MLB Player News

Farrell will have wires removed from his fractured jaw Monday, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Since undergoing surgery on his jaw earlier this month, Farrell has been limited to a liquid diet while the wires have been in place. Once the wires are out, he'll work to regain the weight and strength he lost over the past three weeks before resuming a throwing program. Farrell will be placed on the injured list ahead of the regular season, but it's unclear if he'll be stashed on the 10-day or 60-day IL.

Verlander and the Astros agreed to terms Saturday on a two-year, $66 million contract extension, Mark Berman of Fox 26 News Houston reports.

Reports surfaced within the past few days that both player and team were eager to work out an extension prior to the season, and it didn't take long for a new deal to materialize. The extension now keeps Verlander in the fold through 2021, his age-38 season. After his career had been trending downward during his final years in Detroit, Verlander has re-emerged as a top-flight ace since joining Houston in August 2017. Verlander was instrumental in the Astros' run to their first World Series title that year and enjoyed arguably the best season of his career in 2018, churning out a 2.52 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 290:37 K:BB in 214 innings. His advanced age aside, Verlander's underlying metrics suggest no major decline should be in the forecast for 2019.

Miley will start the fourth game of the season, April 1, against the Rays, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Manager AJ Hinch finalized his rotation Friday, declaring Collin McHugh, Miley and Brad Peacock will follow Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. The left-handed Miley has a 2.12 ERA over 17 spring innings and will benefit pitching in front of a talented offensive lineup.

Rodon allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out three over two innings Friday against the Angels.

Rodon was expected to throw three innings in what was a planned abbreviated outing, but he didn't have his best command and the appearance was cut back to two innings. His spring ERA fell to 5.65. Next up for the left-hander is his first Opening Day start March 28 against the Royals.

Snell started a minor-league game Friday and recorded eight strikeouts over five innings, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

"Happy with a lot. Happy with first-pitch strikes," Snell said. "I was locked in. I didn't let the minor-league game get into my head at all. Being able to see that, learn from it and get ready for my next start which is Opening Day, it's very exciting." The left-hander was getting his final spring work in against minor leaguers in order to better control his workload. Snell worked up to 75 pitches Friday and allowed just one hit in addition to recording the eight whiffs. Snell next takes the mound for an Opening Day showdown against Justin Verlander and the Astros next Thursday.

Valdez is competing with Reymin Guduan for Houston's final bullpen spot, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Valdez was competing with Brad Peacock for the team's final rotation spot, but Peacock prevailed, leaving Valdez to fight for a spot on the Opening Day roster as a reliever. The southpaw owns a fine 3.52 ERA through 15.1 innings this spring, while Guduan owns a 1.86 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 13:2 K:BB through 9.2 innings.

Sale is in agreement on a five-year extension with the Red Sox, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Sale is set to make his third consecutive Opening Day start for Boston and was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. According to Rosenthal, the deal is worth about $145 million and will put the left-hander under contract through 2024. Sale has a 2.56 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 13.2 K/9 over 59 starts since being acquired by the Red Sox prior to the 2017 season.

Hammel was told Friday he'd made the Rangers' Opening Day roster, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

The Rangers have yet to officially add Hammel to the 40-man roster, but that transaction should be coming some time in the next few days. Hammel is expected to open the season in the bullpen, but he has 298 starts under his belt so far in his big-league career, and he could be one of the first pitchers called upon should injuries or ineffectiveness strike the Rangers' rotation. The 36-year-old posted ERAs of 5.29 and 6.02 in the last two seasons while calling Kauffman Stadium home, so expectations should be low for him this year at hitter-friendly Globe Life Park.

Smyly will be the fourth starter in the rotation, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Smyly's thrown just 9.1 innings this spring, much of it encouraging until Thursday when he was tagged for eight hits and walked two over four innings. His slot in the rotation puts him on schedule to start Texas' home opener, April 1 against in-state rival Houston.

Dunn allowed one earned run on two hits and two walks while striking out six across four innings of work Thursday.

Dunn continued to generate whiffs at a strong rate and has 13 strikeouts in nine innings this spring. However, as has been the case throughout his minor-league career, Dunn has struggled with surrendering free passes -- he's now issued five during the exhibition season. Already optioned to minor-league camp, Dunn could get a small sample of big-league work later in the season if he impresses throughout the campaign.