MLB Player News

Paxton allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out seven across five innings Thursday against the Twins. He did not factor in the decision.

Paxton rebounded to give a more typical performance in his second start of the season, racking up seven strikeouts even in a short outing. However, it's worth noting that Paxton has induced just three groundballs in his two starts this season, a skill he has relied on in combination with his elite strikeout rate to limit home runs in the past.

Faedo will start his season with High-A Lakeland, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports.

Faedo was selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2017 first-year player draft, and the Tigers promptly shut him down due to his workload with the University of Florida during the College World Series before the draft. He'll start his professional career at the High-A level, but the 22-year-old already has a plus fastball and slider, and he has the polish and skills to move fairly quickly through the organizational ranks.

Perez pitched 5.1 innings and earned a win Thursday against the Athletics, allowing three earned runs on 10 hits and no walks while striking out one.

Perez earned a win in his season debut and escaped the start without giving up a home run and surrendering only one extra base hit. However, he wasn't fooling many batters as he scattered 10 hits and generated only one swinging strike on his 76 pitches. He is working back from offseason elbow surgery so this likely isn't the best we'll see from Perez throughout the season, though strikeouts will never be a key part of his game given his career 5.5 K/9.

Rodriguez (knee) is scheduled to start Sunday against the Rays, Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com reports.

Rodriguez, who is working his way back from October knee surgery, has been cleared to make his 2018 big-league debut after getting through a minor-league start at extended spring training earlier in the week with no issues. The soon-to-be 25-year-old posted a 4.19 ERA and 150:50 K:BB across 137.1 innings (24 starts, one relief appearance) in 2017. The Red Sox will need to open up a spot on their 25-man roster prior to activating Rodriguez from the DL.

Perez will open the year at High-A Tampa, MLB.com's Jim Callis reports.

He logged 123.2 innings at Low-A last season, so this assignment was expected. Perez, who stands 6-foot-8, 190 pounds, has a big fastball, potentially plus changeup and a couple useful breaking balls. The typical concerns that follow uber-tall pitchers up the ladder apply, as his delivery can be inconsistent, which leads to mediocre command. He is already 22 years old, so he will be expected to have success against High-A hitters. It will be important for him to continue to add weight to his slender frame in the coming years.

Sauer will open the year in extended spring training, MLB.com's Jim Callis reports.

The Yankees landed Sauer with the No. 54 overall pick in last year's draft, but he received a larger signing bonus ($2.4975 million) than their first-round pick, Clark Schmidt. He quickly rewarded that financial commitment, showing a plus fastball and potentially plus curveball in 11.2 innings in the Gulf Coast League. Sauer has a ton of upside, particularly if his changeup develops into a quality third pitch. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until short-season leagues begin this summer to see him make his 2018 debut.

Medina will open the year in extended spring training, MLB.com's Jim Callis reports.

This was the expectation all offseason, as Medina, despite all his physical gifts, is still very raw. He walked 14 batters in 23 innings in the Appalachian League last year while flashing frontline starter upside. The 6-foot-1 righty only threw 38.2 innings in 2017, so the fact that he won't open the year in a full-season league lines up well with a likely innings cap this year. Few rookie-level pitchers can match his upside, so if an impatient dynasty-league owner drops him before short-season leagues begin, it would be wise to scoop him up.

Blackburn (forearm) was transferred to the 60-day disabled list Thursday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

This move clears a spot on the Athletics' 40-man roster for the addition of Trayce Thompson, who was claimed off waivers from the Yankees on Thursday. Blackburn was hoping to resume throwing sometime this week but was shut down after experiencing renewed soreness in his forearm. He'll now be sidelined until at least the end of May. In the meantime, Daniel Gossett will remain in Oakland's rotation until Blackburn is healthy, though Trevor Cahill looms as a potential replacement once he builds up his arm following a delayed start to spring training.

Perez (elbow) was activated from the 10-day disabled list and will start Thursday's game against the Athletics.

As expected, Perez is set to make his season debut after missing his first turn in the rotation while recovering from an offseason elbow injury. The 27-year-old threw six innings in a simulated game Friday and reported no issues afterwards, clearing the way for him to make his season debut with the big club. Across 32 starts in 2017, Perez posted a 4.82 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 115:63 K:BB across 185 innings. Jose Leclerc was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to make room for Perez on the roster.

Jorge (triceps soreness) will open the year on the disabled list at Double-A Chattanooga, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports.

Despite having over 200 innings under his belt at Double-A and making three starts at Triple-A last year, Jorge was surprisingly assigned back to Chattanooga. It is unclear how much time he will miss with triceps soreness. He doesn't appear particularly close to contributing at the big-league level.