MLB Player News

Chirinos (2-0) compiled six strikeouts while allowing an earned run on three hits and a walk over three innings in Wednesday's 9-3 Grapefruit League win over the Pirates.

Chirinos bounced back nicely from a pair of rocky outings during which he'd allowed five earned runs over three innings. The trio of frames he worked Wednesday represented a spring high for the 24-year-old right-hander, who remains in the mix for a bullpen spot but feels he's versatile enough to be used as a starter in a pinch, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports. "With the four starters they have already, just competing for a bullpen spot," said Chirinos through team interpreter Manny Navarro. "If they want me to start, I can start, whatever they need me to do."

Stroman (shoulder) will make his spring debut Saturday, Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun reports.

Stroman is scheduled to pitch a few innings against the Canadian National Junior team, a natural progression from his successful bullpen session Monday. The 26-year-old has already been ruled out for Opening Day, but a return within the opening four-game series against the Yankees is not out of the question, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca. An updated timetable is likely to become available following Saturday's outing.

Rodriguez (knee) tossed three innings of live batting practice Thursday morning, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Rodriguez continues to make progress, and is scheduled to pitch March 20 in a minor-league game. Manager Alex Cora stated that Rodriguez won't be rushed back, but he could return sooner than expected if he keeps making strides.

Sale allowed two hits without a walk while striking out seven over five scoreless innings in Wednesday's start against the Twins.

This was Sale's second Grapefruit League start, but he's done plenty of work in intrasquad games and in other controlled environments. "Today I was able to change speeds and command the ball," Sale told Jenn McCaffrey of MassLive.com. "I felt like today was one of my better days overall in terms of my command and throwing strikes. In, out, up, down type of stuff." Both hits Sale allowed were one-out triples, which gave him an opportunity to get out of jams, which he did expertly. The left-hander got his pitch count up to 53 and will have two more spring starts before he presumably takes the ball Opening Day against the Rays.

Gonzales (hand) believes he can make his next scheduled start Saturday, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports.

Gonzales has reportedly been making good progress after being hit on his right hand by a line drive in Monday's start. The 26-year-old was slated to throw before Wednesday's game and planned to don a glove while doing so. Assuming he continues trending in the right direction, it appears likely that he'll have a chance to take the mound against the split squad of either the Athletics or Angels on Saturday as scheduled.

Cease was assigned to minor-league camp Wednesday, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Cease's stay in major-league camp ceased, but not before he made an impression on the decision makers. "His release, everything he does, seems to point toward a young man who has everything ahead of him and the possibility of making an impact in multiple ways," manager Rick Renteria said. Cease, who was acquired from the Cubs last year in the Jose Quintana trade, allowed one earned run and struck out nine over 6.1 innings. The right-hander is expected to start the season at High-A Winston-Salem.

Verlander allowed three runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out four over five innings in Wednesday's start against the Cardinals.

Verlander entered the games having allowed one run all spring before the Cardinals touched him for a pair of home runs Wednesday. He told Oliver Macklin of MLB.com that he was working on his pitches and threw some pitch sequences he wouldn't normally throw during the regular season. Despite the ugly results, Verlander felt he took another step in the right direction toward the regular season.

Rodriguez (knee) faced live batters Monday, Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald reports.

The Red Sox didn't know what to expect as far as a timeline goes following Rodriguez's knee surgery last October. The left-hander's prior recovery times from injuries always went a bit longer than expected, but this one has been different. He resumed throwing in January and got onto a mound earlier than expected in February. Manager Alex Cora is not going to push him, but Rodriguez should be back sooner than the team anticipated last autumn.

Snell racked up eight strikeouts over 4.1 innings in an intrasquad game Monday, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports. "I saw Blake pitch [Monday], he continues to look really good," manager Kevin Cash said. "...It's tough to get pumped up in those situations, but he definitely did. He looked very crisp. Everybody commented, just how the ball was coming out."

The emerging southpaw allowed a run on two hits and just one walk, with the latter number a particularly relevant one given Snell's ongoing focus on improving location. The 25-year-old has posted an impressive 10:1 K:BB across seven innings through three spring starts, encouraging numbers considering he generated BB/9 metrics of 5.16 and 4.11 through his first pair of big-league stints.

Cole allowed a run on four hits and two walks while striking out seven in Tuesday's start against the Mets.

Cole is fitting into the Astros' rotation quite nicely, posting a 1.42 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 12.2 innings over four starts. The right-hander got his pitch count up to 77 and, with three more spring starts remaining, is on schedule for the first turn of the rotation in the regular season. He's expected to be Houston's third starter, behind Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel.