MLB Player News

Verlander (shoulder) bounced back well from a bullpen session Thursday and said Friday that he's "definitely getting close to facing hitters," Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Verlander didn't rule out facing hitters the next time he throws but said that will be decided by the team. A stint on the injured list to begin the season awaits him, and given that he has not yet faced hitters, the IL stint could be longer than the minimum. The 41-year-old right-hander is trending in the right direction, however.

The Rays re-assigned McKay to minor-league camp Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

McKay looked solid this spring after re-upping with the Rays on a minor-league contract, but the club wants him to knock some rust off in the minors first after missing so much time due to injury. The left-hander should open the season in Durham's rotation.

The Rays placed Springs (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The move frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of Jacob Waguespack. Springs will be out until around midseason while working his way back from Tommy John surgery.

Parsons walked two and struck out one over three no-hit, scoreless innings of relief during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

The 31-year-old right-hander worked his longest outing of the spring, and it's perhaps not a coincidence it came just before Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reported that Blue Jays manager John Schneider was hinting that Kevin Gausman (shoulder) wouldn't be ready for Opening Day. Parsons likely isn't in the mix for a rotation spot, but Schneider is comfortable patching together a bullpen day when needed. Should the team decide none of the candidates for a temporary assignment as the fifth starter are up for the job, Parsons could win a spot on the 26-man roster as a long reliever instead.

Gray allowed three hits and struck out three over five scoreless innings in Thursday's spring start against Cincinnati.

Gray is healthy and was locked in for a second straight Cactus League start. Needing to get his pitch count up, Gray threw additional pitches in the bullpen after he was removed. He's yet to give up a run over eight innings in his two starts. The only run allowed this spring was in an intrasquad game, when Evan Carter took Gray deep.

Gausman (shoulder) is unlikely to be available for Opening Day, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Gausman has made nice progress since experiencing some right shoulder fatigue, but the Blue Jays just don't want to push him to be ready for Opening Day. The right-hander will throw one inning of live batting practice Friday and continue to build up from there. Regarding the pace of Gausman's buildup, manager John Schneider said Friday that "if that means 30 starts as opposed to 32, we'll be pretty happy with that." That would seem to indicate a rough timeline of mid-April for Gausman's season debut. Bowden Francis already looks like a lock for Toronto's rotation with Alek Manoah (shoulder) out, and now there's room for someone else to step in. Mitch White, Chad Dallas and Paolo Espino are the main candidates for that spot.

Odorizzi agreed to a minor-league contract with the Rays on Friday that includes an invite to big-league camp.

The veteran right-hander was with the Rays from 2013 to 2017 and will rejoin the organization after sitting out last season while recovering from shoulder surgery. Odorizzi made 22 starts in 2022 split between Houston and Atlanta and had a 4.40 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 86:35 K:BB across 106.1 innings.

Sears allowed two earned runs on five hits over five innings in a Cactus League loss to the Cubs on Thursday. He struck out three without walking anyone but did hit a batter.

The left-hander opened the spring with five scoreless, one-hit innings across his first two Cactus League appearances, and although he's allowed a total of three runs over his next two turns, those have come across eight frames. Even more encouraging is the fact Sears has recorded 13 strikeouts while issuing just one walk, and he appears to be almost built up for the start of the season after his extended time on the mound Thursday.

Gilbert has allowed a combined 10 runs on nine hits, three walks and a hit batsman over the 4.1 innings covering his last two Cactus League starts.

The talented right-hander was hit hard by both the Rangers and Padres in those outings, giving up a pair of home runs to the latter. However, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports manager Scott Servais wasn't discouraged by Gilbert's overall performance versus San Diego, with the Seattle skipper noting "Logan's stuff today was the best it has been all spring" and specifically complimenting the life on his fastball and the late movement on his secondary pitches. Gilbert maintains he feels "pretty comfortable" after three Cactus League outings, and he lines up for what will likely be two more opportunities to work out any kinks before the start of the season.

Woo fired four perfect innings during which he recorded five strikeouts in a Cactus League win over the Brewers on Thursday.

Woo has bounced back from a forgettable Cactus League debut against the Rockies on March 1 to throw 6.2 hitless innings over his next two appearances. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports the right-hander needed just 38 pitches to record his 12 outs Thursday, necessitating another dozen pitches in a bullpen session after his appearance in order to continue building up for the start of the season. The Mariners will monitor Woo's workload throughout the campaign as they prepare to push him well past the 131.2 innings he threw in 2023 as a rookie.