MLB Player News

Johnson is scheduled to start the fifth game of the season, April 2, on the road against the Marlins.

Johnson emerged with a dominant spring and was a no-brainer to take a temporary spot in a rotation beset with injuries. The 27-year-old left-hander has rediscovered impeccable command of a low-90s fastball and advanced curveball. He'll eventually land in the bullpen when the injured starters come back, but he can get big-league hitters out and will stick around.

Moore is scheduled to start the third game of the season, March 31, at home against the Astros.

Moore will be making his regular-season debut for the Rangers, who acquired the left-hander from the Giants during the offseason. He's 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA in three career starts against Houston, although those outings occurred before the Astros' batting order became loaded with dangerous hitters.

Fulmer is scheduled to start the fifth game of the season, April 3, against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

Fulmer salvaged a horrible spring with a pair of decent outings in his final two starts. He struggled mightily with command and home runs and nearly lost the No. 5 starter job, but the White Sox were inclined to give the right-hander a chance despite getting battered. As a team in rebuild mode, Chicago can afford to be patient with the rookie. He's hoping to build off a strong finish last year, when he posted a 1.56 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 17.1 innings over his final four starts.

The White Sox purchased the contract of Santiago on Tuesday.

Santiago will open the season in a long-relief role after losing out to Carson Fulmer for the team's No. 5 starter job. The veteran southpaw posted a 5.63 ERA across 70.1 innings with the Twins last season. He'll be an option to spot start should an opportunity arise.

The Rays placed De Leon (elbow) on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday.

De Leon underwent Tommy John surgery in March and will miss the rest of the season, so it seems inevitable that he'll be moved to 60-day DL the next time the Rays need to open up a 40-man roster spot. The 25-year-old likely won't be cleared to resume throwing off flat ground until the offseason and may not be ready to go by the time the 2019 campaign opens.

Pruitt was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Pruitt will take the spot of Nathan Eovaldi -- who is set to undergo arthroscopic elbow surgery -- in the Rays' rotation. The 28-year-old was recently optioned to Triple-A Durham last weekend, but is now in line for a solid amount of starts with Eovaldi expected to miss about two months of action. In 30 appearances with the Rays in 2017, Pruitt posted a 5.31 ERA and 66:22 K:BB over 83 innings split between the rotation and bullpen. At this moment, it seems as though he will take the mound against the Yankees on Monday.

Kimbrel struck out two batters in a perfect fifth inning in Tuesday's exhibition game against the Cubs, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

Kimbrel had appeared in just two games this spring before Tuesday, one being a minor-league contest, and wasn't feeling good about the quality of his pitches. "My breaking ball was good today," he said. "I still have a few clicks on my fastball to find, but overall commanding the ball and getting my breaking ball over for strikes and getting some bite when I needed to." For now, Kimbrel will be used in the role he's most familiar: closing games in the ninth inning. Earlier in the spring, manager Alex Cora talked about using Kimbrel in non-save situations -- high-leverage challenges that pop up in the seventh or eighth inning -- but the manager has backed off that plan for the time being.

Mengden, who allowed an earned run on three hits and a walk over three innings while striking out three in a Cactus League win over the Giants on Monday, will be a key component of the Athletics' makeshift starting rotation in the coming season, Jerry McDonald of The Mercury News reports. "If he pitches in the fashion that he did in the three hole, like he did last year, that's really going to save us," manager Bob Melvin said.

The Athletics have endured a season-ending injury to Jharel Cotton (elbow), and Paul Blackburn is sidelined for the time being with a forearm strain, as well. Factor in the recent news that top prospect A.J. Puk -- who potentially could have been available for callup if the major-league rotation needed reinforcement -- is likely to need Tommy John surgery, and Mengden's role as the No. 3 starter behind Kendall Graveman and Sean Manaea becomes even more important. The 25-year-old right-hander settled down after rocky outings in three of his first four appearances, allowing five earned runs on 11 hits and four walks over 15 innings across three subsequent trips to the mound.

The A's announced Tuesday that Puk (elbow) has been recommended to undergo Tommy John surgery on his left arm, Julian McWilliams of The Athletic Bay Area reports.

The announcement follows Puk visiting Dr. James Andrews to receive a second opinion amid growing concerns about a ligament issue in his elbow, and the team's worst fears now appear to be a reality. The 2016 first-round pick -- who turns 23 in April -- was shut down March 21 with biceps soreness shortly after being reassigned to minor-league camp. Tommy John surgery would mean the end of Puk's 2018 season and also put in jeopardy his status for 2019.

Puk (biceps) is seeing doctors about a potential issue with the ligament in his elbow, Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com reports.

Puk, one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, was having an excellent spring and was considered to have an outside shot at making Oakland's Opening Day roster before being shut down with what was originally called biceps soreness. He had an MRI which revealed no structural damage and was expected to resume throwing soon, but the concern has apparently grown in recent days. Talk of elbow ligaments brings up the specter of Tommy John surgery, which would cost Puk his season.