MLB Player News

Zych (biceps) reported feeling strong after his first experience throwing batting practice in six months Wednesday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. "It felt really good," said Zych, who is coming back from bicep tendon transfer surgery in his right arm. "A couple pitches and I felt like I was right there. Obviously, I wasn't trying to do too, too much. Just get out front with the hitter in the box and try not to hit 'em."

The recovering reliever was ecstatic after firing pitches at teammate Tuffy Gosewisch on Wednesday morning, a session that was watched closely by manager Scott Servais and general manager Jerry Dipoto. Zych continues to entertain the possibility of being ready for Opening Day on April 3, and he'll now take several days off before throwing another batting practice round. He'll be evaluated for a potential return to game action at that juncture, but Servais remains more tempered in gauging how soon Zych might be ready. "We're looking for the long haul here, not the short-term fix," said Servais. "He looked pretty healthy. We'll keep our fingers crossed he comes back well out of that. He could be a nice piece for us."

Andriese gave up an earned run on five hits over 3.1 innings in Wednesday's 3-3 Grapefruit League tie with the Red Sox. He struck out three.

Andriese's one run came on an Andrew Benintendi sacrifice fly in the third, as he'd thrown two scoreless innings to open the game. The outing was a significant improvement over last Friday's appearance against the Pirates, when the Rays' projected No. 5 starter threw 44 pitches over 1.2 innings. He was pleased with his command and the utility of his fastball in this latest outing. Jose De Leon was recently optioned to Triple-A Durham, but could be summoned to take over the fifth starter duties if Andriese is struggling early in the season.

Scott has allowed five hits and four walks while striking out four in six scoreless innings this spring.

The second lefty in the bullpen comes down to Scott and Fernando Abad, who is currently away from camp competing in the World Baseball Classic for Team Dominican Republic. Scott was dominant at Triple-A Pawtucket and effective in a brief September cameo for Boston last season, but Abad's experience, particularly his track record against left-handed hitters, is seen as a plus. However, Abad's $2 million salary is not guaranteed unless he makes the roster out of spring training. If the Red Sox feel Scott can provide similar results at a cheaper rate, he could emerge with a roster spot Opening Day.

Manaea gave up seven hits and one walk over 3.2 scoreless innings in Tuesday's 4-3 Cactus League loss to the Rockies.

The 25-year-old southpaw gave up plenty of contact and got a little bit of help along the way to escape the outing unscathed. Three of the hits he surrendered were infield singles, while both Gerardo Parra and Trevor Story were cut down trying to score in the first. Notably, it marked the third time this spring that Manaea threw more than two innings, and he's yet to allow more than one run in any of those appearances. "It wasn't my best day for sure, but you're going to have those during the season, and just putting up zeros when I didn't have my best stuff was huge," Manaea said. "My slider definitely wasn't working. I don't know if it was mentally or what, but I don't think I threw one for a strike today. That and fastball command; I wasn't locating at all."

Lopez allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three over 4.2 innings against Kansas City on Wednesday.

Lopez was touched for a leadoff homer by Raul Mondesi, but settled in to allow one more run over 4.2 innings and retired the final seven batters faced. It was encouraging to see the young right-hander overcome a shaky start and find his rhythm as the game wore on.

Stanek was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Wednesday.

Stanek features a big fastball that has played up since he moved to the bullpen. While he only managed a 5.92 ERA in 24.1 innings of relief at Triple-A last season, Stanek safely projects as a key part of the Rays' long-term bullpen plans.

Hu was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Wednesday.

While Hu is nearing his big league debut, he didn't have a realistic chance of breaking camp on the 25-man roster. He famously features a palmball, and used his funky pitch mix to post a 2.59 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 107:36 K:BB in 142.2 innings at Double-A last season. Hu projects as a No. 4 or No. 5 starter in the big leagues.

De Leon was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Wednesday.

De Leon was considered a likely candidate to head to Triple-A at the start of the season, as the Rays can give the fifth starter spot to Matt Andriese and wait until mid-May to gain an extra year of control over De Leon before promoting him. He has a low-90s fastball and plus changeup, but needs to focus on improving his fastball command in order to have success against big league hitters.

Goldberg was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old flew up the organizational ladder last season, and despite the strong showing during spring training and an appearance in the World Baseball Classic for Team Israel, Goldberg will head back to the minors for more seasoning. The right-hander's stuff alone isn't all that impressive, but he still manages to get batters out fairly consistently, which could land him a job in the Windy City if he keeps it up at Charlotte.

Beck was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old's biggest hope of cracking the Opening Day roster was dwindling after being passed over by many of the White Sox's top starting pitching prospects, but Beck punched his ticket to the minor leagues by allowing nine earned runs on 13 hits in just 7.1 innings pitched this spring. He does have some major league experience to his name as well as a bit of success against Triple-A hitters, so he could wind up in the Windy City later this season.