MLB Player News

Clevinger (knee) threw approximately 25 pitches in Monday's bullpen session and will throw another such session Wednesday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports. "Everything feels strong," Clevinger said after Monday's session. "Nothing feels sore."

He is pain free and itching to return on the quicker end of his six-to-eight week timetable following Feb. 14 surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus. Clevinger said he will need either one or two live batting practice sessions following Wednesday's bullpen session. The next step after that would be to get into a spring game.

Allard was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday.

The Rangers didn't appear to have an open spot in the rotation after bringing in Corey Kluber, Jordan Lyles and Kyle Gibson over the winter. This news means Allard will remain stretched out as a starter in the minors rather than pitching in the big-league bullpen.

Cobb was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday against the Twins due to a blister, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Blisters tend to come with uncertain timelines, but the Orioles don't seem particularly concerned with this one. Cobb will pitch in a simulated game instead, and manager Brandon Hyde indicated the right-hander would be able to pitch through the issue if it occurred during the regular season. It doesn't sound as though Cobb is under any serious risk of opening the season on the injured list.

Kikuchi continued to successfully incorporate a changeup during a four-inning simulated game Tuesday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Kikuchi struck out half of the 14 batters he faced during the outing and elevated his fastball more in the zone, something he's been focused on doing more consistently this offseason and spring. The development of the changeup has also been a priority for the southpaw, as it would serve as a fourth pitch in a repertoire that already includes a four-seam fastball, a curveball and the mid-to-high 80s slider he most frequently used as his "out" pitch last season. Kikuchi's focus on refining the change, which he threw only 7.6 percent of the time in 2019, is starting to pay dividends. "It's getting better," said Austin Nola, who caught Kikuchi on Tuesday. "We're going to use it and keep trying it. I think it's a good feel pitch for him. Something that he can get his feel for and get his extension out front."

Carrasco received an injection in his elbow Wednesday and will be shut down for a few days, Tom Withers of the Associated Press reports.

Carrasco underwent an MRI on his sore right elbow, which didn't reveal anything other than the mild inflammation he'd been diagnosed with over the weekend. While he's only expected to be shut down for a few days, even in the best-case scenario that doesn't leave much time for him to build up to a starting workload by Opening Day, especially considering his spring debut was delayed by a hip issue.

Gilbert started Tuesday's Cactus League win over the Angels on Tuesday and fired two scoreless innings during which he allowed no hits or walks and recorded three strikeouts.

The promising 22-year-old kept his spring ERA perfect with Tuesday's effort, his second two-inning outing in Cactus League play. Making Gilbert's performance Tuesday particularly impressive was who two of his three strikeout victims were. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports Gilbert mowed down Jo Addell on a sweeping slider and also rang up Shohei Ohtani with a curveball that clocked in at approximately 75 mph. The start may have been Gilbert's last one of spring, but Kramer reports that the impressive right-hander, who won the organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year award last season, could be called up to the majors by the middle of the 2020 campaign. "He is getting comfortable, and he knows that it's not going to be long. He's going to help us in Seattle real soon," Mariners manager Scott Servais said.

Paxton (back) resumed playing catch Wednesday, making approximately 25 throws from 60 feet, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports.

After reporting no back pain following the session, Paxton will presumably increase his long-toss distance gradually over the next week or so before potentially getting back on a mound. Paxton indicated that if he avoids any setbacks while building up to a starter's workload, he believes he'll be ready to return from the injured list as soon as mid-May in a best-case scenario. Paxton's absence to begin the campaign as well as the season-ending injury to Luis Severino (elbow) has already cleared a spot in the Opening Day rotation for Jordan Montgomery, leaving a slew of other pitchers to compete for the final starting job over the final two weeks of spring training.

Valdez allowed four runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two over 3.2 innings in Tuesday's split-squad game against the Mets.

Valdez made his third spring start, and this was the first blemish. He was already in competition for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, and now the Astros are looking for a temporary fill-in for ace Justin Verlander (lat). Others in the mix for those two spots are Josh James, Austin Pruitt and Bryan Abreu.

Kopech threw a perfect inning in Tuesday's spring game against the Rangers, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

This was Kopech's first appearance in a competitive environment since late 2018, when he underwent Tommy John elbow surgery. He was amped up for the outing as six of his 11 pitches registered triple digits on the radar gun. One scout on hand said the right-hander was impressive and noted the sharpness of the breaking stuff. With his highly anticipated return out of the way, Kopech can turn toward ramping up his pitches and innings in preparation for an eventual return to Chicago's rotation. May or June is the best estimate for when he will be ready to toe the rubber for the White Sox.

Boyd, who allowed just one run across 4.1 innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates, has a 1.93 ERA this spring.

Boyd has looked like the staff leader the Tigers need him to be. He did at times last year, too, as the lefty had a 2.85 ERA through the first two months of the season. However, Boyd struggled some after that and ultimately finished with a 4.56 ERA. The 29-year-old has elite strikeout potential, but he's yet to have a true breakout campaign.