MLB Player News

Manaea (1-1) gave up one earned run on there hits and one walk over 3.2 innings in Thursday's 12-5 Cactus League win over the Reds. He struck out three.

After being chased in less than two innings after surrendering five runs in a Saturday start against the Indians, the 25-year-old lefty bounced back with a much more encouraging outing. He fanned the side in the first and only had one major blemish, that being an Adam Duvall second-inning home run. However, with the A's having staked Manaea to a 4-0 lead in the first, he cruised through the remainder of his outing. He is likely to be stretched out to at least four innings in his next projected start Tuesday against the Rockies.

Kimbrel allowed one hit and didn't walk a batter while striking out two in one inning of relief during Thursday's game against Team USA, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports.

Kimbrel lived in the zone, a positive sign given the control issues (5.1 BB/9) that surfaced in 2016. Boston's closer was pleased that he could stay on top of his pitches, while manager John Farrell noted Kimbrel's consistent delivery and strike percentage. With what looks like one of the better pitching staffs in the American League -- if David Price (elbow) doesn't miss significant time -- a strike-throwing Kimbrel should increase upon the 31 saves he amassed in 2016.

Heller tossed 1.2 scoreless innings in Thursday's spring training contest.

Heller's now up to six innings in five spring appearances, a stretch in which he's yielded just one run while striking out six. The 25-year-old was up for a cup of coffee in the big leagues last season and is still in the mix for a bullpen job heading into Opening Day, but even if he does win a spot, it will likely be in a fairly low-leverage role.

Graveman surrendered just a hit and a walk over three scoreless innings in Wednesday's 7-0 exhibition win over Team Italy.

Graveman had no trouble with a lineup that included major leaguers Brandon Nimmo, Daniel Descalso and Chris Colabello, and he's now fired six scoreless frames over three appearances, although Wednesday's numbers don't go towards his official spring ledger. The 26-year-old has pitched like the ace of a staff thus far, and with No. 1 pitcher Sonny Gray now suffering from a lat strain that will prevent him from throwing for at least three weeks, Graveman will be one of the arms expected to help pick up the slack, particularly if the ailment lingers into the regular season.

Manager A.J. Hinch remains confident McHugh (arm) will be ready for the Opening Day roster, and the club plans on ramping up his activity sometime in the next week, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McHugh reported a case of dead arm around the time camp started, but he threw his first bullpen workout Monday and doesn't appear to be in jeopardy of missing time. Still, fantasy players should stay on top of his status before considering adding him to pitching staffs in deep mixed leagues.

Gonsalves is dealing with mild posterior weakness in his throwing shoulder and won't suit up for Team USA on Wednesday, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports.

Gonsalves reported the issue after his last outing of relief over the weekend, but it doesn't appear to be overly serious. Manager Paul Molitor said he isn't scheduled for an MRI, and will simply take the next few days off from throwing to recover. The injury is apparently in the same area that caused him to miss three weeks of the Arizona Fall League in 2016, so expect the Twins to be cautious with him.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Wednesday that Boxberger (oblique) suffered a setback in his recovery and won't make his Grapefruit League debut for another week or so, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

More specifically, Boxberger tweaked his lat muscle in a recent workout, but the Rays don't fear that it's anything that will dramatically delay him during spring training. The team has been taking it easy with Boxberger this spring after abdominal and oblique issues limited him to just 27 appearances with the big club in 2016. The 28-year-old has shown the ability to induce plenty of strikeouts in the past, but until he overcomes the health woes that have plagued him for the last year, he won't attract much interest outside of AL-only leagues.

Pomeranz (elbow) threw 35 pitches in two innings of live batting practice and says he feels ready for games next week, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

The productive session serves as good news ahead of his spring debut, which is slated for next Monday. Pomeranz seems to be on the right path to being ready for Opening Day after having the beginning of his spring delayed by an offseason stem cell injection. The left-hander will likely serve in the back end of the rotation, as he looks to improve upon a 2016 campaign in which he compiled a 4.59 ERA while allowing 14 home runs over 14 games with the Red Sox.

Staumont was reassigned Wednesday to minor-league camp, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports.

The Royals were evaluating Staumont as a potential relief option in the big leagues to open 2017, but it was never considered likely that he'd break camp with the club. He'll instead continue his development as a starting pitcher at the minor-league level, with Double-A Northwest Arkansas representing his likely destination to begin the campaign. The 23-year-old boasts excellent fastball and curveball offerings, but may need to improve his secondary stuff in the minors before getting a lengthy look as a starter in the majors.

Fulmer (ankle) is listed as the starting pitcher for Sunday's spring training game against the Mets, the Detroit News reports.

Fulmer missed his last start with a mild ankle sprain, but Tigers manager Brad Ausmus thinks he'll be ready to roll on Sunday. "I'm pretty confident he's going to be fine," Ausmus said. "I've watched him. There's no limp in his gait. He was throwing yesterday and he wasn't favoring anything. So barring a setback, I'd be very surprised if he wasn't pitching." It was previously announced that Fulmer wouldn't be available to pitch for Team USA in the second round of the World Baseball Classic.