MLB Player News

Jimenez was optioned to Triple-A Toledo following Thursday's game against the Twins.

This comes as somewhat of a surprise, as the highly regarded prospect threw a scoreless inning during his only big-league appearance after being called up earlier in the week. The Tigers purchased the contract of William Cuevas, who will take Jimenez's spot on the 25-man roster and give the Tigers a long-relief option, something much needed after an 11-5 loss to the Twins depleted Detroit's bullpen. He'll be someone to keep an eye on moving forward, as the 22-year-old is seen by many as the team's closer of the future.

Martinez could start Saturday's matchup with the Mariners if Andrew Cashner (shoulder) is not ready, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Cashner is expected to start Saturday's contest after logging five innings in his most recent rehab start, but Martinez seems to be the backup plan in case any extraneous circumstances arise. The 26-year-old will likely fill a long-relief role if he doesn't fill in as a spot starter.

Johnson (head) allowed one run on four hits and a walk while striking out eight over 6.2 innings with Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday, MassLive.com reports.

A line drive struck Johnson in the head during his first start of the season, but he avoided a concussion and was cleared to return to the mound five days later. Manager John Farrell said earlier this month that Johnson was the No. 3 depth starter behind Kyle Kendrick and Henry Owens, but a case can be made that Johnson has already leaped Kendrick (nine earned runs allowed in his first start) at least. Johnson will almost certainly get a major-league opportunity at some point this season, assuming he stays healthy.

Hendriks gave up two earned runs on three hits and one walk over one inning in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Royals.

The 28-year-old righty entered the game with the luxury of an 8-0 lead but ran into trouble, sandwiching a free pass to Raul Mondesi and a double to Mike Moustakas around a flyball out by Alex Gordon. A subsequent infield single by Lorenzo Cain and bloop hit by Eric Hosmer accounted for the two runs that Hendriks allowed, and to his credit, he was able to limit further damage by retiring Drew Butera and Brandon Moss with Cain and Hosmer on to end the inning. It was the first rocky outing of the season for the reliever, who'd pitched 2.1 scoreless innings and notched four strikeouts over his first pair of appearances.

Axford (shoulder) still doesn't have a firm date on when he can resume throwing and will also need to undergo strengthening exercises, John Hickey of Bay Area News Group reports.

The veteran reliever, thought to be a potential closer candidate alongside Santiago Casilla and Ryan Madson at one point, is yet to throw a pitch in the regular season due to his shoulder strain. Without a timetable for when he can even start throwing, his return date appears to be at least a week away at the earliest.

Honeywell (1-1) recorded eight strikeouts and gave up just one earned run on one hit, a solo home run, and three walks over seven innings in Double-A Montgomery's 5-2 win over Birmingham on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old now has a sparkling 20:4 K:BB over 13 innings, along with a 2.08 ERA, 0.62 WHIP and .100 BAA. Honeywell has had little trouble confounding hitters at the Double-A level between a 10-start stint in 2016 and his first two trips to the mound this season, racking up a total of 73 whiffs over 72.1 innings during that span.

Boxberger (back) is working out daily at Tropicana Field as part of his ongoing rehabilitation, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The veteran reliever resumed a throwing program on April 5, but he isn't expected back before the end of the month. When active, Boxberger is likely to slot in as an eighth-inning option for manager Kevin Cash that can also close out games on days when Alex Colome is unavailable.

Abreu struck out a career-high 11 batters over 5.2 innings Wednesday for Low-A Charleston, and occasionally touched triple digits on the radar gun, MiLB.com's Alex Kraft reports. He gave up two hits while issuing zero walks against Low-A Augusta.

This was the 21-year-old's best start as a pro, as the zero walks were just as impressive as his 11 strikeouts, considering the control issues he has had in the past. Abreu now has a 17:1 K:BB in 9.2 innings in the Sally League, and will likely be seeing a promotion to High-A in the coming weeks, as he is simply not being challenged by hitters right now. The Yankees may have once again worked their velocity-adding magic, as Abreu had been a guy who could touch 98 before getting traded to New York, and now it seems he can pump 100 mph gas when he needs to.

Pomeranz said he wasn't feeling any significantly negative after-effects Wednesday following a victory in his Tuesday season debut, Evan Drellich of CSN New England reports.

The southpaw spun six innings of one-run ball against a tough Orioles squad. Pomeranz did admit he was a bit sore after the outing but said it's nothing to be concerned about regarding his previous forearm issues. It'll be more comforting if his fantasy owners are reading such positive things in the middle of the season, but either way, the southpaw is off to a promising start.

Chavez (1-1) gave up five runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three over 4.1 innings in Wednesday's 8-3 loss to the Rangers.

Mike Napoli and Elvis Andrus touched Chavez up for solo homers in the second inning, and then the wheels completely came off in the fifth as the righty saw the first four batters of the inning reach base. The 33-year-old now sports a 5.40 ERA through two starts but his 9:3 K:BB in 10 innings is a little more reassuring. Chavez won't have an easier assignment in his next trip to the mound, though, as he takes on the Astros in Houston on Tuesday.