MLB Player News

Manaea, gave up six runs (five earned) on five hits and five walks over three innings in Saturday's 11-6 split-squad loss to the Reds, but was unconcerned with the rough outing, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports. "Just trying to nibble too much," Manaea said. "Third inning, I finally just said, 'Just throw it down the middle and let them hit it.' That's all we did. At times I just tried to be too fine and ended up walking a lot of guys."

Manaea managed to limit all of his damage to the second inning and emerged from the outing pleased with how he deployed his slider. He's scheduled for a final spring start against the Giants on Thursday before taking the mound April 4 against the Angels for his 2017 regular-season debut. Factoring in Saturday's outing, Manaea has a 1-1 record, 4.74 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and 15:10 K:BB over 19 spring innings across six appearances (five starts).

Alexander was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Monday, Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star reports.

Alexander has pitched well this spring (1.93 ERA and 0.86 WHIP across 9.1 innings), but with Mike Minor and Travis Wood representing the top two left-handed options in the bullpen, the 27-year-old will have to start his season in Omaha and work for a call-up. He saw some time with the Royals last season, and he should see another opportunity in the big leagues sometime in 2017.

Schultz will start the season on the DL with an apparent elbow injury, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet 590 The FAN reports.

The 31-year-old underwent offseason hip surgery last year, and now he's set to begin the season on the DL with an apparent elbow injury, though the extent still isn't known. Schultz was a favorite entering camp to win a middle-relief role, but his 6.75 ERA and 1.88 WHIP across 5.1 innings this spring did nothing to help him secure a roster spot. He'll now gear up for what appears to be another long recovery process.

Andriese gave up six earned runs on seven hits and four walks over 4.1 innings in Sunday's 7-4 Grapefruit League loss to the Yankees. He struck out three.

Andriese threw a whopping 86 pitches over his time on the mound, with only 51 finding the strike zone. He's now allowed eight earned runs on 17 hits and six walks over 10.2 innings across four spring appearances (three starts), leading to a 6.75 ERA and 2.16 WHIP. Those numbers are far from encouraging for the Rays' expected No. 5 starter, although control issues are not the norm for Andriese, who walked just 25 batters in 127.2 innings last year.

Alexander has posted a 1.93 ERA and seven strikeouts over 9.1 innings during Cactus League play.

Prior to the beginning of camp, Alexander looked like he might open the campaign as the Royals' top left-handed option out of the bullpen, but that's no longer guaranteed with Mike Minor thriving in spring training and Travis Wood having since moved to a relief role after losing out on a starting job. Alexander has at least performed well in his own right this spring, so manager Ned Yost should still find some opportunities for him, though his appearances may be confined primarily to lefty-on-lefty scenarios.

Covey will start the White Sox's final Cactus League game Wednesday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Covey will get a chance to make a final impression on manager Rick Renteria and pitching coach Don Cooper after what was his best outing of the spring Saturday. If he fares well Wednesday, Covey could be the fill-in starter for Carlos Rodon.

Graveman, who notched his second victory of spring against the White Sox on Friday by striking out seven over seven innings of five-hit, one-run ball, has been working on refining his cutter, Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area reports.

Oakland's Opening Day starter has looked up to the task this spring, as he now has a 2.29 ERA and sparkling 0.81 WHIP over 19.7 innings across five starts. Graveman has shown excellent control, as evidenced by a 16:3 K:BB, and a large part of that has been due to his trademark sinker hitting on all cylinders thus far. The 26-year-old has been focusing on getting his cutter up to the same level and was able to deploy it effectively on multiple occasions against a White Sox lineup that included Tim Anderson, Avisail Garcia and the hot-hitting Tyler Saladino.

Robertson threw a perfect inning of relief Sunday against the Giants.

Robertson was making his first appearance for the White Sox since returning from the World Baseball Classic. The right-hander will get occasional work in over the final week of camp, but due to his preparation for the WBC, Robertson is already in regular-season shape.

Axford has struggled over five appearances this spring, generating a 5.06 ERA, 2.44 WHIP and 2:5 K:BB across 5.3 innings.

The veteran reliever, who was a valuable part of the bullpen last season with 15 holds and three saves, has endured rough sledding this spring and hasn't taken the mound since March 17. Axford was also considered a contender for the closer role at one point, and he notched 25 saves as recently as 2015 while with the Rockies. However, it would appear that incumbent ninth-inning specialist Ryan Madson and newcomer Santiago Casilla -- who has a solid late-inning track record in his own right -- are the frontrunners for the position at present.

Manager Scott Servais announced Sunday that Zych (biceps) will begin the season in the minor leagues on a throwing plan, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Zych is expected to pitch Sunday against the Reds, but it appears the team is looking to ease the reliever back into action by having him begin the year in the minors. When healthy, Zych is a valuable piece of the Mariners' bullpen.