlins' order, he dispatched the first two batters before he walked two and gave up a game-tying double. He nearly was tagged with a loss, but shortstop Xander Bogaerts gunned down Justin Bour at home plate. Barnes remains a trusted member of the setup crew, but walks have been a constant since he was converted to a reliever in the majors.