MLB Player News

May will begin the year working out of the Twins' bullpen, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

May came into spring as a candidate to win one of the open spots in the Twins' rotation, but a meltdown in his last outing took him out of the running. He'll work out of the bullpen for at least the beginning of the year, but Kevin Jepsen will likely get the first crack at being the setup man in front of closer Glen Perkins. Still, May's skill set will make him a reliever to keep an eye on this spring if Jepsen or Perkins struggle.

Devenski was reassigned to minor league camp Wednesday.

The 25-year-old right-hander performed well in camp, allowing one run on seven hits with no walks and eight strikeouts over six Grapefruit League innings. Devenski is likely to open 2016 with Triple-A Fresno, but could be on the verge of a big league call up this season after impressing manager A.J. Hinch this spring.

Moore has been announced as the starter for the Rays' exhibition against the Cuban National Team on Mar. 22, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The southpaw has been one of the bright spots of the Rays staff in spring training, building on the momentum he generated over the final month of the 2015 season. Moore finished September with a 2-1 record that was accompanied by a sterling 2.97 ERA, and has generated an even more impressive 1.59 figure over 5.2 spring training innings. The 26-year-old's command has been sharp over his first pair of appearances, an indication that his arm could be back at full strength following his April 2014 Tommy John surgery.

Robertson tossed a scoreless inning in his spring debut Tuesday afternoon.

He hit the first batter he faced, but Robertson induced a double play from Adrian Gonzalez before getting Scott Van Slyke to ground out to end the inning. Robertson enters Year 2 of his four-year deal with the White Sox having a firm hold on the closer's role, with the potential to improve upon the 3.41 ERA he posted over 60 appearances last season.

McHugh allowed three runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 3.2 innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League loss to Washington.

The 28-year-old, who has a 3.12 ERA and 7:2 K:BB ratio over 8.2 Grapefruit League innings thus far, will slot second or third in the Astros' rotation to open 2016.

Jerez was optioned to Double-A Portland on Tuesday, CSNNE's Sean McAdam reports.

The 23-year-old lefty reliever logged 37 innings at Double-A last year, and will head back to the Eastern League to continue honing his craft. As a member of the Red Sox's 40-man roster, it would not be surprising if the converted outfielder sniffed the big leagues in the second half of 2016.

Johnson was seen walking normally and his toe appears to have significantly improved since yesterday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

It sounds like Johnson's injury is nothing serious and that he should be back within a reasonable amount of time. The former first-round pick had a successful season with Triple-A Pawtucket in 2015, posting a 2.53 ERA and impressive 8.44 K/9.

Barnes struck out two batters during a 1-2-3 appearance out of the bullpen in Monday's game against the Pirates, the Boston Herald reports. The right-hander, who has converted to a full-time reliever in 2016, has not allowed a run in four spring appearances (4.2 IP, two hits, one walk, seven strikeouts).

Barnes is in a better spot this year; he'll be a reliever regardless of where he pitches. The UConn product trained as a reliever during last year's spring training, but was sent to Triple-A Pawtucket to be a starter when the need for a reliever at the major league level never materialized. He bounced back-and-forth between the roles all season long -- starting in the minors, relieving in the majors -- and it had a negative impact on Barnes' development. Having one role should lead to better results, but he also needs to grow. "It's been quality of location within the strike zone at times that was a little elusive last year. Like any young pitcher, getting a better idea of himself, certainly what big league hitters can sit on or feast on. The biggest thing with Matt is, if he gets in some fastball counts, have something other than his fastball, a breaking ball to throw for a strike," said manager John Farrell.

Kelly quickened his tempo between pitches Monday, relative to his previous start, and delivered four shutout innings, the Boston Globe reports. The better tempo led to more strikes. "It gets my body going towards the plate better," Kelly said. "Get myself in a more athletic windup. Ultimately it allows me to command the strike zone a lot better. I could put the fastball where I wanted to."

Kelly allowed three hits and a walk while striking out three on the day, but more encouraging than the tempo was his ability to work out of men-on-base situations. The Pirates had men in scoring position in three of Kelly's four innings, but he was able to make pitches when needed.

Giles tossed a scoreless frame during Monday's 1-1 Grapefruit League tie against the Nationals.

The 25-year-old hurler is off to a slow start this spring, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks over four Grapefruit League innings, but he's fully expected to step into the closer's role for Houston after the team gave up a haul to acquire him in December.