MLB Player News

Barnes pitched a scoreless eighth inning in Friday's 1-0 win over the Rays.

Barnes was the one reliever that was unscathed in Opening Day's bullpen meltdown -- he pitched a scoreless seventh before Joe Kelly and Carson Smith imploded in the eighth -- so he was given the opportunity Friday as the bridge to closer Craig Kimbrel. Barnes will continue to pitch in a setup role all season.

Pomeranz (forearm) threw a bullpen session Friday and could return to the Red Sox by mid-April, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

The bullpen session followed a 60-pitch minor-league game Wednesday. Pomeranz was working on his mechanics in the bullpen, a sign that he's feeling better and working toward a return. He's expected to throw one more minor-league game in Fort Myers and then another at a minor-league affiliate. The left-hander could return in time for a game as early as April 12.

Manaea (0-1) took the loss despite a sterling outing Friday, giving up one run, striking out seven and allowing just four hits over 7.2 innings in a 2-1 defeat to the Angels.

Manaea was the hard-luck loser due to a first-inning home run served up to Mike Trout and an equally brilliant showing from his counterpart Tyler Skaggs. You shouldn't read too much into one start and Manaea is coming off a 2017 season in which he logged a 4.37 ERA, so there are reasons for pause when assessing his potential for a breakout season. That said, he had a solid spring and he certainly had the look of a top-end starter Friday. He'll just need to prove it over a larger sample size to become an impact fantasy starter.

Chapman gave up a run on two hits but struck out three in the ninth inning Friday to collect his first save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Yangervis Solarte touched him up for an RBI double, but otherwise Chapman was as dominant as usual. He now has five strikeouts through his first two innings of the season as he looks to rebound from a relatively disappointing 2017.

Kimbrel struck out the side in a perfect ninth inning Friday to pick up his first save of the season in a 1-0 win over the Rays.

The right-hander missed most of the spring to be with his infant daughter, who needed emergency heart surgery, but Kimbrel apparently didn't require much preparation to be in mid-season form. With the Red Sox expected to compete once again for an AL East title, the 29-year-old should see more than enough late-game opportunities to record at least 30 saves for the eighth straight year.

Kittredge will serve as the Rays starting pitcher against the Red Sox on Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays will feature a "bullpen game" instead of a traditional starting pitcher Saturday, with Kittredge serving as the lead man. The 28-year-old pitched more than one inning twice in 15 appearances during his rookie season and seems unlikely to see more than a couple innings of work.

Pruitt (1-0) fired two scoreless innings in Thursday's 6-4 Opening Day win over the Red Sox, allowing just a hit and a walk.

Taking over for Chris Archer after six innings, Pruitt got through a pair of frames with 26 pitches and served as an effective bridge to closer Alex Colome. The right-hander is slated to serve as a starter for approximately the next two months while Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) recovers from surgery, but as he demonstrated Thursday, he has the ability to fill a variety of roles when called upon.

Diaz hit two batters but struck out the side against the Indians on Thursday to earn his first save of the season.

He also committed a balk and allowed two stolen bases, but in the end, Diaz shut the door, as he did 34 times in 39 chances last season. The 24-year-old has really good stuff and will continue to get the ball in the ninth, but the Mariners are under a lot of pressure to win now and Diaz probably can't afford many hiccups this year.

Graveman completed five innings Thursday against the Angels, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and no walks while recording one strikeout.

Graveman wasn't fooling any Angels' hitters Thursday, as he got touched up for three home runs. In order to be successful, Graveman has to limit his walks and home runs. When he is unable to do so, he doesn't have the strikeout stuff to avoid disastrous stat-lines like the one he posted Thursday. As a result, his fantasy value is limited to the fact that he can eat innings which is only valuable in very deep mixed leagues or AL-only leagues.

Kelly allowed four runs on one hit and three walks in a third of an inning in Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Rays.

Kelly came on to do what he was projected to do: caretake a lead through the eighth inning. But an old bugaboo -- command -- did him in. He ranked second among relievers last season in fastball velocity, but can't always harness that power. The bullpen meltdown is exaggerated because it was Opening Day, but Kelly will continue to get setup work.