MLB Player News

Anderson is one of several pitchers still competing to fill out the back end of Detroit's bullpen to begin the regular season, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Woodbery notes that six pitchers (Anderson, Jacob Barnes, Jason Foley, Rony Garcia, Will Vest and Drew Hutchison) are likely competing for five roster spots. Anderson has largely been a starter during his MLB career, but it appears that he won't be in the rotation to begin the year for the Tigers, so he'll likely need to make the team as a long reliever.

Eovaldi was announced as the Red Sox' Opening Day starter for the April 7 game against the Yankees.

Chris Sale (ribs) is unavailable to begin the season, so it's no surprise Eovaldi will take the mound Opening Day for Boston. The right-hander had a 3.75 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 195:35 K:BB across 182.1 innings last season, which was only the second time in his MLB career he's topped 160 innings.

The Astros optioned Bielak to Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

In addition to Bielak, the Astros also optioned Seth Martinez to Triple-A, clearing the way for Ronel Blanco and Bryan Abreu to secure the final two spots in Houston's Opening Day bullpen, according to Rome. Bielak had been competing for a long-relief role with Houston, but he could stretch out for starting duty as he heads to Sugar Land.

Lynn was forced to exit Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks early with right knee discomfort.

Lynn left the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, ending the outing having surrendered four earned runs (seven total) on seven hits while striking out four and walking one. With less than a week until Opening Day, Lynn's injury could prove to delay his debut for the 2022 campaign. More information on the injury will likely be provided Sunday.

McKenzie's first outing of the regular appearance is expected to come in relief, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

The Guardians kick off the season with a strange series against the Royals, in which they'll play four games spread over five days. McKenzie is expected to piggyback one of the four starters in that series, but he'll likely return to the rotation after that.

Kirby will begin the 2022 campaign at Double-A Arkansas after Matt Brash was named the Mariners' fifth starter Saturday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Kirby has performed well in the minors to begin his career, and he'll attempt to continue making his case for a big-league roster spot early in the 2022 campaign. He had a lackluster 7.04 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 7.2 innings across three appearances (one start) this spring, but he posted a strong 12:2 K:BB. He tossed just 67.2 innings in the minors last year, and while he was unable to crack the Mariners' rotation to begin the regular season, it seems likely that the 24-year-old will make his major-league debut at some point in 2022 once he gets some more experience in the minors.

Kikuchi gave up one run on four hits and a walk over 3.2 innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates. He struck out five.

Roberto Perez took him deep for a solo shot in the fourth inning, but prior to that Kikuchi was looking sharp. He worked his way up to 71 pitches (44 strikes) and appears just about ready for Opening Day as he gets ready to handle No. 5 starter duties for the Blue Jays, but the southpaw's spring has been a microcosm of his big-league performance to date. Kikuchi has an 11:4 K:BB through 8.1 innings but has also served up four homers.

Valdez, who was scheduled to pitch in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals, will now pitch in a minor-league game on the back fields, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Due to the threat of inclement weather Saturday, the Astros will alter Valdez's pitching plans to make sure that he's able to get some work in. The southpaw has been named the starter for Thursday's Opening Day matchup against the Angels, so Saturday's outing should serve as a final tune-up ahead of the regular season. Brandon Bielak will now serve as the starter in Saturday's Grapefruit League game.

Sale (ribs) said Saturday that he feels good physically but hasn't yet been cleared to resume throwing, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Sale expects that he'll be cleared to throw relatively soon, and he also said he doesn't expect to need a full allotment of time to build up since he was able to throw early in camp. Although the southpaw's updates Saturday provide some encouragement, a better idea of his return timetable is unlikely to come into focus until he officially resumes throwing.

Allard allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out three over three innings in Friday's spring training game against the Giants.

Allard entered in the second inning following opener Dennis Santana in what was the left-hander's second Cactus League appearance. His first appearance was as a traditional starter, but at this point, Allard is not expected to be part of the rotation that opens the season. He'll stay stretched out and be able to pitch long relief, spot start or serve as the bulk-innings hurler if the Rangers play around with openers in 2022.