MLB Player News

Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said Sunday that Rucinski (hamstring) will begin the season on the injured list, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Rucinski's hamstring tightened up late during spring training, and he won't be available for the A's to open the campaign. The 34-year-old was recently throwing on flat ground and will need to resume mound work before there's any firm timetable for his return.

The Twins optioned Ober to Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Ober made three appearances in the Grapefruit League, and he didn't allow a run while forging a 6:2 K:BB and 0.33 WHIP. The right-hander was not going to be a part of Minnesota's rotation, so he'll head to Triple-A to receive regular innings. Ober will likely make starts for the Twins before the end of the season, and he could be worth a look as a streamer on those occasions based on his success in 2022.

Ragans has given up nine runs (eight earned) over his last seven innings, all of which came as a reliever.

Ragans is one of several depth starters that will need to work as a reliever if he wins a roster spot. He made noise early in camp when starting but has run afoul in two recent relief outings. In Thursday's appearance, he struggled early with command, and the Rangers used the spring re-entry rule for him to start the next inning. He ended up giving them another three innings. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy will decide if Ragans is best suited for a multi-inning relief role in MLB or a starter's trajectory at Triple-A Round Rock.

Glasnow (oblique) is throwing on flat ground from 75 feet Sunday, Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 29-year-old is about a month removed from suffering a Grade 2 left oblique strain, and his return to throwing is an indication that his rehab is going well. Glasnow's initial recovery timeline was 6-to-8 weeks, and he appears to be trending toward the long end of the timeframe given he has to fully build up his arm after missing spring training. A return in early May should be possible if he can avoid any setbacks as he ramps up his workload.

Brown (back) felt good after throwing a 25-pitch bullpen session Sunday and is expected to throw a simulated game this week, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Assuming everything goes well during the simulated game this week, the 24-year-old should be good to go for Houston's first turn through the starting rotation. Brown could line up to start the Astros' home opener versus the Tigers on April 3.

The Rays optioned Chirinos to Triple-A Durham on Sunday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Chirinos will open the season in the minors after losing out to Josh Fleming in the competition for the No. 5 spot in the Rays' rotation. After missing most of the past two seasons while recovering from August 2020 Tommy John surgery, Chirinos reported to camp without any limitations but wasn't able to solidify a rotation spot after logging a 6.57 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 10:6 K:BB across 12.1 Grapefruit League innings.

Severino (lat) said Sunday that he'll resume throwing when pain-free and could miss as few as three or four starts to open the season, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

The 29-year-old's initial shutdown period is expected to be about a week, after which it should become clearer whether or not he'll require a lengthier absence. Severino dealt with a similar injury last year that sidelined him for two months, but the right-hander noted that the current injury isn't in the same location as the previous one.

Lynn allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six across 4.2 innings in Saturday's Cactus League game against the Reds.

Lynn took the mound for the first time since returning from the World Baseball Classic. He was hit around initially but closed the outing with three shutout innings while retiring 10 of the final 11 batters he faced. Lynn is expected to start Chicago's second game of the regular season Friday against the Astros, and he should be able to work fairly deep into the game after facing 21 batters in his spring training finale.

Javier is likely to start Friday against the White Sox in the Astros' second game of the regular season, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Framber Valdez is expected to start on Opening Day, though that has yet to officially be announced. Javier appears to be next in line, and he shouldn't have any problems pitching deep into the game after throwing 5.2 innings Saturday against the Nationals in his Grapefruit League finale. He will enter the season looking to back his breakout 2022 campaign, during which he posted a 2.54 ERA and 0.95 WHIP across 148.2 innings.

Ray allowed a run over five innings in Saturday's Cactus League start against the Diamondbacks.

Ray allowed just two hits in the outing, and he struck out five with one walk. The left-hander was sensational in his time this spring with a 1.06 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 26:6 K:BB ratio. The 2021 Cy Young winner is slotted to pitch behind Luis Castillo in the Seattle rotation, and he could be in for a strong 2023 campaign based on his results this spring.