MLB Player News

Gibson threw six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and no walks in a win over Pittsburgh on Saturday, lowering his spring ERA to 1.53 in the process.

Gibson's strong spring continues as he has 19 strikeouts in 17.2 innings. He had just a 6.7 K/9 last season, which was a career high in the majors. His spring strikeouts could point to continued improvement in his strikeout rate this season.

Boyd appears set to begin the season in Triple-A with Shane Greene moving into the rotation while Daniel Norris is out with a back injury, the Detroit News reports.

Boyd has a 4.24 ERA this spring and an impressive 16:5 K:BB ratio in 17 innings. However, he gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits over 3.1 innings in his last start Thursday. The Tigers will decide between Boyd and Greene in the next few days for the fifth starter role.

Alvarez (shoulder) will throw a 40-pitch bullpen session Saturday, John Hickey of the San Jose Mercury News reports.

For the first time this spring, Alvarez will mix breaking pitches into his arsenal when he's on the bump for a bullpen session. He's still a ways away from being ready for game action, but he has increased his pitch count during his bullpens and is gradually working on mixing in all of his pitches. If Alvarez's bullpen Saturday goes without a hitch, he should remain on track for a return some time in May.

Quintana held the Mariners to two runs (one earned) on two hits in six innings Friday, striking out seven.

Quintana has only made three Cactus League starts, but Friday's was the longest and best of the three. He now has a 13:2 K:BB over those three starts, and he looks primed to open the season as Chris Sale's sidekick.

Hill threw five innings in a minor league game Friday, but continued his spring struggles, allowing five runs and walking five.

Since the A's were playing a division rival in Cactus League play, they chose to have Hill throw in a minor league game instead. The walks continue to be a huge issue for Hill, and he has not yet had anything close to solid outing this spring, with a ridiculous 12 walks in 7.2 innings. Hill did indicate that he felt better the final three innings Friday and called the day a "big step in the right direction." He will have one more spring start, likely Wednesday, before his first regular-season start, tentatively scheduled for the A's second game of the season.

Darvish (elbow) threw 35 pitches in another pain-free bullpen session Friday according to MLB.com's TR Sullivan.

Darvish feels that he may be slightly ahead of schedule that currently has him returning in mid-May, but it's still too early to tell at this point if he'll return earlier than expected.

Smyly (2-1) surrendered five hits, five earned runs and a walk over six innings in Friday's 6-1 spring loss to the Twins. He struck out four.

The 26-year-old was touched up for three homers, two of them coming off the bat of Trevor Plouffe. The Twins slugger blasted a shot over the left-field wall in the second, and came back with a two-run homer that also left the park by way of left field in the sixth inning. Smyly, who's surrendered double-digit homers in three of his past four seasons, has now given up four over 16 spring training innings.

Milone appears to be a lock for a rotation spot thanks to a strong spring, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Milone has a 2.40 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 15 innings so far this spring training, which is apparently enough to convince Paul Molitor he is worthy of a rotation spot. The final rotation spot is set to to be a battle between Tyler Duffey and Ricky Nolasco, who both pitch on Monday, Bollinger also reports.

Gausman (shoulder) has a chance to be ready to start April 10 against the Rays, MLB Network's Jon Heyman reports.

He could start the year on the DL with a backdating of March 25, which would allow him to slot into the O's rotation without the team having to add another starter to the mix, since they have an off day on Apr. 5. Heyman said it will be a close call, so owners should be prepared for Gausman to have to wait a turn or two before joining the rotation.

Rodriguez (knee) had a successful bullpen session Wednesday, the Boston Herald reports.

Rodriguez is scheduled to throw another bullpen session Saturday, one in which he may face live batters. The lefty has checked off some rehab boxes, but he still needs to face hitters, then pitch in a game situation, and build up his pitch count. We're targeting late April for his return. In the meantime, it's looking like Steven Wright will fill in for him in Boston's rotation.