MLB Player News

Kittredge was placed on the 60-day injured list by the Rays on Tuesday as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for Trevor Kelley. Kittredge will miss at least the first half of the season following last June's Tommy John surgery.

Yarbrough (groin) is scheduled to pitch in a minor-league game Wednesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Though Yarbrough hasn't appeared in a Cactus League game since Feb. 27 while managing what the team has labeled as a minor groin strain, he'll be able to build up his pitch count Wednesday on the back fields at Royals camp. Assuming his groin checks out fine Wednesday, Yarbrough should have one or two more chances to pitch this spring as he looks to stake his claim to a spot in the Royals' Opening Day rotation. It's unclear if Kansas City has plans to deploy Yarbrough as as a traditional starter or as a primary pitcher out of the bullpen, with the latter role being one he became accustomed to over his past five seasons with Tampa Bay.

The Rangers optioned Rodriguez to Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday.

Rodriguez, who made one appearance out of the Texas bullpen in 2022 in what was his MLB debut, fell short in his bid for a spot on the Rangers' Opening Day roster after he was tagged for five runs (four earned) on five hits and one walk across three innings in Cactus League play.

Clarke (lower body) made his Cactus League debut in Sunday's 7-6 win over the Guardians, giving up one run on two hits over an inning of relief.

The appearance was Clarke's first of the spring, after he had previously suffered a lower-body injury early in camp that caused the Royals to slow down his throwing progression. Since Clarke was deployed mostly as a one-inning reliever in 2022, he'll likely require just a few more spring appearances to get fully ramped up for Opening Day. Expect the 29-year-old to handle a middle-innings role for Kansas City.

Faucher (oblique) struck out the side during his inning of relief in Tuesday's 7-4 win over the Twins in Grapefruit League play.

Faucher's spring debut was delayed over three weeks after he reported to camp with the oblique injury, but he proved to be worth the wait Tuesday. He displayed a mid-90s fastball and sharp mid-80s slider during the appearance, pumping in 10 of his 13 pitches for strikes and retiring two of the three hitters he faced with swings and misses. Though he wasn't overly impressive in his first season in the majors in 2022, Faucher nonetheless has a chance to break camp with Tampa Bay in a low-leverage relief role.

Munoz (foot) is expected to make his Cactus League debut Friday against the Padres, per the the team's official site.

The flame-throwing right-hander has thrown three successful live batting practice sessions, the most recent unfolding Monday. Munoz underwent foot surgery Oct. 27, but he feels he is starting to approach full health. "I feel pretty good. It's the first time that I faced hitters in a lot of time, so I don't feel as comfortable as I'm supposed to at this point," Munoz said March 10. "But I am getting there. I am getting the feeling of the ball again and working on my pitches."

Taylor (elbow) is throwing in camp but has yet to appear in a Grapefruit League game, Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Taylor was bothered by an elbow injury in 2022, which limited him to 16 innings in Houston. He struggled mightily with his command by walking 10 batters, which resulted in an ugly 1.56 WHIP. It's unclear when Taylor may be able to return to the mound, though his absence opens the door for Matt Gage to make the Opening Day roster.

Gage will likely start the regular season as a member of the Astros' bullpen, Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle reports.

Gage was picked up by the Astros in mid-February, and he'll benefit from the absences of Parker Mushinski (back) and Blake Taylor (elbow) -- both of whom have yet to enter game action this spring. Without that duo, the Astros will be without a lefty in their bullpen, thus opening the door for Gage to claim a roster spot. He made his big-league debut with Toronto in 2022 and maintained a 1.38 ERA and 0.92 WHIP across 13 innings.

Mushinski (back) will "probably not" be ready for Opening Day, Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Mushinski suffered back spasms early in camp, and he has been throwing for two weeks. Even so, he has yet to appear in game action and is unlikely to get fully ramped up in time for Opening Day. His absence won't affect the saves picture in Houston, though Mushinski was battling for a roster spot as the lone lefty reliever in the Astros' bullpen.

Fujinami has allowed five earned runs on six hits and eight walks while recording 13 strikeouts across eight innings in his first three Cactus League starts.

The former NPB star has seen some of his career-long control issues surface in fairly prominent fashion early in his MLB career, but he's also done a nice job closing out his fair share of hitters. Fujinami actually allowed just one earned run across five innings in his first two exhibitions before getting touched up for four runs over three frames by the Rockies in his most recent turn Monday, an outing in which he also rang up seven strikeouts. Fujinami worked up to 70 pitches against Colorado, and although he got only 40 of those offerings into the strike zone, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports the right-hander's fastball hit 99 mph and his slider served as the putaway pitch on five of his seven Ks.