MLB Player News

The White Sox will include Bummer in their bullpen when their season opens Thursday against the Royals, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

With a 3.60 ERA and 13 strikeouts over 10 innings in Cactus League play, Bummer did enough to beat out Robbie Ross for one of the final openings in the bullpen. Though the White Sox are short on quality relief talent, Bummer isn't expected to ascend quickly in the bullpen hierarchy after largely failing to impress in his 30 appearances with the big club a season ago. The lefty finished with a 4.50 ERA and 17:15 K:BB across 22 innings.

Saupold is likely to begin the season at the MLB level with fellow reliever Johnny Barbato dealing with an elbow issue, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Saupold and Barbato were believed to be battling for the final bullpen spot, and with the latter unlikely to be ready by Opening Day, Saupold looks good to make the team. The 28-year-old Australian posted a 4.88 ERA in 62.2 innings for the Tigers last season, and he will likely serve as a long reliever to begin 2018.

Hudson was informed Sunday he wouldn't be included on the Rays' Opening Day roster, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Hudson remains on the Rays' 40-man roster, but it's expected that he'll be traded or released by Tuesday. The right-hander, whom the Rays picked up earlier in the offseason as part of the Corey Dickerson trade, is due $5.5 million in salary this season. There likely won't be much of a market for Hudson's services after he was roughed up for nine earned runs on eight hits and five walks over 5.1 innings during the Grapefruit League schedule.

Yarbrough was informed Sunday that he won a spot on the Rays' Opening Day roster.

The Rays have been developing Yarbrough as a starter throughout his minor-league career, but he'll likely be deployed primarily out of the bullpen during his stay with the big club. However, with the Rays planning to deploy a four-man rotation this season, there will be scenarios where the team opts for "bullpen games" to keep the normal starters on regular rest. In those instances, the likes of Yarbrough, Matt Andriese and Yonny Chirinos could be called upon to make spot starts.

Kittredge was informed Sunday that he earned a spot in the Rays' Opening Day bullpen.

The hard-throwing right-hander shined at Triple-A Durham last season (1.45 ERA, 0.95 WHIP in 68.1 innings) and held his own in a smaller sample at the big-league level, posting a 1.76 ERA and 14:6 K:BB in 15.1 frames. He could fill a prominent role in the Rays' setup ranks this season, making him someone worth keeping an eye on in leagues that count holds as a category.

The Rays optioned Pruitt to Triple-A Durham on Sunday.

Pruitt earned a look this spring as a multi-inning reliever, but with Matt Andriese and Yonny Chirinos also on hand to fill that role, Pruitt would have been a redundant piece in Tampa Bay's Opening Day bullpen. The Rays will presumably have Pruitt get stretched back out so he can fill a spot in Durham's rotation this season.

The Orioles reassigned Rodriguez to their minor-league camp Sunday, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Rodriguez turned some heads during spring training with a 0.87 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 10.1 innings, but there wasn't enough space on the roster for the Orioles to justify keeping him on their Opening Day roster. Instead, the Orioles will opt to retain Rule 5 pick Nestor Cortes as their second lefty out of the bullpen behind Richard Bleier.

The Orioles reassigned Edgin to their minor-league camp Sunday, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

With the Orioles dismissing both Edgin and fellow southpaw Joely Rodriguez, Rule 5 pick Nestor Cortes appears to have made the club as a second left-hander out of the bullpen behind Richard Bleier. Don't be surprised if Edgin, who has held opposing lefties to a .221/.296/.367 line over his career, resurfaces in the big leagues with the Orioles or another club later this season as a depth reliever.

Fulmer allowed one run, walked two and struck out seven over 5.1 innings in a minor-league game Saturday.

Fulmer admitted some of the pressure was off him Saturday after he was named the fifth starter earlier this week. He didn't earn the job based on his spring results, but the rebuilding White Sox are in a position to let the young right-hander have a run in the rotation.

Santiago will pitch in relief for the White Sox, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Santiago made a valiant effort to claim the No. 5 starter job, but ended up losing out to Carson Fulmer, despite pitching better than him. The veteran accepted the news graciously, understanding the White Sox want to give the younger Fulmer a chance to prove he's ready and possibly be part of the future.