MLB Player News

Snell and the Rays agreed to a five-year, $50 million contract extension Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Snell gets rewarded for his Cy Young performance and the Rays get to lock up their young ace through his age-30 season. The deal buys out Snell's remaining years of team control as well as one additional season. It does not contain any options. Snell will remain in the Rays' pitcher-friendly home park for the foreseeable future, though he'll also be stuck in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox for the majority of his prime.

Springs will break camp with the Rangers, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Springs posted a 2.35 ERA and 11:5 K:BB through 7.2 innings this spring, which was good enough to earn him a spot in the Rangers' Opening Day bullpen. The southpaw, who notched a 3.38 ERA and 8.7 K/9 in 18 appearances (32 innings) as a rookie in 2018, figures to reprise his role as a multi-inning reliever that could step in and start if needed.

Kikuchi allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits, a walk and a wild pitch over 4.2 innings in the Mariners' 5-4 extra-innings win over the Athletics in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday. He struck out three and did not factor into the decision.

It was a reasonably effective regular-season major-league debut for Kikuchi, one that ironically unfolded right back in his native Japan. The 27-year-old southpaw didn't allow any extra-base hits, with the only runs charged to him coming as a result of a Marcus Semien single and a Jay Bruce error at first base that allowed Jurickson Profar to cross the plate. Otherwise, his first taste of big-league action seemed to be unfold relatively smoothly, particularly encouraging given that Kikuchi had an up-and-down Cactus League tenure. The young left-hander will be well-rested whenever he does take the mound for his second start, as the Mariners do not resume play until next Thursday against the Red Sox in Seattle.

Luzardo will be shut down for 4-to-6 weeks with a strained rotator cuff in his left (throwing) shoulder, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

This obviously sounds pretty bad. Luzardo, who was a candidate to open the year in the rotation, is now considered out indefinitely. If he resumes a throwing program in May, it would still take him several weeks to complete a rehab assignment. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2016.

Giolito threw four relief innings Wednesday, giving up seven runs on eight hits, including two home runs, and two walks over four innings against the Diamondbacks.

Giolito threw out of the bullpen as it was his day to throw, but the White Sox let Ervin Santana open the game. Giolito has been hit hard in all five of his Cactus League outings, posting an 8.84 ERA and 1.91 WHIP over 18.1 innings.

Turnbull is a candidate to claim Detroit's final rotation spot with Michael Fulmer headed for Tommy John surgery, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The battle for the No. 5 spot will likely come down to Turnbull and Daniel Norris. Turnbull has outperformed Norris this spring, posting a 1.80 ERA across 15 innings including five scoreless innings Wednesday compared to Norris' 5.06 ERA across 10.2 innings. However, Norris has more experience at the MLB level, with Turnbull logging his first four career appearances last year as a rookie. Even if Turnbull loses out on the rotation spot to begin the season, he could grab it before long if Norris struggles.

Glasnow allowed five earned runs on four hits and four walks over 3.2 innings in a 6-2 Grapefruit League loss to the Yankees on Tuesday. He struck out four.

Despite the unsightly line, the news wasn't all bad for the towering southpaw. His control issues did allow him to get his work in via a total of 81 pitches, and Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports that Glasnow then continued firing away in the bullpen after he exited the game. The 25-year-old also notched a couple of whiffs with the curveball he's been working on refining this spring, but he ultimately only got 47 of his offerings into the strike zone. Glasnow has one more Grapefruit League outing before the regular season, and the young lefty feels that just a slight improvement in his timing will get him to where he needs to be for his first scheduled regular-season start March 30 versus the Astros.

Nicolino was assigned to minor-league camp Wednesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Nicolino has allowed just one run in 5.2 innings this spring, though he was always a long shot at best to break camp with the team. The lefty has a 4.65 ERA in 201.1 major-league innings and spent the entirety of 2018 at the Triple-A level.

Boyd covered 4.2 innings in Tuesday's 3-1 exhibition loss to the Pirates, surrendering three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven.

Boyd tossed 92 pitches in what will likely be his final Grapefruit League outing ahead of a potential Opening Day assignment March 28 in Toronto. With Michael Fulmer (elbow) opting for season-ending Tommy John surgery, Boyd enters the upcoming campaign as the clear top starter in a beleaguered Detroit rotation and looks poised to build on what was a promising if unspectacular 2018 campaign. Per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, Boyd's fastball has been sitting around 91-to-93 miles per hour this spring, a decent uptick from the 90 mph he averaged in 2018. The spike in velocity may at least partially explain why Boyd has racked up 20 strikeouts in 18 innings during the exhibition slate.

Severino (shoulder) played catch at about 60 feet from flat ground Wednesday, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

With the cortisone shot Severino recently received having alleviated the pain in his right shoulder, he's now been cleared to resume his throwing program after a two-week rest period. Severino is slated to play catch again Thursday before the Yankees determine his next step, but general manager Brian Cashman has already suggested the right-hander won't be ready to make his 2019 debut until some point in May at the earliest. Expect the Yankees to formally place Severino on the injured list shortly before their March 28 season opener versus the Orioles.