MLB Player News

Ellington has been diagnosed with biceps tendinitis and will not undergo an MRI, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

While Ellington didn't complain of any injury after his Grapefruit League debut over the weekend, diminished velocity and a lack of control prompted the Marlins to send the 27-year-old for some tests. He'll now rest up until the soreness subsides. It's unclear how long this will set Ellington back, but there will likely be an update on his status once he's able to resume a throwing program.

Jansen (illness) is scheduled to pitch in a minor-league game Monday, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Jansen is set to return to the mound after being sent home last week with the flu. Assuming all goes well in Monday's B game, the 30-year-old is expected to make his Cactus League debut later in the week.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly said that Ellington will likely undergo an MRI on his throwing shoulder this week after the right-hander displayed diminished velocity during Sunday's Grapefruit League outing against the Braves, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

In his spring debut Sunday, Ellington failed to record an out and was charged with two earned runs after yielding a pair of four-pitch walks. While Ellington didn't complain of an injury during the outing, Mattingly noted that the 27-year-old's wildness was a "red flag" that merited ongoing evaluation. The Marlins will likely have an update on Ellington's health later this week, but the rough start to the spring could hurt his chances of opening the regular season in a key setup role for Miami.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said that Boxberger (arm) was "very aggressive and looked good" during a 25-pitch bullpen session Sunday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Since making his Cactus League (and Diamondbacks) debut with a scoreless inning Feb. 23 against the Rockies, Boxberger has been unavailable in exhibition play after coming out of that outing with general arm soreness. Boxberger has since thrown multiple bullpen sessions, and with his latest one Sunday seemingly going without a hitch, there's a good chance the right-hander will be cleared to pitch in a game this week. Though Boxberger has been sidelined for more than a week with the injury, Lovullo reiterated that Boxberger remains in contention along with Archie Bradley and Yoshihisa Hirano for the Diamondbacks' vacancy at closer.

Ortiz is healthy and looks to throw over 100 innings for the first time in his career in 2018, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Ortiz started 20 games at Double-A Biloxi in 2017, finishing with a 4.01 ERA across 94.1 innings. Manager Craig Counsell thinks highly of Milwaukee's 2014 first-round draft pick and wants him to throw at least 100 innings this season. Ortiz worked on flexibility during the offseason to help prevent injuries, something that have plagued him in the past.

Melancon will make his 2018 Cactus League debut Wednesday against the Padres, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Melancon entered spring training without restrictions, but the Giants have taken a cautious approach to increase his activity. Now that Melancon has thrown more bullpen sessions and faced live hitting, he's ready to make his spring debut. He'll look to improve after a disappointing debut season with San Francisco, during which he logged a 4.50 ERA and 1.43 WHIP over 32 games (30 innings).

Poncedeleon was reassigned to minor-league camp Sunday.

Poncedeleon walked one batter during one inning of work Sunday against the Astros. This was the best outing of what was an otherwise disappointing spring training for Poncedeleon, who gave up five runs on six hits and three walks over his previous two games.

Stephenson struggled against the Cubs on Saturday, allowing two earned runs on four hits and three walks over 1.2 innings while continuing to miss with his fastball, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports. "He just had a lot of misses and elevated fastballs," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He just really hasn't gotten into his groove yet. He'll bounce back, I'm sure. He's got good stuff, and he's a better pitch now than he was at this point last year."

While Price is expressing confidence that Stephenson will bounce back, he had similar struggles last season and is off to a slow start compared to Amir Garrett, Tyler Mahle and Sal Romano.

Morris was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.

Morris gave up just one earned run in eight MLB appearances last year but will once again open the season in the minors. The right-hander could be called upon at any point if the Braves need bullpen depth.

Hoffman was removed from a scheduled appearance Sunday due to shoulder soreness, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Hoffman had been in line to compete for one of the final rotation spots in Colorado, though it doesn't sound as if this minor setback will put that in jeopardy yet. Manager Bud Black called Hoffman's removal "precautionary," so check back on his status in a few days' time.