MLB Player News

Smith will be used in any spot during the final third of games this season, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora envisions a variety of roles for Smith, who had a nice September run for Boston in 2017, posting a 1.35 ERA over 6.2 innings. With his trademark slider, Smith is a nice change-of-pace out of a bullpen that features several power arms. He could work his way into a few save opportunities along the way, if Cora sticks with his plan to use closer Craig Kimbrel in high-leverage situations outside of traditional closing opportunities.

Fulmer will get another start or two to right himself, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. "We still have a little bit more trust in him than you might think,'' manager Rick Renteria said. "I know we still have two more starts scheduled for him. We'll see how the next one goes.''

Fulmer has had problems locating pitches this spring and is on the verge of losing a spot in the rotation. Pegged as the fifth starter coming into training camp, the 24-year-old right-hander has walked 10 and given up 18 hits, including seven home runs, over 6.2 innings. That's what an 18.90 ERA looks like. If Fulmer can't locate his pitches and ends up in the minors, Hector Santiago is considered the favorite to claim the job as Chicago's fifth starter.

Tate was sent down to the minor leagues Thursday, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic New York reports.

Tate gave up just one run on four hits and struck out three across 4.0 innings this spring. He'll likely start the season at either Double-A Trenton or Triple-A Scranton.

Kittredge was effective working against A-level Red Sox hitters Wednesday, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

Kittredge struggled in his last spring outing, allowing three earned runs on two hits and a walk over 1.1 innings. The 27-year-old right-hander was unsurprisingly much sharper Wednesday against inferior competition, compiling five strikeouts over a pair of perfect innings. Manager Kevin Cash sees Kittredge as a bit of a wild card out of the bullpen, one that could be deployed for a single inning or stretched out further on occasion. HIs first foray against major-league bats last season was a successful one, as he generated a 1.76 ERA over 15.3 innings across 15 appearances.

Pomeranz (forearm) threw a simulated bullpen session Thursday, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Pomeranz isn't expected back by Opening Day, but he was able to throw a bullpen session that equated to about 2.0 innings of work. He could throw live batting practice Sunday depending on how his forearm feels after the throwing session. If he continues to progress, there's a chance he could be ready for the start of the regular season, although the team believes he'll need a longer timetable for his recovery.

Duffey gave up two runs (one earned) over three innings to lower his ERA to 4.66 this spring. He's still in the mix for the fifth starter job, but may end up in the bullpen, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The Twins have a need for a fifth starter in the first four-to-six weeks before Ervin Santana is set to return from a finger injury. Duffey is competing against Phil Hughes for that role, but he more likely will begin the season in the bullpen and serve as a long reliever and swingman.

Diekman has not allowed an earned run in three of four spring outings, Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Diekman made quite a splash at the tail end of 2017 when he held opponents scoreless in 10 of his 11 outings, mostly in a setup role. If the left-hander continues to throw zeros, manager Jeff Banister could slot him in at closer. That would allow him to deploy Alex Claudio, the incumbent closer, in a multiple-inning bridge role, one in which Banister thinks he could be more valuable to the team. "There are opportunities for [Claudio] to come in any inning and help preserve a win for us," Banister said. The battle appears to come down to Claudio or Diekman, with Keone Kela (shoulder) also in the mix.

Santiago allowed three runs on six hits without a walk while striking out three in a B game Wednesday against the Dodgers, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Santiago has put together a nice body of work this spring, putting himself in position to usurp the No. 5 starter spot from Carson Fulmer. While Santiago's outing Wednesday was his worst of the spring, it was miles better than Fulmer's -- Fulmer allowed three home runs and seven runs total over 1.2 innings in Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Brewers. Manager Rick Renteria hasn't made any decisions about the back end of rotation, but based purely on spring results, Fulmer looks like he needs more work in the minors.

Fulmer allowed seven runs on five hits and three walks over 1.2 innings in Wednesday's start against the Brewers.

Fulmer was tagged for another three home runs Wednesday, raising his total to seven homers allowed over 6.2 spring innings. He's also walked 10 batters. Fulmer, the White Sox's putative No. 5 starter, now has a spring ERA of 18.90 and appears to have pitched himself out of the job. Hector Santiago, Fulmer's likely replacement, threw in a B game Wednesday and allowed three runs on six hits over 2.1 innings against the Dodgers.

VerHagen blew a Tigers lead in Tuesday's 2-2 tie with the Yankees in Grapefruit League play. He yielded two runs on two hits and a walk over 1.1 innings while striking out three batters in the outing.

VerHagen's box-score line obscures how dominant he was in the seventh inning, when he struck out the Yankees' new Murderers' Row of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez in succession. The right-hander wasn't able to carry that momentum into the eighth inning and retired just one of the four batters he faced in the frame, but his showing earlier in the contest is a prime example of why the Tigers are earmarking him for a prominent setup role this season. Given the control issues closer Shane Greene has exhibited throughout his career, it's not difficult to see him losing the ninth-inning gig at some point and opening the door for VerHagen or another hard-throwing reliever to step in.