MLB Player News

Rodney gave up one run with two hits in an inning to take the loss in Thursday's spring training defeat to the Yankees. He has a 4.50 ERA but six strikeouts in six innings this spring. He's set to begin the season as Minnesota's closer.

Despite giving up three runs in six innings this spring, Rodney looks ready for the season with six strikeouts and no walks. He'll try to repeat his success in Arizona last year where he had 39 saves in 45 chances with a 10.6 K/9. However, he may have a shorter leash with Minnesota as setup man Addison Reed is capable of taking over closer duties.

Scott was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday, Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun reports.

As expected, Scott will report to Norfolk to begin the season after spending the majority of the 2017 campaign with Double-A Bowie. The 23-year-old worked as a reliever in spring training, but he's expected to stretch out and continue his development as a starter at Triple-A. He sports power fastball/slider combo, but Scott will need to develop a quality third offering and refine his command if he wants to stick in the rotation.

Mengden allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk over 6.1 innings in Wednesday's 4-3 Cactus League loss to the Brewers. He struck out three.

A much-needed quality start for the A's projected No. 3 starter, who's been much steadier over his last pair of outings following a two-appearance stretch where he surrendered 10 earned runs over 6.1 innings. Mengden's recent improvement is an even more welcome sight following a report from Susan Slusser of SFGate.com that projected rotation mate Paul Blackburn will miss the start of the regular season at a minimum due to forearm tightness.

Yarbrough (1-1) compiled five strikeouts while allowing an earned run on two hits and two walks over three innings in Wednesday's 8-3 Grapefruit League loss to the Red Sox.

Yarbrough's path to a potential Opening Day roster spot goes through the bullpen, but his strong effort in a starting capacity certainly didn't hurt his cause. The towering lefty would give manager Kevin Cash an intriguing option against same-handed hitters, and the Rays skipper has particularly taken note of Yarbrough's confidence and consistent location, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports. "What he did last year in Triple-A is a big part of it," Cash said. "Strike-throwing ability. He comes in there and doesn't really seem to be affected by the environment, who's hitting. He goes with his game plan. He attacks with his game plan. As much as anybody, he might be our best strike-thrower."

Yacabonis was sent to Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday, Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com reports.

Yacabonis was angling for an Opening Day roster spot in the bullpen but will head back to Norfolk to begin the 2018 campaign. Last year, he appeared in 14 games at the major-league level, posting a 4.35 ERA and 1.55 WHIP over 20.2 innings. Moving forward, the team has been intrigued by the possibility of turning Yacabonis into a starter, so it's expected that he will be utilized in a multi-inning role at the beginning of the season.

May (elbow) will toss a 50-pitch bullpen Friday and said that he's only a couple weeks away from throwing live batting practice, Mike Berardino of The Pioneer Press reports.

May continues to ramp up his activity following Tommy John surgery last March. The right-hander added changeups to his progression a few weeks ago, and stated that he will throw a pair of 55-pitch bullpens next week after Friday's session. Looking ahead, May is still targeting a return in late May or early June.

Duffey was optioned Thursday to Triple-A Rochester, where he'll work out of the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Duffey was in contention for the final spot in the Twins' Opening Day rotation, but that will now fall to Phil Hughes following the right-hander's demotion. While the Twins probably won't close the door completely on Duffey starting again should more injuries hit the rotation, working in the bullpen will probably represent his quickest path back to the big leagues. After starting 26 games for the Twins in 2016, Duffey worked exclusively as a reliever during the 2017 campaign, delivering a 4.94 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 67:18 K:BB over 71 frames.

Busenitz was optioned to Triple-A Rochester, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Busenitz struggled this spring (7.27 ERA) but this is still a surprise since he was seen as almost a lock to make the bullpen when spring began. He'll likely be called up early in the season as the Twins may aggressively rotate the back end of their bullpen between Triple-A and the majors.

Bummer pitched a clean inning of relief in Wednesday's game against the Padres.

Bummer finished up the 2017 season as a bullpen regular, but the left-hander faces competition this spring from the recently signed Robbie Ross. That the White Sox felt the need to add Ross suggests Bummer is not guaranteed a spot.

Martin struck out one in a 1-2-3 inning of relief in Wednesdays game against the Cubs.

Martin has not allowed a run in eight of his nine spring innings while not walking a batter. The Rangers' bullpen had its troubles in 2017, particularly in the leadup to the late innings, so Martin's spring performance is encouraging. He'll likely fill a sixth or seventh inning role.