MLB Player News

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.

Kinley has secured a spot in the Twins' Opening Day bullpen, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

With Phil Hughes (oblique) expected to open the season on the disabled list, Kinley will take his spot in the team's Opening Day bullpen. Kinley, a Rule 5 pick, will have to stay on the Twins' active roster all season if they want to retain him. He struggled in spring training (5.73 across 11 innings) and at Double-A last season (5.19 ERA across 26 innings), so he likely won't see anything other than low-leverage situations with the big club.

Giles closed out Monday's exhibition game against the Brewers, allowing one hit and striking out one during a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his first preseason save.

It's been awhile since a save meant anything -- a team's closer typically pitches early in spring-training games -- but as we close in on Opening Day, manager A.J. Hinch used players in their regular-season roles. To that end, the manager let Giles feel again what it's like to save a game. Hinch has mentioned using Giles in high-leverage, non-save situations, but he'll be Houston's primary closer in 2018.

Leclerc has made Texas's Opening Day roster, Levi Weaver of The Athletic Dallas reports.

Thanks to a myriad of injuries to the Rangers pitching staff, Leclerc will open the season in the back end of Texas's bullpen. At 23 last season, Leclerc posted a 3.94 ERA but struggled mightily with control, as he walked 40 batters in just 45.2 innings. Expect his leash to be short until he proves he can get over those control issues.

Hendriks tossed a scoreless seventh inning in Sunday's 5-1 Bay Bridge Series exhibition loss to the Giants, lowering his spring ERA to 5.14.

Granted, that figure is still cringe-worthy, but also deceptive in a couple of different ways. For starters, there's naturally the caveat about small spring samples, as Hendriks has generated the number over a modest seven innings across eight appearances. Moreover, the bulk of the damage came early, as he yielded three of the four earned runs he's given up over his first two appearances. Hendriks has bounced back to post five scoreless efforts in six subsequent trips to the mound, looking more like the reliever that settled in after a rough start last season and finished with an impressive 78 whiffs over 64 innings across 70 appearances. Hendriks projects for another robust workload in 2018, and the fact he's been reasonably effective this spring at staying away from the home-run ball that's often plagued him throughout his career is a cautiously optimistic sign as well.

Farquhar has earned a spot in the White Sox's Opening Day bullpen, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Upon joining the White Sox last August, Farquhar became one of the more trusted relievers in a green bullpen, finishing with a 4.40 ERA (3.65 FIP) and four holds across 14.1 innings with the South Siders. With Nate Jones back to full health to begin the season and the White Sox adding Joakim Soria and Luis Avilan to their relief corps over the winter, Farquhar will move down a few rungs in the pecking order and may have to settle for more work in the middle innings in 2018.

Pomeranz (forearm) was placed on the 10-day disabled list Monday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

As expected, Pomeranz will open the season on the DL as he continues to work his way back from a forearm flexor strain. He was able to throw three innings in a minor-league game over the weekend, though it's still unclear how long the southpaw will remain on the shelf. A clearer timetable for his return should emerge as he continues to ramp up his activity. In the meantime, Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez are expected to open the year in the Red Sox's rotation with Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez (knee) opening the season on the DL.

Kimbrel tossed a scoreless inning during Sunday's spring-training finale against the Twins.

Kimbrel spent much of spring training away from the team due to personal reasons, but maintained a throwing program. Sunday's outing was his first and only spring outing against major-league opponents. He'll get another inning Tuesday in an exhibition against the Cubs and will be ready for Thursday's opener against the Rays in St. Petersburg.

Fulmer picked up the win in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Braves by tossing seven scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out three.

The strong performance brought Fulmer's spring training ERA down to 2.12 across 17 innings. The 25-year-old took a slight step back in 2017 compared to his 2016 Rookie of the Year campaign, as his ERA climbed from 3.03 to 3.83 and his K/9 dropped from 7.5 to 6.2. Fulmer underwent surgery on his throwing elbow in September, and if he's now fully healthy, a return to his 2016-level production could be in store if the early returns are any indication.

The Mariners informed Lawrence on Sunday that he made the club's Opening Day roster, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports. Seattle is expected to select Lawrence's contract and add him to the 40-man roster before the Thursday deadline.

Lawrence captured a spot as the Mariners' long man out of the bullpen after producing a 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 17 strikeouts over 15 innings during the Cactus League. The Mariners haven't named a fifth starter and won't require one until April 11 against the Royals, so Lawrence could be in the mix for that role if he continues to shine out of the bullpen in the interim.