MLB Player News

Puk's strained shoulder likely takes him out of contention for an Opening Day rotation spot, Shayna Rubin of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

The news follows naturally from the fact that Puk has no timetable to resume throwing, but manager Bob Melvin confirmed Saturday that "it's probably a stretch" for Puk to be ready to start right away. Whether that means he'd open the year in the bullpen or the minors remains to be seen. The Athletics' plan for him to start the year probably won't become clear until he starts throwing again.

Puk (shoulder) needs more strength work before he resumes throwing, Matt Kawahara of The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Puk was cleared of structural damage in his sore shoulder, but manager Bob Melvin says there is no set date for him to resume throwing. Melvin said that if Puk is not stretched out by the start of the season he could open the year in the big-league bullpen and "ramp up that way" but added "that's just hypothetical right now."

Heller is dealing with a minor back injury but should get into a Grapefruit League game within the next couple of days, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

It's obviously a very minor issue, with manager Aaron Boone saying Heller could get into a game Sunday or Monday. He is competing for one of the final spots in the big-league bullpen but has minor-league options remaining.

Junis (back) will throw a simulated game Sunday and could make a Cactus League start after that, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

He will get stretched back out in the sim game, and if all goes well he could return to game action in about a week. His previously scheduled start was skipped due to a minor back strain.

Graveman was scratched from Saturday's start due to an illness, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

He has the flu, which has apparently been making it way through Mariners camp. Zac Grotz will start in his place while Graveman throws a side session.

Stiever has yet to pitch in the Cactus League due to soreness in his forearm, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Stiever said he was bothered by soreness "in a weird spot in my arm," but an MRI showed it was normal. White Sox general manager Rick Hahn described the injury as a muscle strain in the forearm, something the team discovered following a side session. As such, he was shut down for two-to-three weeks and is currently halfway through the break. The White Sox reassigned him to minor-league camp to continue his rehab. The 22-year-old is the team's sixth-ranked prospect per RotoWire (fifth-ranked by MLB Pipeline) and will be behind other starters to begin the season.

Chapman made his spring debut in Friday's 5-1 loss to the Orioles, allowing one hit and striking out one in a single scoreless inning.

The spring training season began nearly two weeks ago, but the Yankees waited until Friday to give their veteran closer his first live game action of 2020. Per Pete Caldera of USA Today, Chapman evaluated his outing as "a little out of rhythm, but overall good." With Opening Day less than three weeks away, Chapman should see his Grapefruit League workload ramp up in the coming days.

Jurado was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Friday.

Jurado was going to need a lot of dominoes to fall in order for him to break camp with the Rangers, so him being optioned to Nashville does not come as a surprise. The right-hander remains a candidate to draw spot starts for Texas in 2020.

Honeywell (elbow) completed a 20-pitch bullpen session Friday, Josh Tolentino of The Athletic reports.

It's Honeywell's third bullpen session this spring as he continues to build up his arm strength after June elbow surgery. The 24-year-old hasn't seen game action since 2017 with Triple-A Durham due to injury issues, so the Rays figure to remain cautious and avoid rushing him back.

Perez was optioned to minor-league camp on Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Perez finished 2019 with the major-league club but will return to Triple-A for the beginning of the 2020 campaign. The 23-year-old allowed 10 earned runs over nine major-league innings and posted a 5.36 ERA and 1.64 WHIP in 13 games (10 starts) at Triple-A.