MLB Player News

Pomeranz (forearm) was placed on the 10-day disabled list Monday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

As expected, Pomeranz will open the season on the DL as he continues to work his way back from a forearm flexor strain. He was able to throw three innings in a minor-league game over the weekend, though it's still unclear how long the southpaw will remain on the shelf. A clearer timetable for his return should emerge as he continues to ramp up his activity. In the meantime, Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez are expected to open the year in the Red Sox's rotation with Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez (knee) opening the season on the DL.

Kimbrel tossed a scoreless inning during Sunday's spring-training finale against the Twins.

Kimbrel spent much of spring training away from the team due to personal reasons, but maintained a throwing program. Sunday's outing was his first and only spring outing against major-league opponents. He'll get another inning Tuesday in an exhibition against the Cubs and will be ready for Thursday's opener against the Rays in St. Petersburg.

Fulmer picked up the win in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Braves by tossing seven scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out three.

The strong performance brought Fulmer's spring training ERA down to 2.12 across 17 innings. The 25-year-old took a slight step back in 2017 compared to his 2016 Rookie of the Year campaign, as his ERA climbed from 3.03 to 3.83 and his K/9 dropped from 7.5 to 6.2. Fulmer underwent surgery on his throwing elbow in September, and if he's now fully healthy, a return to his 2016-level production could be in store if the early returns are any indication.

The Mariners informed Lawrence on Sunday that he made the club's Opening Day roster, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports. Seattle is expected to select Lawrence's contract and add him to the 40-man roster before the Thursday deadline.

Lawrence captured a spot as the Mariners' long man out of the bullpen after producing a 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 17 strikeouts over 15 innings during the Cactus League. The Mariners haven't named a fifth starter and won't require one until April 11 against the Royals, so Lawrence could be in the mix for that role if he continues to shine out of the bullpen in the interim.

The White Sox will include Bummer in their bullpen when their season opens Thursday against the Royals, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

With a 3.60 ERA and 13 strikeouts over 10 innings in Cactus League play, Bummer did enough to beat out Robbie Ross for one of the final openings in the bullpen. Though the White Sox are short on quality relief talent, Bummer isn't expected to ascend quickly in the bullpen hierarchy after largely failing to impress in his 30 appearances with the big club a season ago. The lefty finished with a 4.50 ERA and 17:15 K:BB across 22 innings.

Saupold is likely to begin the season at the MLB level with fellow reliever Johnny Barbato dealing with an elbow issue, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Saupold and Barbato were believed to be battling for the final bullpen spot, and with the latter unlikely to be ready by Opening Day, Saupold looks good to make the team. The 28-year-old Australian posted a 4.88 ERA in 62.2 innings for the Tigers last season, and he will likely serve as a long reliever to begin 2018.

Hudson was informed Sunday he wouldn't be included on the Rays' Opening Day roster, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Hudson remains on the Rays' 40-man roster, but it's expected that he'll be traded or released by Tuesday. The right-hander, whom the Rays picked up earlier in the offseason as part of the Corey Dickerson trade, is due $5.5 million in salary this season. There likely won't be much of a market for Hudson's services after he was roughed up for nine earned runs on eight hits and five walks over 5.1 innings during the Grapefruit League schedule.

Yarbrough was informed Sunday that he won a spot on the Rays' Opening Day roster.

The Rays have been developing Yarbrough as a starter throughout his minor-league career, but he'll likely be deployed primarily out of the bullpen during his stay with the big club. However, with the Rays planning to deploy a four-man rotation this season, there will be scenarios where the team opts for "bullpen games" to keep the normal starters on regular rest. In those instances, the likes of Yarbrough, Matt Andriese and Yonny Chirinos could be called upon to make spot starts.

Kittredge was informed Sunday that he earned a spot in the Rays' Opening Day bullpen.

The hard-throwing right-hander shined at Triple-A Durham last season (1.45 ERA, 0.95 WHIP in 68.1 innings) and held his own in a smaller sample at the big-league level, posting a 1.76 ERA and 14:6 K:BB in 15.1 frames. He could fill a prominent role in the Rays' setup ranks this season, making him someone worth keeping an eye on in leagues that count holds as a category.

The Rays optioned Pruitt to Triple-A Durham on Sunday.

Pruitt earned a look this spring as a multi-inning reliever, but with Matt Andriese and Yonny Chirinos also on hand to fill that role, Pruitt would have been a redundant piece in Tampa Bay's Opening Day bullpen. The Rays will presumably have Pruitt get stretched back out so he can fill a spot in Durham's rotation this season.