MLB Player News

Diaz earned the win in Team Puerto Rico's 4-3 victory Monday over Team Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic by giving up just one walk over two scoreless innings and striking out three.

Diaz entered the game in the top of 10th and was tasked with preserving a 3-3 tie for Team Puerto Rico. He promptly struck out the side, which included getting both Jurickson Profar and Jonathan Schoop swinging. He then induced Curt Smith into an inning-ending double play to wrap up his second and final frame in the 11th. Diaz earned his first victory in WBC play in the bottom half of the inning when Eddie Rosario's sacrifice fly drove in Carlos Correa.

Duffey threw five scoreless innings with two strikeouts and one walk in Monday's win over Toronto. He has a 3.86 ERA with a 6:1 K:BB in 11.2 innings this spring.

Duffey delivered a strong outing against a Blue Jays lineup that featured most of its starters. He remains in the fifth starter competition that will likely be decided next week, once Jose Berrios returns from the WBC.

Lopez has moved from the right corner of the pitching rubber to the middle, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Lopez said the change, which was suggested by pitching coach Don Cooper, has had a positive impact on his results. That was was evident Monday, when he allowed two hits and struck out four over six scoreless innings. This was the best outing of the spring for Lopez, who has outpitched the White Sox's other highly regarded pitching prospects. He's a long shot to open the season with Chicago, but he should find his way to majors after beginning the season at Triple-A Charlotte.

Devenski was stretched out as a starter earlier this spring and made two Grapefruit League starts, but has now made three consecutive appearances out of the bullpen, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

After allowing seven combined runs over his two starts early in camp, Devenski has logged seven scoreless innings as a reliever. The 26-year-old right-hander has said he's fine with the relief role; he certainly was in 2016, when posted a 1.61 ERA over 83.2 innings out of the pen. The Astros are keeping his pitch count up in the 40s as insurance, but the rotation is healthy for the most part.

Chapman has tallied six strikeouts and allowed just two baserunners through five scoreless innings in Grapefruit League play this spring.

Chapman certainly appears to be in midseason form already, and he's also been trying to work on his secondary offerings a bit more in his exhibition outings. After returning to the Bronx on a record deal last December, the 29-year-old flamethrower figures to be as safe an option as it gets when it comes to locking down the ninth inning, as he'll vie for his sixth straight season with at least 30 saves.

Pomeranz said he won't miss any time after being removed from Sunday's game with tightness in his triceps, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.

Pomeranz attributed the triceps tightness to mechanical issues, adding that he threw Monday and felt fine. The 28-year-old is expecting to stay on schedule and throw four innings Friday. He'll be a player to monitor over the next couple weeks of camp, as his readiness for Opening Day remains a question mark. If Pomeranz is unable to start the season, the Red Sox will likely look to Kyle Kendrick to fill his rotation spot.

Manager Kevin Cash said Monday that it's unlikely Boxberger (back) will be ready to pitch by Opening Day, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. "I just don't see how [Boxberger being ready for Opening Day] is going to happen. I'm not saying it won't, but it's very tough for me -- where are we at, the 20th?" Cash said. "Realistically, key piece in our bullpen, we're going to do right by him and want him to get his innings and reps. It's going to be very difficult to do that.''

Boxberger's strained lat muscle hasn't responded to treatment as well as the Rays had hoped, and after the team scratched him from his scheduled Grapefruit League appearance Tuesday, it's become increasingly clear that the reliever may be forced to hit the DL. The Rays were counting on Boxberger to solidify himself as the top setup man to closer Alex Colome this spring, but it now appears that Cash will be forced to experiment with multiple different options in the seventh and eighth inning to begin the campaign.

Merritt was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Monday.

This doesn't come as too big of a surprise, as the southpaw showed he wasn't quite ready for the majors in his small sample size this spring. The 25-year-old allowed eight runs on 11 hits in 8.1 innings. Merritt will head back to Columbus for the 2017 season, where he'll work for a call-up later in the year.

Saupold was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Monday, Matt Wenzel of MLive.com reports.

Saupold struggled in his big league debut in 2016, allowing eight runs on 17 hits across 9.2 innings. He was optioned down to Triple-A after his struggles, and he wasn't recalled again after he was suspended five games for assault charges. Saupold enjoyed success this spring, striking out eight across eight scoreless frames; however, he'll start in the minors and look to work his way back to the big club.

Graveman struck out six and surrendered an earned run on two hits over six innings in Saturday's 2-1 Cactus League loss to the Padres.

The A's likely Opening Day starter with Sonny Gray (lat) out, Graveman made a strong case for the role Saturday, retiring 17 of the first 18 batters he stared down and facing just one hitter over the minimum. The outing was exactly what an Oakland staff in need of an ace wanted to see, particularly with the way Graveman used his main pitches effectively. "Kendall was on it today," manager Bob Melvin said. "He threw a couple of first-pitch curveballs, he threw a couple of cutters, but for the most part, he was just moving his fastball around, whether it was the straight one or whether it was the sinker."