MLB Player News

Through his first three appearances of the season, Jimenez has not allowed an earned run over 2.1 innings of work.

It's of course incredibly early in the year, but for a player who posted a 12.32 ERA in 2017, every positive sign is welcome. Jimenez has electric stuff and could be a future closer for the Tigers, but he showed last year that he has work to do if he wants to succeed at the MLB level. The 23-year-old reportedly showed up to spring training in better shape this year, and he worked on developing a more consistent delivery. It will be interesting to see if Jimenez can sustain success for any significant amount of time. If he can, the rebuilding Tigers may choose to turn the ninth inning over to him at some point.

Scott may be used as a reliever at Triple-A Norfolk this season, Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Scott turned in decent results last season at Double-A Bowie, where he was used as a starter, throwing for a 2.22 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over 24 games. However, the Orioles want to have Scott join their bullpen later in the season, so the club is entertaining the idea of moving the 23-year-old back to his previous role as a reliever. Scott will look to improve his control with Norfolk -- he posted an unsightly 87:46 K:BB in 2017.

Scribner was designated for assignment by the Angels on Tuesday.

To make room on the 40-man roster for the newly-acquired Akeel Morris, the Angels decided to designated Scribner for assignment. Should he clear waivers, expect Scribner to remain at Triple-A Salt Lake, where he posted a 4.35 ERA and 1.34 WHIP over 20 games (103.1 innings) last season.

Heller (elbow) was moved to the 60-day disabled list Tuesday.

Moving Heller to the 60-day DL made room on the 40-man roster for Trayce Thompson, who was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers on Tuesday. Heller is currently dealing with a bone spur in his right elbow, but will join Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's bullpen once he returns to full health.

Junis (1-0) allowed three hits and one walk while striking out six over seven scoreless innings in a win over the Tigers on Tuesday.

It was a cold, rainy afternoon and he was going against a weak lineup, but this was an encouraging performance nonetheless. Junis induced 12 swinging strikes on 87 pitches and was regularly ahead in the count, issuing first-pitch strikes to 19 of 25 batters faced. Spring stats generally aren't very predictive, but Junis had a 20:1 K:BB in 14.1 Cactus League innings, and small-sample extremes like that sometimes do mean something. Junis lines up to face the Indians in Cleveland on Sunday.

Castro may be used as a multi-inning reliever this year, the Baltimore Sun's Eduardo A. Encina reports.

The team wanted to make Castro a starter this spring, but that was before they signed Andrew Cashner, Chris Tillman and Alex Cobb. With the O's no longer desperate for starting pitching and Zach Britton (Achilles) out indefinitely, Castro offers the most value as a multi-inning reliever. He has already pitched three innings of relief over a pair of outings, logging four strikeouts while allowing one earned run over that stretch. Castro has the stuff (97-mph fastball, useful slider and changeup) to rack up strikeouts in such a role, and could be easily stretched out later this season if a need emerges in the rotation.

Lakins (elbow) was placed on the minor-league disabled list Tuesday, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Lakins will open the season on the shelf as he continues to work back from a stress fracture in his elbow that he suffered last summer. Prior to going down with the season-ending injury, Lakins had compiled a combined 4.21 ERA and 62:34 K:BB across 15 starts (68.1 innings) between High-A Salem and Double-A Portland. He's expected to join Portland's rotation once healthy.

Harvey will be limited to three-inning starts to begin the season, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Harvey is one of the team's top pitching prospects, but the organization appears to be proceeding with caution given his injury troubles over the past three seasons. There doesn't appear to be any issues plaguing him at this time, however, as he managed to remain in big-league camp late into spring training and produced a 3.86 ERA in seven Grapefruit League innings. This could hurt the 23-year-old's chances of cracking the big-league roster later in the season if he's unable to ramp up his innings without getting hurt, though the fact that he hasn't pitched above Low-A to this point doesn't help his cause either. He'll begin the 2018 campaign with Double-A Bowie.

Treinen allowed a hit and a walk across 1.2 scoreless innings to earn his first save of the season Monday against the Rangers. He recorded one strikeout.

Treinen entered with the tying run on base in the eighth inning, striking out Robinson Chirinos before recording a hard out from Rougned Odor to end the frame. He made things interesting in the ninth, putting two men in scoring position with one out before closing things out. Treinen has allowed five baserunners in 3.2 innings over two appearances this season, but he's still yet to allow a run.

Lopez allowed one run on two hits and two walks with six strikeouts over six innings in a no-decision Monday against the Blue Jays.

The 24-year-old did everything you could ask for in his season opener, but his offense couldn't put him in position to get the win. Lopez finished with a whopping 14 swinging strikes in 100 pitches and was perfect other than a two-out, sixth-inning home run by former MVP Josh Donaldson. Monday's effort was the best start of his young career, a perfect launching pad for his 2018 season.