MLB Player News

Graterol gave up one run over 4.2 innings Friday in his debut for Double-A Pensacola. He struck out six, walked two, and twice reached 100 mph on the radar gun.

The 20-year old pitches comfortably in the high 90s and has become Minnesota's top pitching prospect. He'll need to improve his secondary pitches to dominate at higher levels, but his first Double-A outing was encouraging.

Cimber (1-0) struck out two in a perfect inning of relief Friday to record the win in a 3-2 victory over the Blue Jays.

The other pitcher who headed to Cleveland last year in the same deal that netted closer Brad Hand, Cimber is of to a solid start to 2019, picking up a win and a hold while posting a 3:0 K:BB in 2.2 innings across four appearances without giving up a run.The second-year sidearmer will continue to be deployed in high-leverage spots and should easily be able to top last year's 12 holds.

Thornton didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 3-2 loss to Cleveland, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks over 5.2 innings while striking out seven.

The 25-year-old was fairly impressive once again in his second big-league outing, throwing 52 of 92 pitches for strikes while falling just shy of his first quality start. Thornton is quickly solidifying his spot in the Jays' rotation, and he'll take his next turn Friday at home against the Rays.

Colome struck out two and picked up the save in a perfect ninth inning Friday against Seattle.

Colome slammed the door without issue, as he induced a fly ball for the first out and fanned the next two batters to end the ballgame. The 30-year-old has yet to allow a hit through three appearances (three innings) in 2019.

Alvarado posted a strikeout, walk and hit over one inning while nailing down his third save of the season in a 5-2 victory against the Giants on Friday.

The Rays have used Alvarado in the eighth inning a couple times already, but he's still their best option in save situations. Alvarado has been perfect, pitching 5.0 shutout innings and going 3-for-3 in save chances to open the season. He has also struck out nine with two walks and three hits allowed in five innings.

Stanek will serve as the opener Saturday against San Francisco, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Stanek is set to open for the second time this season after tossing a scoreless frame in his previous appearance Monday against Colorado. He's yet to surrender a run over four innings and has registered five strikeouts in 2019.

Johnson is likely to start Sunday's game against Arizona, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

In an effort to nab an extra day of rest for his starting rotation, manager Alex Cora is expected to give either Hector Velazquez or Johnson an opportunity for a spot start in the series finale. "Still waiting to see how it goes today," Cora said. "BJ most likely. We've still got Hector. They can go multiple innings. We'll see how it goes." If Johnson does end up pitching Sunday, Chris Sale would take the mound for Tuesday's home opener against the Blue Jays.

Lopez surrendered six runs on six hits and four walks and struck out five over five innings Friday against Seattle. He didn't factor into the decision.

Although the White Sox would ultimately come away with a 10-8 victory, Lopez didn't appear to have his best stuff. After giving up two runs through the first three innings of his outing, he really fell apart in the sixth when he allowed four runs on a pair of homers. Lopez certainly hasn't gotten off to a desirable start to the 2019 campaign (10.00 ERA over nine innings) but he'll have a chance to notch his first victory of the season Wednesday against Tampa Bay.

VerHagen (forearm) will start his rehab assignment Friday in Single-A Lakeland.

VerHagen was placed on the injury list at the end of March with a strained forearm, but appears to be ready to test it out in the minors. If all goes well, he should return to a mid-leverage bulpen role for the Tigers in the near future.

Hand surrendered a run on three hits and struck out three over 1.1 innings to notch his third save of the season Thursday against the Blue Jays.

Hand had some difficulty slamming the door and allowed Toronto's first run of the game to cross the plate in the ninth on a double. He would fan the final two batters of the contest to secure a 4-1 victory for the Indians, their third win of the 2019 campaign. Hand has managed to convert on all three of his save chances to open the season and sits with a 2.45 ERA along with six punchouts over 3.2 innings.