MLB Player News

Duffey was optioned Thursday to Triple-A Rochester, where he'll work out of the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Duffey was in contention for the final spot in the Twins' Opening Day rotation, but that will now fall to Phil Hughes following the right-hander's demotion. While the Twins probably won't close the door completely on Duffey starting again should more injuries hit the rotation, working in the bullpen will probably represent his quickest path back to the big leagues. After starting 26 games for the Twins in 2016, Duffey worked exclusively as a reliever during the 2017 campaign, delivering a 4.94 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 67:18 K:BB over 71 frames.

Busenitz was optioned to Triple-A Rochester, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Busenitz struggled this spring (7.27 ERA) but this is still a surprise since he was seen as almost a lock to make the bullpen when spring began. He'll likely be called up early in the season as the Twins may aggressively rotate the back end of their bullpen between Triple-A and the majors.

Bummer pitched a clean inning of relief in Wednesday's game against the Padres.

Bummer finished up the 2017 season as a bullpen regular, but the left-hander faces competition this spring from the recently signed Robbie Ross. That the White Sox felt the need to add Ross suggests Bummer is not guaranteed a spot.

Martin struck out one in a 1-2-3 inning of relief in Wednesdays game against the Cubs.

Martin has not allowed a run in eight of his nine spring innings while not walking a batter. The Rangers' bullpen had its troubles in 2017, particularly in the leadup to the late innings, so Martin's spring performance is encouraging. He'll likely fill a sixth or seventh inning role.

Kimbrel will throw a batting-practice session Friday, and then likely make his Grapefruit League debut Sunday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Beyond that, Kimbrel will throw in one more spring game Tuesday. He spent about three weeks away from the team while with his daughter, who is recovering from heart surgery. He threw some live batting practices during his three-week sabbatical, and manager Alex Cora is confident two outings will be enough for Kimbrel. "Oh, yeah. He's fine right now," said Cora.

General manager Jerry Dipoto said Rumbelow is still sidelined with a nerve issue in his neck, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Rumbelow, who was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma earlier in the month, has been unable to pitch since Feb. 24 due to the issue. This rules him out as a possible bullpen replacement for David Phelps, who was recently diagnosed with a torn UCL.

Lopez allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three in Wednesday's start against the Padres.

Lopez nearly came off the rails in the first inning when he walked three straight, but managed to stick around through five innings. Once again, he had multiple innings with multiple baserunners aboard and has allowed 18 hits and 11 walks over 18.2 spring innings. He's learning to pitch in tense situations, which can be helpful for a young starter, but we'd like to see less drama. He was named the White Sox's third starter and is scheduled to pitch Sunday, April 1, in Kansas City.

Santiago will pitch out of the bullpen in long relief after manager Rick Renteria announced Carson Fulmer will be the fifth starter, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Santiago thrust himself into the competition, allowing just one earned run over 12 spring innings, but in the end, Renteria chose the young prospect instead of the 30-year-old veteran. Despite Fulmer's ugly spring (11.81 ERA, seven HR, 10.2 IP), it's a defensible move. The White Sox are in rebuild mode and can afford to put up with growing pains if it helps Fulmer become a better pitcher in the long run.

Gallegos was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday.

Gallegos will report back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for a second straight season after failing to secure a low-leverage relief role on the Yankees' Opening Day roster. The 26-year-old made his major-league debut in 2017, compiling a 4.87 ERA across 20.1 innings of work. Gallegos posted a more impressive 2.08 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 14.3 K/9 across 43.1 innings with the RailRiders last season. Given the amount of quality arms in the Yankees' bullpen, Gallegos will likely be limited to organizational bullpen depth in 2018.

Heller was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday.

Heller was fighting for a low-leverage relief role on the Yankees' Opening Day roster, but it turns out there simply wasn't enough room in the team's already stacked bullpen. The 26-year-old doesn't have much left to prove in the upper minors, as evidenced by his 2.88 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 13.1 K/9 across 56.1 innings with the RailRiders last season, so he'll likely be shuttled from the minors to the big club when additional relief help is needed.