MLB Player News

Pressly has thrown five scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no walks in five appearances in spring training. He could be a contender for the closer role, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

With Glen Perkins likely to begin the season on the DL and no timetable set for his return, Brandon Kintzler should begin the season as Minnesota's closer. However, it sounds like Pressly has been impressive enough this spring that he could figure into the mix if Kintzler stumbles.

McHugh (arm) made his spring debut Friday, throwing two innings in a minor league game, Jodie Wagner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

At most, McHugh can get in three starts before the regular season, which seems like the bare minimum needed to build up his pitch count. If McHugh does break camp with Houston, manager A.J. Hinch will likely use him as the fifth pitcher in the rotation, but let's see how the arm responds to Friday's outing before penciling him into the initial rotation of the regular season.

Zych (biceps) will throw another live batting practice session Sunday, Shannon Drayer of MyNorthwest.com reports.

Zych continues to steadily progress from offseason biceps surgery, though he's still unlikely to be ready for Opening Day as the team eases him back into regular pitching activities. The right-hander is expected to serve an important role in the Mariners' bullpen upon his return, so look for him to return to game action soon if all goes well.

Whalen is on crutches after tweaking his calf Thursday, Bob Dutton of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

It's another bad break for Whalen in what has already been a rough spring. The right-hander has been struggling to prove his value as a starter while posting a 12.00 ERA in just three innings of Cactus League action. Whalen will likely begin the 2017 season at Triple-A Tacoma after being acquired by Seattle in an offseason trade, but this injury could put him on the DL to begin the campaign.

May (elbow) will visit Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday for a second opinion on his torn UCL, Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

With Tommy John surgery presumably on tap, May will visit one more doctor to exhaust all of his options before going under the knife. The Twins had been re-developing May as a starter this spring, but that process appears to have been tragically cut short in the early stages.

Boxberger (lat/back) will throw a live batting practice session Saturday and could pitch in a minor league game as soon as Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin reports.

He threw a bullpen session earlier this week, and this latest news indicates that everything is going quite well in his recovery. Boxberger is firmly behind Alex Colome in the Rays' bullpen, but he could be next in line for saves if Colome gets hurt or traded.

Kimbrel pitched a perfect inning Thursday against the Pirates, striking out two batters.

His previous outing got out of control after he gave up a leadoff walk, but the Red Sox saw a much more focused Kimbrel on Thursday. He's looking to rebound from what was, by his standards, a sub-par 2016 in which the right-hander posted a 3.40 ERA and 2.97 FIP.

Burdi is seen as a closer-type, but manager Rick Renteria said the 22-year-old needs to improve his fastball command, Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Burdi, a non-roster invitee to major league camp, has allowed three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out 10 in 7.1 innings over seven spring appearances. The 26th overall pick in the 2016 draft reached Triple-A Charlotte last season and is on the precipice of the majors in 2017. It will get really interesting if the White Sox eventually trade closer David Robertson. With Chicago in full rebuild mode, Burdi could ascend to the ninth inning role ahead of schedule.

Diaz, the Mariners' projected closer, earned a save by firing 1.1 innings of scoreless ball in Team Puerto Rico's 3-1 World Baseball Classic victory over defending champion Team Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

Diaz came on with two out and a man on in the eighth and got out of the inning when Nelson Cruz was gunned down trying to steal second. His work in the ninth was considerably impressive, considering he got Adrian Beltre swinging and Welington Castillo on an infield pop-up before nailing down the save by getting new Mariners teammate Jean Segura looking. Diaz is expected to have ample opportunity to rack up saves after successfully converting 18 of 21 such opportunities as a rookie in 2016.

Coulombe, who took his second loss of spring in Tuesday's Cactus League tilt versus the Rockies by giving up four earned runs on one hit and two walks over 1.1 innings, is increasingly in danger of losing his bid for a bullpen spot, Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area reports.

Coming into spring, the 27-year-old southpaw's prospects for a potential roster spot seemed bright, considering that Sean Doolittle projected as the only other lefty in the relief corps. However, Coulombe, who owns a career .224 BAA and .256 wOBA over a 125-batter sample against left-handed hitters, has struggled in that area this spring. He was also charged with all four runs in Colorado's ninth-inning comeback Tuesday, a rally kick-started by a two-run home run by left-handed hitting Anthony Bemboom. "He's had a tough spring. especially to left-handers," Manager Bob Melvin acknowledged. "We expect him to get the left-handers out, and not only have they been hitting him, they've been doing some damage too. So he's gotta tighten that up a little bit."