MLB Player News

McHugh (arm) allowed three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out two over 1.2 innings in Monday's game against the Cardinals, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Making his first start of the spring thanks to injury, McHugh needed 47 pitches to get his five outs. He had been scheduled to throw three of four innings. Three consecutive singles led to a first-inning run, then a walk and two extra-base hits chased him in the second. The results probably get magnified coming so close to the regular season, but McHugh is still getting his velocity up and working on his secondary pitches. The Astros planned to place him on the 10-day disabled list to start the season and have him ready for the second turn of the rotation; however, that notion may have left town Monday. McHugh might need to skip a couple turns through the rotation to get ready.

Schultz will seek a second opinion Tuesday from a New York doctor, as he's battling an elbow injury, Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star reports.

The severity of Schultz's injury remains unknown, but it appears the right-hander is dealing with a serious situation. Mike Wilner of Sportsnet 590 The FAN reports Schultz is likely going to need elbow surgery. Tuesday's events should clarify where the 31-year-old stands and provide a timetable for his recovery.

Norris said he was dealing with "dead arm" after allowing nine runs on 13 hits over three innings in Monday's spring game against Atlanta, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News reports.

Norris was sending mixed messages after the game, as he said that he had no physical problems, but also that his arm "feels like it weighs a million pounds." He also stated that he has had this problem in the past springs and that he doesn't believe it will carry into the regular season. We'll keep an eye on his status as Opening Day approaches, as the combination of dead arm and a disastrous start this close to the regular season is worthy of at least some concern.

Lawrence is unlikely to break camp with the Jays, but he'll be atop the list of minor-league arms to be called up when one is needed, Arden Swelling of Sportsnet reports.

The non-roster invitee has put together a solid spring in his first big-league camp, managing a 3.86 ERA over a team-high 16.1 innings. After spending seven seasons in the minors, Lawrence's window of opportunity to become a big leaguer had seemingly closed. Then, in the second half of 2016, the right-hander reinvented his delivery and revived his career. "It just clicked -- it's crazy how things happen," Lawrence said. "It just shows how the game can turn for anybody." Jays manager John Gibbons has made it clear how high the organization is on Lawrence and hinted strongly that he expects the 29-year-old to make an impact with the MLB club in 2017. In the meantime, Lawrence will likely begin the year as a front-line starter in Triple-A Buffalo's rotation.

Diaz notched a pair of strikeouts and allowed a hit over one inning in Sunday's 7-6 Cactus League win over the Reds.

The young closer preserved a 7-5 lead in the eighth and looked as effective as usual. Diaz went 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA and a pair of saves over 5.1 innings across four appearances for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, so he was the beneficiary of regular work while away from the team. Sunday marked Diaz's first appearance since returning from the tournament and he's yet to give up an earned run or issue a walk over three spring innings.

Zych (biceps) made his spring debut in Sunday's 7-6 Cactus League win over the Reds, giving up a hit and a walk over a scoreless inning. He also recorded a strikeout.

Although he's already slated to begin the season in the minors, Zych was able to get some work in against major-league bats for the first time since last October. The 27-year-old took a ball off his ankle from the first batter he faced and allowed an inherited runner to score, but he did manage to escape without any earned runs on his tally. Zych is likely to receive more work over the last week of spring training before starting his minor-league throwing program.

Axford gave up a hit over a scoreless eighth inning in Sunday's 11-1 Cactus League win over the Brewers.

Axford took the mound for the first time since March 17 and put lowered his spring ERA to 4.26 with his scoreless inning. The veteran reliever has endured a couple of rough outings this spring, but he's once again expected to play a sizable role in Oakland's bullpen.

Manaea, gave up six runs (five earned) on five hits and five walks over three innings in Saturday's 11-6 split-squad loss to the Reds, but was unconcerned with the rough outing, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports. "Just trying to nibble too much," Manaea said. "Third inning, I finally just said, 'Just throw it down the middle and let them hit it.' That's all we did. At times I just tried to be too fine and ended up walking a lot of guys."

Manaea managed to limit all of his damage to the second inning and emerged from the outing pleased with how he deployed his slider. He's scheduled for a final spring start against the Giants on Thursday before taking the mound April 4 against the Angels for his 2017 regular-season debut. Factoring in Saturday's outing, Manaea has a 1-1 record, 4.74 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and 15:10 K:BB over 19 spring innings across six appearances (five starts).

Alexander was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Monday, Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star reports.

Alexander has pitched well this spring (1.93 ERA and 0.86 WHIP across 9.1 innings), but with Mike Minor and Travis Wood representing the top two left-handed options in the bullpen, the 27-year-old will have to start his season in Omaha and work for a call-up. He saw some time with the Royals last season, and he should see another opportunity in the big leagues sometime in 2017.

Schultz will start the season on the DL with an apparent elbow injury, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet 590 The FAN reports.

The 31-year-old underwent offseason hip surgery last year, and now he's set to begin the season on the DL with an apparent elbow injury, though the extent still isn't known. Schultz was a favorite entering camp to win a middle-relief role, but his 6.75 ERA and 1.88 WHIP across 5.1 innings this spring did nothing to help him secure a roster spot. He'll now gear up for what appears to be another long recovery process.