MLB Player News

Bridwell will likely begin the season at Double-A, but he could move to Triple-A during the season, MASN Sports reports.

This could indicate an arrival in Baltimore before the end of the season. Bridwell had elbow issues last season, but he returned to the bullpen for the Arizona Fall League. The Orioles still have him pegged as a starter. Bridwell cut his BB/9 from 4.5 at High-A in 2014 to 3.5 at Double-A in 2015. He has allowed a solo home run in three innings with no walks or strikeouts this spring.

Berrios threw 1.1 scoreless innings but with three walks and just one strikeout in his spring debut Saturday. Twins GM Terry Ryan said Berrios needs to improve his command before he makes his major league debut, MLB.com reports. "Probably location more than anything else, but it's not so much control because he does throw strikes for the most part," Ryan said. "Now it's just about commanding the zone a little bit."

Berrios is in the running for the fifth starter job, but it's very unlikely he'll begin the season in the majors. Berrios will likely begin the season in Triple-A and could stay until June if the Twins want to ensure an extra year under team control. Despite Ryan's comments, Berrios would appear to have little else to prove at Triple-A as he had a 2.62 ERA and 9.9 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 at Triple-A last season.

Gausman threw two innings Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out three.

Gausman faced a group of MLB regulars in the Rays' lineup and did not struggle at all. His fastball sat in the low-90s and topped out at 96 mph. That kind of velocity would actually be a tick below his performance over the last three seasons. The Orioles finally appear to set Gausman loose right out of the gate this spring.

Rodriguez (knee) continues to play catch off flat ground but he remains without a firm timetable for a return, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports. "He continues to get better each day, and he had a very good day today so we're excited about that. we want to be cautious and careful, yet we're not going to hold him back. We've just got to make sure that more than anything else he's confident in his knee and in the delivery," said manager John Farrell.

Rodriguez was shut down last weekend after spraining the patella tendon in his right knee, but the talented southpaw was able to resume throwing Wednesday and has played catch each day since then. Still, Rodriguez will need to progress to throwing off a mound before a more clear timetable is set for a return to game action. Farrell also stated that he is not worried at this point about Rodriguez missing the beginning of the regular season.

Heaney will not start Saturday due to an illness, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Heaney was expected to make his spring debut in the contest against the Mariners. He's been suffering from the ailment for at least a week, but there has been no indication that he will need to miss extended time, as he is still expected to start Wednesday.

Kluber is in line to be the Indians' starting pitcher on Opening Day, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

On Saturday, Manager Terry Francona said that Kluber will get the nod on Opening Day "as long as everything goes according to plan" for the Indians on April 4 game against the Red Sox. Kluber has been Cleveland's ace for the past few years and will be followed by Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar in the rotation.

Darvish (elbow) mixed in breaking balls for the first time during his scheduled bullpen session Friday, the team's web site reports.

Darvish continues to progress as scheduled, perhaps even a little ahead of scheduled. but there's been no chance to his anticipated return date which is being targeted for mid-May.

Milone gave up one run over two innings with three strikeouts in his spring debut Friday as he battles for the fifth starter role with Ricky Nolasco, Jose Berrios and Trevor May. "I would say he's got a little edge because he's got a bit more of a resume," GM Terry Ryan told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Milone is also the only left-handed starter among all the rotation candidates, so that may also give him an edge. Milone had a 3.92 ERA and 1.27 WHIP last year as a starter, but his mediocre 6.3 K/9 and a meager 87.8 mph average fastball may not offer a ton of upside. Still, he looks like the favorite for the fifth starter job early this spring.

Rodriguez played catch up to 100 feet and continued to give his injured right knee some activity (walking backwards) Thursday, the Boston Globe reports.

Thursday's activity represented slightly more work than he had Wednesday. Manager John Farrell said it was likely the left-hander will throw a couple of bullpen sessions before seeing game action, which could come as early as next week.

Nolasco gave up three runs and four hits in with a strikeout and a walk in 1.1 innings in his spring debut Friday.

Nolasco is competing with Tommy Milone and Trevor May for the final spot in the rotation. While it's just one outing, Nolasco likely needs to make a statement early in spring training to win the job, so any bad outing won't help. At least he's healthy after missing four months due to an ankle injury at the end of last season.