MLB Player News

Athletics pitcher Sean Nolin will be held back a few days due to a groin issue, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Nolin won't throw a side session for the first few days of camp. The issue seems minor, and Nolin should start throwing soon. The 25-year-old was acquired in a trade from the Blue Jays during the offseason. He could compete for a spot in the team's rotation if he can get healthy. 

Angels pitcher Hector Santiago worked so often this offseason that his club asked him to dial it back a bit, according to MLB.com.

Santiago threw 20 bullpen sessions and pitched in Japan. During the winter, he threw five innings as well. With all that work, the Angels wanted the 27-year-old southpaw to keep his arm fresh for the 2015 season.

Santiago went 6-9 with a 3.75 ERA in 2014.

Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild said Wednesday the team is considering using a sixth starter at times in April and May to help reduce a potential early strain on their rotation, per MLB.com. The Yankees have a stretch of 30 games in 31 days beginning April 17.

"It's a result of some of the stuff that's gone on over the last few years, not just here, but everywhere," Rothschild said. "We're aware of situations here and early in the season, we need to get these guys through these stretches. Being that possibly early in the spring, some of them aren't going to be able to throw a lot, we're going to need to build them up too and give them the extra days when we can."

CC Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Capuano are expected to make up the team's five-man rotation. However, Tanaka, Sabathia and Pineda were all injured last season, as the Yankees used 13 starting pitchers.

Bryan Mitchell, Esmil Rogers, Adam Warren and Chase Whitley are some of the other pitchers that will be stretched out this spring.

"It'd be nice to go through a season with five starters, but there's a good chance we're not going to," Rothschild said. "There's a good chance every team in baseball won't, so it doesn't hurt to see who might fit in as a sixth starter."

Red Sox starting pitcher Joe Kelly has reiterated a few times this offseason he plans on winning the AL Cy Young award in 2015. While manager John Farrell likes Kelly's confidence, he wants him to focus on simpler goals, per MLB.com.

"He made a pretty bold statement this winter, a very bold one," Farrell said. "I love the fact that he believes in himself that strong, but I tried to boil it down to something more simple, and pitch as many innings as you can. That will drive your approach and take care of everything else. If that is your main goal of pitching the highest number of quality innings as possible, then you're going to be around late for decisions in games, you're going to drive your workouts in between starts to uphold that."

Farrell admitted Kelly could be a key to the rotation's success this season.

"The raw stuff is there," Farrell said of the rotation. "(Clay) Buchholz staying healthy certainly goes a long way to that. Joe Kelly's growth will have to take a step forward. … But he has probably the best stuff on our staff and the capability to be that type of pitcher."

Red Sox prospect Matt Barnes said he's been told to prepare as a starting pitcher this spring, according to The Boston Globe. Barnes, who has been a starter in the minors, made his MLB debut in 2014 as a reliever.

Barnes, who was an MLB.com top-100 prospect in 2014, is 21-24 with a 3.64 ERA over three seasons in the minors. He went 8-9 with a 3.95 ERA at Triple-A Pawtucket last season.

Twins pitcher Trevor May is an "intriguing candidate" for the rotation's fifth spot, but will have a tough time beating out veterans Tommy Milone and Mike Pelfrey, reports MLB.com. The 6-foot-5 right-hander says he's in the best shape of his life and is looking to build off a solid finish to last season.

In May's last start, against Detroit, he allowed three runs on five hits and a walk while fanning seven over six innings.

"Toward the end, I stayed taller and my stuff got better," said May, 25. "I got more swings and misses. The runs that were scoring were more in spurts. And the walks got better, too. I started pounding the zone better than I ever have."

May added he hopes the progress he showed "was enough to keep me in the conversation. But baseball is a business and some guys are on contracts. If you're going to throw as good as them and your stats are identical, they're going to get the job. But that's how it is and I know that. But my job doesn't change because of that. My job is to be in the best shape possible and compete for a spot."

May said he's willing to work out of the bullpen if he doesn't make the rotation.

Rays pitcher Matt Moore was able to throw 15 pitches off the mound Friday for the first time since last April, according to MLB.com.

Moore, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, threw two bullpen sessions last week from halfway up the mound.

"I think the biggest [positive] sign is that every day, we've been meeting our goals and still feeling strong at the end of the day," Moore said.

Moore, who went 17-4 in 2013 with a 3.29 ERA and 143 strikeouts, torn his UCL in his left arm in just his second start of 2014.

"I've had no frustration, no. Not with anything that has to do with going out here," Moore said, smiling. "I think the frustrating part was the initial getting on board with: 'This is what the next year is going to be like.'

"For the most part, I've tried to embrace the process to where it's not a frustrating thing. I understand this has to happen, and I understand I have a choice in what attitude I bring to the yard every day."

With David Robertson now with the White Sox, the Yankees have a big vacancy to fill at closer. The two leading candidates for the job are newcomer Andrew Miller and setup man Dellin Betances, but Betances indicated Wednesday he is not worried about what role he will have in 2015.

“I haven’t put too much mind into it. There’s people that have mentioned it,” Betances said, per NJ.com. “For me, I’m just going to try to do the same thing, whether it’s the seventh, eighth or ninth. I’m just going to try to take the same approach I did last year and not try to make too big a deal about who gets that job.”

The former top-100 prospect was a breakout player in 2014. The right-hander went 5-0 with a 1.40 ERA, one save and 22 holds in a career-high 70 appearances last season. He made the All-Star team, as well as struck out 135 batters in 90 innings.

Rays pitcher Matt Moore is targeting a June return, according to MLB.com.

Moore underwent Tommy John surgery last season, but was able to throw off a mound for the first time on Tuesday. Moore said he's hoping he can return to a major-league mound in June. "I hope June, [to pitch] in a Major League game, he said. "I think that's about right -- 14 months [after the surgery]. So we should know a lot more in the next month as I start to get on the hill and things have a chance to respond."

Moore started just two games last season before undergoing surgery.

Rays pitcher Matt Moore took a significant step forward in his receovery from Tommy John surgery when he threw off a mound Tuesday, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

"It felt pretty good," Moore said.

Moore had the surgery in April and said he is pleased with the progress he has made.

"I would have thought a while ago I would have been nervous, but I was looking forward to it," Moore said. "And I felt like I had a lot more that could have come out. That's a feeling I've had the last month or so, and that's a feeling I like to have. I think we're in a good spot right now."