MLB Player News

Manaea gave up seven hits and one walk over 3.2 scoreless innings in Tuesday's 4-3 Cactus League loss to the Rockies.

The 25-year-old southpaw gave up plenty of contact and got a little bit of help along the way to escape the outing unscathed. Three of the hits he surrendered were infield singles, while both Gerardo Parra and Trevor Story were cut down trying to score in the first. Notably, it marked the third time this spring that Manaea threw more than two innings, and he's yet to allow more than one run in any of those appearances. "It wasn't my best day for sure, but you're going to have those during the season, and just putting up zeros when I didn't have my best stuff was huge," Manaea said. "My slider definitely wasn't working. I don't know if it was mentally or what, but I don't think I threw one for a strike today. That and fastball command; I wasn't locating at all."

Lopez allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three over 4.2 innings against Kansas City on Wednesday.

Lopez was touched for a leadoff homer by Raul Mondesi, but settled in to allow one more run over 4.2 innings and retired the final seven batters faced. It was encouraging to see the young right-hander overcome a shaky start and find his rhythm as the game wore on.

Stanek was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Wednesday.

Stanek features a big fastball that has played up since he moved to the bullpen. While he only managed a 5.92 ERA in 24.1 innings of relief at Triple-A last season, Stanek safely projects as a key part of the Rays' long-term bullpen plans.

Hu was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Wednesday.

While Hu is nearing his big league debut, he didn't have a realistic chance of breaking camp on the 25-man roster. He famously features a palmball, and used his funky pitch mix to post a 2.59 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 107:36 K:BB in 142.2 innings at Double-A last season. Hu projects as a No. 4 or No. 5 starter in the big leagues.

De Leon was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Wednesday.

De Leon was considered a likely candidate to head to Triple-A at the start of the season, as the Rays can give the fifth starter spot to Matt Andriese and wait until mid-May to gain an extra year of control over De Leon before promoting him. He has a low-90s fastball and plus changeup, but needs to focus on improving his fastball command in order to have success against big league hitters.

Goldberg was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old flew up the organizational ladder last season, and despite the strong showing during spring training and an appearance in the World Baseball Classic for Team Israel, Goldberg will head back to the minors for more seasoning. The right-hander's stuff alone isn't all that impressive, but he still manages to get batters out fairly consistently, which could land him a job in the Windy City if he keeps it up at Charlotte.

Beck was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old's biggest hope of cracking the Opening Day roster was dwindling after being passed over by many of the White Sox's top starting pitching prospects, but Beck punched his ticket to the minor leagues by allowing nine earned runs on 13 hits in just 7.1 innings pitched this spring. He does have some major league experience to his name as well as a bit of success against Triple-A hitters, so he could wind up in the Windy City later this season.

Tolliver was optioned to minor league camp Wednesday, Julia Morales of ROOT Sports reports.

The results for Tolliver in six Cactus League appearances were less than stellar (seven earned runs in 4.2 innings), but at least he had a 5:1 K:BB. A waiver acquisition in early December, he will need to hold his own at Triple-A to begin the year to maintain his spot on the 40-man roster.

Norris appears to be closing in on the Tigers' No. 4 starter job to begin the season, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Norris has fared well in three spring starts, giving up two earned runs on five hits over 8.1 frames. The Tigers may opt to use Norris closer to the middle of the rotation in an effort to break up the team's three right-handed starters, likely behind Justin Verlander and Michael Fulmer. Norris has shown the ability to miss bats during his time in the big leagues thus far, including a 71:22 K:BB in 69.1 innings for the Tigers last season.

Kelly walked one and struck out one in one scoreless inning Tuesday against the Blue Jays.

Kelly has yet to give up a run in five spring innings over five appearances. He'll be a full-time reliever in 2017 and is in position, along with Tyler Thornburg, to set up for closer Craig Kimbrel. With Thornburg having been delayed the last couple of weeks due to arm issues, a product of adjusting to the training program of a new team, Kelly stands to increase his role should Thornburg open the season on the disabled list or in a state of reduced effectiveness.