MLB Player News

Kimbrel will throw a batting-practice session Friday, and then likely make his Grapefruit League debut Sunday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Beyond that, Kimbrel will throw in one more spring game Tuesday. He spent about three weeks away from the team while with his daughter, who is recovering from heart surgery. He threw some live batting practices during his three-week sabbatical, and manager Alex Cora is confident two outings will be enough for Kimbrel. "Oh, yeah. He's fine right now," said Cora.

General manager Jerry Dipoto said Rumbelow is still sidelined with a nerve issue in his neck, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Rumbelow, who was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma earlier in the month, has been unable to pitch since Feb. 24 due to the issue. This rules him out as a possible bullpen replacement for David Phelps, who was recently diagnosed with a torn UCL.

Lopez allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three in Wednesday's start against the Padres.

Lopez nearly came off the rails in the first inning when he walked three straight, but managed to stick around through five innings. Once again, he had multiple innings with multiple baserunners aboard and has allowed 18 hits and 11 walks over 18.2 spring innings. He's learning to pitch in tense situations, which can be helpful for a young starter, but we'd like to see less drama. He was named the White Sox's third starter and is scheduled to pitch Sunday, April 1, in Kansas City.

Santiago will pitch out of the bullpen in long relief after manager Rick Renteria announced Carson Fulmer will be the fifth starter, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Santiago thrust himself into the competition, allowing just one earned run over 12 spring innings, but in the end, Renteria chose the young prospect instead of the 30-year-old veteran. Despite Fulmer's ugly spring (11.81 ERA, seven HR, 10.2 IP), it's a defensible move. The White Sox are in rebuild mode and can afford to put up with growing pains if it helps Fulmer become a better pitcher in the long run.

Gallegos was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday.

Gallegos will report back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for a second straight season after failing to secure a low-leverage relief role on the Yankees' Opening Day roster. The 26-year-old made his major-league debut in 2017, compiling a 4.87 ERA across 20.1 innings of work. Gallegos posted a more impressive 2.08 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 14.3 K/9 across 43.1 innings with the RailRiders last season. Given the amount of quality arms in the Yankees' bullpen, Gallegos will likely be limited to organizational bullpen depth in 2018.

Heller was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday.

Heller was fighting for a low-leverage relief role on the Yankees' Opening Day roster, but it turns out there simply wasn't enough room in the team's already stacked bullpen. The 26-year-old doesn't have much left to prove in the upper minors, as evidenced by his 2.88 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 13.1 K/9 across 56.1 innings with the RailRiders last season, so he'll likely be shuttled from the minors to the big club when additional relief help is needed.

With Mike Fiers likely to begin the season on the disabled list, Norris stands a good chance of being the Tigers' No. 5 starter, George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The Tigers added veterans Fiers and Francisco Liriano in the offseason, and it was thought that those acquisitions would squeeze Norris out of the rotation to begin the year. But with Fiers dealing with back tightness, the door is open for Norris. With Fiers posting a 5.22 ERA last season and giving up 12 runs in 11.1 innings this spring, Norris could hold onto the job if he performs well in the early going. He struggled to a 5.31 ERA last season in 101.2 innings, but the 24-year-old lefty does have the talent to take a jump this season.

Alvarez was claimed off waivers by the Mariners and was subsequently sent to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

The southpaw was sent to the minors by the Cubs after a rough start to spring training, but he'll now make a return to the AL West instead of going to Chicago's affiliate in Iowa. Alvarez did produce a 2.76 ERA in 20 appearances for the Rangers last season, but his FIP was well above that (4.67) thanks to some command struggles in the majors. Alvarez has some upside thanks to his past major-league experience, but he'll need to first claw his way out of the minors before attempting to climb the bullpen depth chart.

Puk was shut down with biceps soreness Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Puk had an MRI, which revealed no structural damage. He's expected to resume throwing soon. Arm issues are never a good sign for a young pitcher, though there's no evidence yet that this particular one will be a threat to Puk's season. He was reassigned to Oakland's minor-league camp Sunday but is expected to join the big-league rotation at some point this summer. That timeline would be altered if Puk's injury turns out to be more serious than initially believed.

Fulmer will be the White Sox's fifth starter, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Despite a few poor outings this spring, Fulmer will begin the year in Chicago's rotation. The 24-year-old posted a 5.79 ERA in 126 innings for Triple-A Charlotte last season, and his 3.86 ERA in 23.1 big-league innings came with a 6.20 xFIP. He's likely to lose his spot mid-season when Carlos Rodon recovers from shoulder surgery, if not before. Having a rotation spot gives him some value in deep leagues, but he hasn't proven that he can be much of an asset anywhere else.