MLB Player News

Pruitt was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Pruitt will take the spot of Nathan Eovaldi -- who is set to undergo arthroscopic elbow surgery -- in the Rays' rotation. The 28-year-old was recently optioned to Triple-A Durham last weekend, but is now in line for a solid amount of starts with Eovaldi expected to miss about two months of action. In 30 appearances with the Rays in 2017, Pruitt posted a 5.31 ERA and 66:22 K:BB over 83 innings split between the rotation and bullpen. At this moment, it seems as though he will take the mound against the Yankees on Monday.

Kimbrel struck out two batters in a perfect fifth inning in Tuesday's exhibition game against the Cubs, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

Kimbrel had appeared in just two games this spring before Tuesday, one being a minor-league contest, and wasn't feeling good about the quality of his pitches. "My breaking ball was good today," he said. "I still have a few clicks on my fastball to find, but overall commanding the ball and getting my breaking ball over for strikes and getting some bite when I needed to." For now, Kimbrel will be used in the role he's most familiar: closing games in the ninth inning. Earlier in the spring, manager Alex Cora talked about using Kimbrel in non-save situations -- high-leverage challenges that pop up in the seventh or eighth inning -- but the manager has backed off that plan for the time being.

Mengden, who allowed an earned run on three hits and a walk over three innings while striking out three in a Cactus League win over the Giants on Monday, will be a key component of the Athletics' makeshift starting rotation in the coming season, Jerry McDonald of The Mercury News reports. "If he pitches in the fashion that he did in the three hole, like he did last year, that's really going to save us," manager Bob Melvin said.

The Athletics have endured a season-ending injury to Jharel Cotton (elbow), and Paul Blackburn is sidelined for the time being with a forearm strain, as well. Factor in the recent news that top prospect A.J. Puk -- who potentially could have been available for callup if the major-league rotation needed reinforcement -- is likely to need Tommy John surgery, and Mengden's role as the No. 3 starter behind Kendall Graveman and Sean Manaea becomes even more important. The 25-year-old right-hander settled down after rocky outings in three of his first four appearances, allowing five earned runs on 11 hits and four walks over 15 innings across three subsequent trips to the mound.

The A's announced Tuesday that Puk (elbow) has been recommended to undergo Tommy John surgery on his left arm, Julian McWilliams of The Athletic Bay Area reports.

The announcement follows Puk visiting Dr. James Andrews to receive a second opinion amid growing concerns about a ligament issue in his elbow, and the team's worst fears now appear to be a reality. The 2016 first-round pick -- who turns 23 in April -- was shut down March 21 with biceps soreness shortly after being reassigned to minor-league camp. Tommy John surgery would mean the end of Puk's 2018 season and also put in jeopardy his status for 2019.

Puk (biceps) is seeing doctors about a potential issue with the ligament in his elbow, Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com reports.

Puk, one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, was having an excellent spring and was considered to have an outside shot at making Oakland's Opening Day roster before being shut down with what was originally called biceps soreness. He had an MRI which revealed no structural damage and was expected to resume throwing soon, but the concern has apparently grown in recent days. Talk of elbow ligaments brings up the specter of Tommy John surgery, which would cost Puk his season.

Kinley has secured a spot in the Twins' Opening Day bullpen, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

With Phil Hughes (oblique) expected to open the season on the disabled list, Kinley will take his spot in the team's Opening Day bullpen. Kinley, a Rule 5 pick, will have to stay on the Twins' active roster all season if they want to retain him. He struggled in spring training (5.73 across 11 innings) and at Double-A last season (5.19 ERA across 26 innings), so he likely won't see anything other than low-leverage situations with the big club.

Giles closed out Monday's exhibition game against the Brewers, allowing one hit and striking out one during a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his first preseason save.

It's been awhile since a save meant anything -- a team's closer typically pitches early in spring-training games -- but as we close in on Opening Day, manager A.J. Hinch used players in their regular-season roles. To that end, the manager let Giles feel again what it's like to save a game. Hinch has mentioned using Giles in high-leverage, non-save situations, but he'll be Houston's primary closer in 2018.

Leclerc has made Texas's Opening Day roster, Levi Weaver of The Athletic Dallas reports.

Thanks to a myriad of injuries to the Rangers pitching staff, Leclerc will open the season in the back end of Texas's bullpen. At 23 last season, Leclerc posted a 3.94 ERA but struggled mightily with control, as he walked 40 batters in just 45.2 innings. Expect his leash to be short until he proves he can get over those control issues.

Hendriks tossed a scoreless seventh inning in Sunday's 5-1 Bay Bridge Series exhibition loss to the Giants, lowering his spring ERA to 5.14.

Granted, that figure is still cringe-worthy, but also deceptive in a couple of different ways. For starters, there's naturally the caveat about small spring samples, as Hendriks has generated the number over a modest seven innings across eight appearances. Moreover, the bulk of the damage came early, as he yielded three of the four earned runs he's given up over his first two appearances. Hendriks has bounced back to post five scoreless efforts in six subsequent trips to the mound, looking more like the reliever that settled in after a rough start last season and finished with an impressive 78 whiffs over 64 innings across 70 appearances. Hendriks projects for another robust workload in 2018, and the fact he's been reasonably effective this spring at staying away from the home-run ball that's often plagued him throughout his career is a cautiously optimistic sign as well.

Farquhar has earned a spot in the White Sox's Opening Day bullpen, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Upon joining the White Sox last August, Farquhar became one of the more trusted relievers in a green bullpen, finishing with a 4.40 ERA (3.65 FIP) and four holds across 14.1 innings with the South Siders. With Nate Jones back to full health to begin the season and the White Sox adding Joakim Soria and Luis Avilan to their relief corps over the winter, Farquhar will move down a few rungs in the pecking order and may have to settle for more work in the middle innings in 2018.