MLB Player News

Bundy gave up one run over three innings with four strikeouts and no walks in Friday's spring training loss to Pittsburgh.

Bundy finished 2021 with a strained shoulder and inked a one-year deal with Minnesota before the start of the lockout. He's looked sharp this spring with five strikeouts and one walk over five innings with one run allowed (on a home run). With the Twins failing to sign more veteran pitchers, Bundy looks locked in as the No. 3 or No. 4 starter to begin the season.

Bello was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Friday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Bello made just one Grapefruit League appearance for the Red Sox this spring and struck out one in a perfect relief inning. He'll begin the regular season in the minors but is one of the team's top prospects and will likely be in the mix to make his major-league debut at some point this year.

Lyles is dealing with an illness and will not start Friday as scheduled, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

Lyles is only dealing with a stomach bug, but he is not feeling well enough to take the mound Friday. Chris Ellis will get the nod in Lyles' place.

Gray allowed one run on four hits and struck out four over two innings in Thursday's spring training start against the Athletics.

Gray made his spring debut and looked sharp. All four strikeouts were the result of a revamped slider, Jesse Borek of MLB.com reports. "It's moving a lot more," Gray said of the slider he worked on with pitching coach Brendan Sagara. "It's got a lot more horizontal action on it. It probably moves double the amount my old one does... This one kind of goes across the whole plate." The right-hander already had a pretty good slider, as batters were limited to a .156 batting average and .300 slugging percentage against the pitch he threw a career-high 38.1 percent of the time in 2021. Gray is a leading candidate to become the ace of a Rangers' staff that's looking for a bona fide No. 1 starter.

Kirby is considered a candidate for the Mariners' vacant No. 5 starter role, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

The Mariners' No. 3 prospect logged 67.2 innings last season between High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas, putting together a 5-3 record, 2.53 ERA and 1.08 WHIP while generating an 80:15 K:BB. The fact Kirby worked the fewest frames between him and fellow candidates Matt Brash and Levi Stoudt a year ago may hurt his chances to a degree, however, as Kramer notes Seattle intends for him to pitch deep into the season and would therefore likely have to keep a closer eye on his workload.

Stoudt is a candidate for the Mariners' currently vacant No. 5 spot in the rotation, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Stoudt's main competition appears to be Matt Brash and George Kirby, two fellow prospects with no shortage of talent or pedigree. Stoudt built up more extensively than Kirby last season in the minors, but his 81.2 innings during 2021 check in just behind Brash's 97.1. Stoudt, who has just one season of professional experience under his belt, held his own during his first Cactus League start against the Dodgers on Saturday, throwing 55 pitches over 2.1 innings while facing regulars Trea Turner, Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor.

Mize tossed three scoreless innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees. He allowed a hit and a walk, while striking out six.

New York wasn't playing all of its regulars, but it was still an impressive performance for Mize. Through two spring starts, the righty has logged five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. After an up-and-down rookie campaign in 2020 and some marked improvement last year, Mize could be primed for a full breakout in 2022.

Kikuchi walked one and struck out four without allowing a hit over two scoreless innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

It was a strong first appearance in a Blue Jays uniform for Kikuchi, who signed with the club earlier this month for three years and $36 million. The 30-year-old lefty couldn't find consistent success in the majors over three seasons with the Mariners, but if he can stick in the Toronto rotation he could be a source of wins and strikeouts in deeper fantasy leagues, even if his ratios may be erratic.

Berrios gave up six runs on seven hits and a walk over 1.2 innings in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies. He struck out two.

Facing what looked to be most of Philadelphia's Opening Day lineup, Berrios got hit hard, with a third-inning homer by J.T. Realmuto being the big blow. The results are less important than the fact Berrios got his work in, but fantasy investors would probably like to see a couple better outings before spring training wraps up. The right-hander is coming off a season in which he posted a career-best 3.52 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 26.1 percent strikeout rate over 32 starts and 192 innings between the Twins and Blue Jays, and Berrios is expected to be one of the rotation anchors for a Toronto team with title aspirations.

The Red Sox have not yet set a timetable for Sale (rib) to resume throwing, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Sale sustained a stress fracture to his right rib cage in February and remains sidelined. Browne indicated injuries of this nature often take 6-to-8 weeks to heal, which means the left-hander may not resume throwing for another couple of weeks. At this point, projecting a date for Sale to take the mound in game action is simply guesswork. Browne believes Sale won't pitch for the Red Sox in a major-league game before May.