MLB Player News

Bradford allowed one run on one hit and one walk while striking out four over three innings in Monday's spring start against the Angels.

Bradford, making his second Cactus League start, allowed a two-out run on a double and a walk in the first inning then retired the final seven batters faced. That includes fanning the side in the second inning. Bradford has done nothing in two spring starts to mar his bid to become the No. 5 starter.

The Yankees are bringing Kahnle along slowly this spring after his 2023 season was ended due to right shoulder inflammation, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

Kahnle appears to be healthy and has been throwing bullpen sessions, but manager Aaron Boone said Monday that the club might not put him into a Grapefruit League game until toward the end of spring. Boone would not commit to the reliever being ready for Opening Day, saying it depends on how many spring appearances he's able to make. Kahnle has had trouble staying healthy but has been terrific when on the mound, most recently putting up a 2.66 ERA and 48:19 K:BB over 40.2 frames in 2023.

Coulombe has allowed one run on four hits over three innings in Grapefruit League play this spring.

Coulombe is one of the safer bets to earn a bullpen spot for the Orioles this spring. He is arguably the top left-hander in the bullpen and figures to fill a setup role after posting a 2.81 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 58:12 K:BB over 51.1 innings in similar usage last season. He also had two saves and 21 holds in his first year with the Orioles.

Perez has allowed five runs over three innings across his first three Grapefruit League appearances.

Perez saw a reduced role in 2023, posting a 3.54 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 44:27 K:BB over 53.1 innings while adding 11 holds and three saves. He had 24 holds as a setup man in 2022. Perez can't afford a poor spring -- competition is fierce in the Orioles' bullpen with up to a dozen pitchers in contention for seven or eight major-league roster spots. Perez's track record alone isn't enough for him to rely on being a lock if he continues to struggle.

Pivetta struck out one over two hitless and scoreless innings in Saturday's spring start against the Rays.

Pivetta, who made his first Grapefruit League start, is on pace to open the 2024 season in the rotation. The right-hander spent the beginning of 2023 as a starter then moved to the bullpen, where he thrived to the point the Red Sox had him finish the season in the rotation. He had a 2.37 ERA with 38 strikeouts over five September starts.

Duran threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout in Sunday's Grapefruit League tie with Tampa Bay. He bounced back after giving up four earned runs over two-thirds of an inning in his first spring outing.

Duran is healthy as spring begins and is entrenched as Minnesota's closer. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has a history of using his bullpen in disregard of the save rule, but he mostly used Duran in a traditional closer role last year. For this spring there's no sign that Baldelli plans any change even though the Twins may have the deepest setup crew in recent memory.

Harris was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday.

Harris has appeared in two games with the Athletics this spring, pitching four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and walking two while striking out six batters. The 27-year-old will look to impress in Las Vegas in order to earn a shot with Oakland's major-league roster down the road.

Clase has allowed two hits and struck out four batters over his first two Cactus League appearances.

Clase saved 44 of his 56 opportunities last season, and while it wasn't the dominance he displayed in the previous two years, he was never at risk of losing ninth-inning duties. Clase should continue in the closer role this season. James Karinchak (shoulder) and Trevor Stephan (elbow) are already banged up in the spring, leaving Scott Barlow as the Guardians' top option for saves when Clase is unavailable.

The Yankees optioned Gomez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.

Gomez made his MLB debut late last season with a scoreless two-inning appearance but was never a likely bet to crack the Yankees' Opening Day roster. He made one Grapefruit League appearance with New York during spring training and gave up two runs on two hits and a walk over two-thirds of an inning. Gomez pitched well as a starter at Double-A Somerset last season with a 3.58 ERA across 65.1 innings.

Bernardino allowed one hit over one scoreless inning in Saturday's spring game against Washington.

Bernardino, who was making his Grapefruit League debut, gave up a double to the first batter he faced then calmly got out of the inning unscathed. The left-hander bounced between Boston and Triple-A Worcester upon being claimed off waivers from Seattle in April, but he held down a steady job in the bullpen and thrived from June through the end of the season. That included several outings as an opener. In all, Bernardino logged 55 appearances -- tied for second-most behind Josh Winckowski -- and recorded a 3.20 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 50.2 innings. He doesn't have overpowering stuff, but 2023 was a breakout season for the reliever, who appears to have a lock on a bullpen spot.