MLB Player News

Coulombe, still fighting for a bullpen spot, fired three innings of scoreless relief in Monday's 10-3 Cactus League loss to the Royals, surrendering just a hit and a walk.

Coulombe has helped his case quite a bit in his last three trips to the mound, during which he's pitched 7.1 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and Monday's walk. He's notched four strikeouts as well over that span and has lowered his ERA from 12.71 to 5.54. The veteran southpaw may have cemented his spot on the 25-man roster with Monday's performance, but could see more duty later this week before a final decision is made.

Norris said his arm feels better on Tuesday after experiencing "dead arm" on Monday, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Norris was lit up for nine runs on 13 hits over three innings in Monday's spring game, and afterward said his arm felt like it weighed "a million pounds." It's a good sign that Norris feels better a day later, but his health is still worth monitoring early in the year. The young lefty is slated to start the team's third game of the season.

Scott will likely be on Boston's Opening Day roster, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.

With Tyler Thornburg dealing with a shoulder impingement, the Red Sox are expected to have Scott fill the open bullpen spot. Scott threw six shutout innings over seven games with the big club in 2016 and has remained dominant this spring. Over 11 Grapefruit League games (11 innings) he's allowed just one run and struck out eight batters. However, he's struggled a bit with control as he's also walked six batters in that time.

Whalen (calf) was seen walking around without crutches Tuesday, Bob Dutton of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

This is certainly a good sign moving forward, although it's unclear how much activity he's actually been able to do while off of the crutches. Unless Whalen has made significant progress in his rehab from the calf strain, he very well could open the season on the disabled list, but things should become clearer in the coming days as he ramps up his activity further.

Schultz (elbow) will undergo elbow surgery Wednesday to remove some bone chips, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reports.

It's still unclear if there's a larger issue looming beyond the bone chips, but the doctors performing the operation intend to also check for any ligament damage, so this situation is worth monitoring in the coming days. Either way, it appears that Schultz will be out for an extended period of time, although a firmer timetable likely won't be available until after the surgery takes place.

Reyes will begin the 2017 season with Triple-A Round Rock, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

The 28-year-old spent the past three seasons at the Triple-A level, but he wasn't able to find enough success in that time to warrant a trip to the big leagues. Unless he picks up his performance out of Round Rock's bullpen, Reyes will likely serve as an organizational depth piece moving forward.

Crockett was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday.

After entering camp with little hope of making the Opening Day roster, Crockett put on a decent show during spring training and nearly made the cut. The left-hander appeared in a team-high 10 games this spring, managing a 2.70 ERA and 0.90 WHIP over 10 innings. Unfortunately for Crockett, the Indians don't need another southpaw in the bullpen, so his services won't be needed unless an injury or suspension occurs.

Lawrence was reassigned to minor-league camp Tuesday, Sportsnet's Shi Davidi reports.

He will be one of the first minor-league relievers to get a call later this season, Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling reports. Lawrence posted a 3.86 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 11 strikeouts over 16.1 innings this spring.

Girodo was reassigned to minor-league camp Tuesday, Sportsnet's Shi Davidi reports.

The side-arming southpaw notched a 2.08 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and seven strikeouts in 8.2 innings this spring, so he could be an option if the big-league club needs to add a lefty to the bullpen this season.

Indians team president Chris Antonetti confirmed Armstrong would be included on the club's Opening Day roster, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports.

The Indians had four pitchers competing for the final bullpen spot that was up for grabs, with Armstrong beating out Kyle Crockett, Carlos Frias and Nick Goody for those honors. Armstrong is expected to fill a lower-leverage role for the Indians and won't have an easy path to holds with Andrew Miller and Bryan Shaw firmly entrenched as the top two options in the bridge to closer Cody Allen.