MLB Player News

Jimenez struck out the side in Thursday's exhibition against Florida Southern.

He followed starter Alex Wilson into the game Thursday, pitching a cleaning inning on a day in which the Tigers racked up 18 strikeouts against their collegiate opponent. Jimenez has an opportunity to secure a high-leverage role for the Tigers this spring.

Chargois (elbow) was placed on waivers by the Twins on Thursday, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports.

Chargois will look to latch on with a new organization after missing most of the 2017 campaign due to an elbow impingement that surfaced in mid-April. This move may confirm that he still has some work to do before he's able to return to the mound. During 25 appearances at the major-league level, all coming in 2016, the 27-year-old posted a 4.70 ERA and 1.61 WHIP over 23 innings of relief.

De Leon has impressed the Rays with his performance and conditioning this spring, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

After an injury-plagued 2017, De Leon worked with Edgar Diaz, the trainer of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez this offseason. While the Rays have not explicitly shared their planned role for De Leon to begin 2018, his chances of becoming a factor in the rotation early on may have increased Thursday when top prospect Brent Honeywell left his bullpen session with a forearm strain. If healthy, De Leon should be called upon to make an impact with the Rays this season, but he's logged just 144.1 innings over the past two campaigns around several DL stints.

Hudson was traded to the Rays on Friday alongside minor-league infielder Tristan Gray and cash considerations in exchange for Corey Dickerson.

The Rays were able to find a trade partner for Dickerson less than a week after designating the 28-year-old for assignment. Hudson spent just one season in Pittsburgh, posting a 4.38 ERA and 1.46 WHIP over 71 relief appearances. His 9.6 K/9 was the highest mark of his career, but so was the 4.8 BB/9, which was a giant spike from his totals the previous two seasons. The right-hander should be nearing full health after suffering a minor ankle sprain last week and will compete for a high-leverage role with the Rays upon his arrival.

The initial diagnosis for Honeywell is a right forearm strain, but he is being further evaluated, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays' top pitching prospect suffered the injury while throwing live batting practice Thursday. Forearm strains can sometimes be the initial diagnosis of an injury that results in Tommy John surgery, and indeed, some teams use the term "forearm" to refer to the elbow when releasing official diagnosis to the media. More information regarding Honeywell's status should continue to pour in over the coming hours/days. He should be considered out indefinitely.

Honeywell suffered a potentially major arm injury during Thursday's live batting practice session, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

He threw 8-to-10 pitches during the session before cursing loudly after a pitch and then walking off with the trainer. It's fair to expect the worst, given the information currently available, although Topkin says he hopes to learn more about the nature of the injury later in the day. Honeywell was set to join the big-league rotation a couple weeks into the season, but now it's possible that he won't pitch in the majors at all this season. It would be wise to shy away from drafting him at all in most single-season leagues until we know the full extent of the injury.

Fulmer (elbow) is scheduled to start Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

As expected, Fulmer has made a full recovery from September ulnar transposition surgery, a procedure that resulted in the right-hander missing the final month of the past season. His rehab from the procedure only carried a 3-to-4-month recovery window, so he should remain on a normal throwing schedule throughout spring as he prepares for his third big-league season. With Justin Verlander now in Houston, Fulmer looks like the leading candidate to become only the third Opening Day starter for the Tigers in the past 11 years.

Honeywell was removed from Thursday's live batting practice session and appeared to be visibly upset, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

According to Topkin, Honeywell had tossed just 8-to-10 pitches when he began cursing loudly a few times following his previous throw, which is obviously not a great sign. The right-hander then exited the field with trainer Michael Sandoval and went to the team's clubhouse. Additionally, Steve Carney of 620 WDAE said that there didn't appear to be any issue with Honeywell's arm, but there should be an update on his status in the coming hours.

Chavez signed a split contract with the Rangers on Wednesday, Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com reports.

Chavez will make $1.5 million if he makes the major-league roster. He spent 2017 with the Angels, struggling to a 5.35 ERA and 1.40 WHIP across 138 innings split between the rotation and bullpen. The 34-year-old should compete for a spot in the Rangers' starting rotation during camp, but given he couldn't hold down a rotation spot with the pitching-starved Angels last season, he could spend the year in the major-league bullpen or as organizational pitching depth in the minors.

Castro still has a chance to crack the Orioles' rotation even after the signings of Andrew Cashner and Chris Tillman, Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com reports.

The tall right-hander spent the last three seasons as a reliever, but the Orioles want to see what he can do as a starter given their lack of depth at the position. Castro had a decent campaign with the Orioles last season, producing a 3.53 ERA in 38 relief appearances and one start, but his peripherals raise many concerns. He hasn't struck out many batters in the majors (6.2 K/9 over the last three seasons) and he walks too many hitters (3.9 BB/9 in that span), with his FIP last season coming in nearly a run and a half higher than his ERA. Gabriel Ynoa and Mike Wright will also be vying for a rotation spot this spring.