MLB Player News

Duffey threw two scoreless innings in Sunday's spring training outing and his fastball reached 96 mph on the radar gun, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Duffey bounced back after six runs (four earned) while retiring just two batters in his first spring outing. He's in the mix for a spot in the rotation, but will more likely move to the bullpen or Triple-A.

Santiago threw 2.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts Sunday in his second spring start. His next outing will be with Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

Santiago bounced back from an ugly first spring start in which he gave up five runs on two home runs over an inning of work. Santiago is assured of a spot in Minnesota's rotation to begin the season, but he could have a short leash if he struggles early after career worsts last season in ERA, FIP and K/9.

Lopez allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out three over three innings in Sunday's game against Arizona.

The right-hander was much better in his second Cactus League start than his first last Tuesday, when he allowed five runs and four hits in 1.1 innings. Lopez said he was much more focused Sunday and was able to keep his pitches down in the zone. He's expected to open the 2017 at Triple-A Charlotte with a trip up to Chicago at some point during the regular season a real possibility.

McHugh is scheduled to throw his first bullpen session of the spring Monday, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. The 29-year-old right-hander has been delayed this spring after he reported to camp in mid-February with a dead arm.

After Monday's session, McHugh said he'll be better able to gauge how many more bullpens he'll need before he throws a live batting-practice session. Under that schedule, it's sounding like McHugh's preparation will bump up with the first week of the regular season, but he and the Astros are optimistic he'll be ready for the rotation's first turn in April.

Puk was reassigned to minor league camp Sunday, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Puk's usage was very slim during his first ever spring training with the big club. However, he was solid in his single outing. During said game, he pitched one inning and struck out three batters. Oakland has yet to say where it'll assign him at the start of the upcoming season, but it seems likely he'll be sent to the team's High-A affiliate in Stockton.

Pomeranz (elbow) is expected to make his spring debut March 13, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Boston plans to have Pomeranz throw a live batting practice session Wednesday, then have him pitch in a game five days later. If healthy, Pomeranz is expected to start the 2017 season at the back end of the rotation, at which point he'll look to improve on 2016's subpar showing with the Red Sox. After being acquired from the Padres, he proceeded to post a 4.59 ERA and 1.37 WHIP over 14 games (68.2 innings).

Manaea (0-1) gave up five runs (four earned) on five hits and one walk over 1.2 innings in Saturday's 15-5 Cactus League loss to the Indians. He struck out two.

Manaea's Saturday effort was in sharp contrast to his stellar spring debut Monday, when he'd stymied the Giants over two innings and had been especially effective with his changeup. The 25-year-old southpaw experienced the polar opposite against the Indians, surrendering RBI doubles to Abraham Almonte and Lonnie Chisenhall and an infield single to Chris Colabello in a 33-pitch first inning. He also yielded another two-bagger to Brandon Guyer in the second before exiting and pinpointed command issues with his changeup as one of the biggest culprits in his regression Saturday. "I just wasn't throwing it for a strike," Manaea said. "It's something I've got to work on, something that needs to be executed a lot better than it was today. It's what I guess spring training (is about), working out all those kinks and hopefully by the season be ready to go."

Giles pitched a perfect inning, striking out two batters in Saturday's game against the Mets.

The back end of Houston's bullpen made appearances Saturday with Luke Gregerson firing a scoreless inning prior to Giles, who will reprise the role of Houston's closer in 2017. The three-year veteran had a little trouble with the long ball in 2016, which was an anomaly compared to his first two MLB seasons. If Giles returns to a more normal home-run rate, we can expect improvement to the unsightly (for a closer) ERA of 4.11 from last season.

Fulmer suffered a sprained right ankle Sunday and is expected to miss his Monday start against the Orioles, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

It's being reported that this is a low-grade ankle sprain, and manager Brad Ausmus doesn't expect Fulmer to miss more than one start. Fulmer is, however, now unlikely to pitch in the World Baseball Classic as he tends to his ankle. The 23-year-old is coming off of a superb 2016 campaign in which he took home American League Rookie of the Year honors.

Gonsalves has retired 11 of 12 batters faced this spring, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Gonsalves is coming off a dominant season at High-A Fort Myers and Double-A Chattanooga, where he used a high spin rate to great effectiveness. He's not going to overpower hitters with his low-90s fastball, but he's getting batters out. He's expected to start the season at Triple-A Rochester and could reach Minnesota at some point in 2017.