MLB Player News

Wilson has been scratched from a scheduled appearance Wednesday due to mild hamstring soreness, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

The injury does not sound serious, and Wilson will likely be back on the mound soon, though his status is worth monitoring. Wilson picked up 25 holds last season and he should continue to serve as a bridge to closer Francisco Rodriguez in 2017.

Norris struggled with his command in his spring training debut Tuesday, throwing 40 pitches (21 for strikes) in 1.2 innings, MLB.com reports.

Norris' stuff looked good and he didn't allow any runs, but his control was inconsistent. "Sometimes you go out there and you feel like you haven't thrown in forever, so you have to figure something out," Norris said. "You're kind of making stuff up as you go." The young lefty figures to open the season as Detroit's No. 4 starter, but he'll have to be more efficient with his pitches to be successful.

Duffey gave up six runs (four earned) and five hits with two strikeouts while retiring just two batters in Monday's 19-0 spring training loss to Tampa Bay.

It's just one outing, but Duffey doesn't have much margin for error if he wants to win a spot in the rotation. After a 6.43 ERA over 26 starts last season, he's an underdog to win the fifth starter role behind Trevor May, Jose Berrios and four other candidates. Duffey is more likely to move to the bullpen, but a poor spring could see him land back in Triple-A.

Puk earned his first hold of spring in Tuesday's 5-4 Cactus League victory over the Indians by striking out the side in his one inning.

The towering lefty couldn't have made a splashier debut, setting down Erik Kratz, Lonnie Chisenhall and Abraham Almonte with a four-pitch arsenal in the sixth. Puk's flawless performance was essentially an extension of the superb work that he's put in during bullpen and batting practice sessions during his first exposure to a major league camp. Manager Bob Melvin seemed especially impressed with the way his young pitcher deployed one particular pitch in his repertoire. "As impressive as anything was his changeup," Melvin said. "He had good life on his fastball, but something we've been talking about is using his changeup and using it effectively, and every changeup he threw ended up being a good one. You take the mound for the first time in a spring training game, expect to have some nerves and so forth, and he didn't."

VerHagen (shoulder) allowed four earned runs off five hits over 1.2 innings in his 2017 Grapefruit League debut Tuesday.

VerHagen clearly had a rough time in his first game of the spring season, and two of the four hits he surrendered were home runs. VerHagen was used out of the bullpen Tuesday, although it was previously reported that the Tigers wanted to give him experience as a starter. However, poor showings such as this don't bode well for the 26-year-old's already slim chances to earn a spot at the back end of Detroit's rotation for the upcoming season.

Putnam (elbow) fired 1.1 scoreless innings in his spring debut Tuesday.

The right-hander did walk a batter and allowed a hit, but the bigger thing is that Putnam is back to regular game action after undergoing surgery in August to remove a bone fragment in his throwing elbow. With this issue in the rearview mirror, he should slot in as a cog in the White Sox bullpen.

Whalen gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out one in 2.0 innings during his spring debut against the Rays on Monday.

The 23-year-old was shut down last September with a shoulder issue after struggling to a 6.57 ERA across 24.2 innings, although he did miss bats at a solid rate (9.1 K/9). He got off to a slow start in spring training but will look to turn things around and compete for a bullpen job in 2017.

Valdespina, who was hit below the belt on a comebacker on Monday, will visit a urologist Tuesday as a preventative measure, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Stefan Stevenson reports.

He is OK following what was likely quite a painful injury, but will be checked out by a doctor just to be safe. Valdespina, who reached Triple-A for the first time toward the end of last season and received an invite to big league camp this year, only struck out 41 batters in 64 innings of relief in 2016, so he does not project to be a very interesting reliever for fantasy purposes.

Jimenez is an "extreme long shot" to make the Opening Day roster, according to manager Brad Ausmus, MLB.com's Jason Beck reports.

The team has not completely eliminated the idea that Jimenez could break camp on the 25-man roster, but it sounds like the Tigers are planning on him starting the year back at Triple-A Toledo. He has the repertoire of a future closer, but is unlikely to work the ninth inning for the big league club while Francisco Rodriguez is around.

Manaea, who came on in relief of starter Kendall Graveman in the second inning of Monday's 5-4 Cactus League victory over the Giants, gave up only one walk over two innings. He struck out two.

Manaea was highly impressive against Giants starters, particularly with his changeup. The pitch was responsible for both of his strikeouts, the second which came against Buster Posey with Denard Span on first. Manaea's work drew praise from teammates and Posey himself, and the second-year hurler gave himself some high marks as well. "I think I threw every single one for a strike," Manaea said. "[My slider] was probably the best I've thrown in a couple years. Last year was different because I wasn't on the team, and this year I'm a little more confident coming in and can work on things and not really have to worry about trying to impress everyone."