MLB Player News

Barnes allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out one in the fifth inning Monday against the Twins.

All of the damage against Barnes came before he received a mound visit from pitching coach Dana Levangie, who told the right-hander he was tipping his pitches, Tom Keegan of the Boston Herald reports. "I was tipping," Barnes said. "He told me, and I was able to fix it right away. It doesn't matter how good your stuff is, if they know what's coming, it's going to get hit. I feel like stuff-wise today was great, and then the swings I got on pitches following the mound visit were more in line with how I felt about my stuff." There are a lot of eyes on Barnes this spring as he competes to become Boston's closer, a role he's been close to but never held.

Beeks, who's competing for one of the "bulk reliever" roles in the Rays' bullpen, has caught manager Kevin Cash's eye with improved velocity in recent outings, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports. "He continues to impress," Cash said. "That long at-bat [on Friday], I don't know if he's capable of doing that last year. He just kept throwing strike after strike. Really encouraged."

Beeks' unsightly spring line -- one that includes an 8.31 ERA -- doesn't tell the whole story regarding the 25-year-old's progress toward a potential Opening Day roster spot. The southpaw, who was acquired in the Nathan Eovaldi trade with the Red Sox last July, made some tweaks to his delivery earlier this spring, which included shortening up his back arm during his motion. That's led to an uptick in velocity with his fastball, which is up as high as 94 mph after averaging 91.8 mph last season. In conjunction with pitching coach Kyle Snyder, Beeks is also working on adding depth to his slider, with the goal of making it a viable complement to an arsenal that already includes a fastball, curve and changeup.

Armstrong (oblique) has a right side injury that will force him to the injured list to start the season, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

While not likely to figure into the closer situation in Seattle, Armstrong was set to be a late-inning setup man for the team. The 28-year-old managed a 1.23 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in 14.2 innings of work last season. He struggled with command this spring -- he surrendered five free passes in seven innings of work -- and this development may offer some explanation for his poor performance.

The Yankees are hoping to have Loaisiga throw over 100 innings this season, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

The 24-year-old threw just 56 innings last year and hasn't thrown more than 68.2 since 2013. Getting to that benchmark would require a multi-inning relief role plus at least a handful of starts. Loaisiga could make some of those starts at the beginning of the year, with both Luis Severino (shoulder) and CC Sabathia (knee) expected to open on the injured list, though he may be behind Luis Cessa and Domingo German. Still, being a team's eighth starter typically leads to at least a few starts over the course of the season, especially for a team whose first five starters are all either old or injury-prone.

Weber was reassigned to minor-league camp Monday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Weber allowed three runs in nine innings of work this spring. He's not on the 40-man roster but could still be an option when injuries strike the big-league pitching staff.

Fulmer was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Monday.

Fulmer will open the season with the Knights after struggling through six spring appearances (8.00 ERA and 1.67 WHIP through nine innings). It sounds like the right-hander will continue to work as a reliever. In 11 major-league appearances out of the bullpen, Fulmer has struggled to a 6.62 ERA and 1.47 WHIP through 17.2 innings.

Bummer was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Monday.

Bummer seemed to have a shot at a bullpen role but will have to make the case for a roster spot during his time in the minors. His 12.00 ERA in six spring innings can't have helped him as he pushed for a job.

Scouts that observed Betances during his one-inning appearance in Sunday's 7-3 exhibition win over the Phillies clocked his fastball between 87 and 91 miles per hour, George A. King III and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports.

Though Betances struck out Bryce Harper as part of a perfect, eight-pitch frame, the reliever expressed dissatisfaction with his velocity, stating afterward that he is "still not where I want to be with the arm strength." Betances noted earlier in camp that he usually takes a while to ramp up every spring and doesn't expect to flirt with triple digits on the radar gun until May, so the right-hander's ratios could be a little less stable than usual in the first month of the season.

The Red Sox reassigned Putnam (hamstring) to their minor-league camp Monday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Putnam missed the entire 2018 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but it was the hamstring issue that prevented him from making an appearance during the Grapefruit League. He'll likely stick around at extended spring training to rehab the injury before reporting to Triple-A Pawtucket.

The Tigers reassigned Coleman to their minor-league camp Monday, Emily Waldon of The Athletic reports.

Detroit relied heavily on Coleman out of the bullpen last season, with the 32-year-old making 51 appearances and turning in a 3.51 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. The right-hander was still forced to settle for a minor-league deal with the Tigers this winter and didn't distinguish himself this spring, resulting in him falling out of contention for an Opening Day bullpen gig. Coleman will likely open the season at Triple-A Toledo unless he requests his release from the organization.