MLB Player News

Manoah gave up one run on five hits and a walk over six innings while striking out four in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays.

Tampa Bay's run in the third inning was the only one of the game, as Manoah found himself in a spring pitcher's duel with Drew Rasmussen. Manoah tossed 71 pitches (50 strikes) and appears ready for Opening Day after turning in a 15:6 K:BB through 14.1 frames this spring while not allowing a homer.

The Guardians reassigned Toussaint to minor-league camp Monday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Toussaint posted an ugly 14.54 ERA in four appearances this spring. The former top prospect is still just 26 but is in his third organization since the start of 2022 as he tries to regain his footing.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Whitlock (hip) who is scheduled to pitch in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates, will likely require three more starts to build up before he's ready to join the big-league rotation, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Based on that timeline, Cora confirmed that Whitlock won't be in consideration for making the Red Sox's fifth start of the regular season, likely paving the way for Kutter Crawford to break camp as the final member of the team's rotation. Whitlock is scheduled to pitch three innings Monday before covering four innings in his next outing and then five innings in his final two starts prior to coming off the injured list, according to Cora. Assuming he sticks to a normal four-day rest schedule between those outings, Whitlock would be on pace to be activated as soon as April 9.

Lorenzen has been scratched from his scheduled Grapefruit League start Monday against the Blue Jays due to groin tightness, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The Tigers are opting for a bullpen game to cover Lorenzen's turn through the spring rotation, but the bigger question is whether his groin injury is something that will be significant enough to keep him from being ready to go for the start of the season. If Lorenzen is able to resume throwing within the next few days, he should be available to make one final start this spring in either the Grapefruit League or in an exhibition game. Lorenzen built up to 2.2 innings and 69 pitches in his most recent spring outing March 14.

Bello (forearm) struck out three over two scoreless and hitless relief innings in Sunday's spring game against the Phillies.

Bello made his Grapefruit League debut after dealing with forearm tightness at the start of spring training. The right-hander soothed any concerns Sunday, when he set down all six batters faced over 25 pitches. According to Ian Browne of MLB.com, this might be Bello's last Grapefruit League outing. The Red Sox are expected to place him on the injured list to start the regular season and want to allocate innings to those pitchers that will break camp on the major-league roster. In the meantime, Bello can build up his pitch count on the back fields against minor-league opponents.

The Tigers optioned Faedo to Triple-A Toledo on Monday, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Though he made 12 starts in 2022 for a Tigers pitching staff that was decimated by injuries, Faedo faced a tough path to a spot in the season-opening rotation with Detroit adding starters Matthew Boyd and Michael Lorenzen in free agency and getting Spencer Turnbull (elbow) back from Tommy John surgery. Faedo didn't help his case for a spot on the Opening Day roster by allowing seven runs on 11 hits and three walks over 5.1 innings. The 27-year-old right-hander will now head to Toledo but should be on the top candidates for a call-up whenever Detroit is need of a spot starter in 2023.

DeGrom allowed two hits and struck out four over three scoreless innings in Sunday's spring start against the Mariners.

DeGrom made his Cactus League debut after being brought along slowly from a side injury. The right-hander looked sharp his first time out, hitting 100 mph twice in three innings while the fastball consistently clocked in at 97-99 mph, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. DeGrom worked around a first-inning triple, getting a couple of punch-outs, then left a runner stranded in the third following a leadoff single. He threw 34 pitches (28 strikes) during an efficient outing then tossed more pitches in the bullpen to get his work in. There's time for at least one more Cactus League outing, and deGrom is expected to be on a restricted pitch count to start the regular season.

Sandoval will start for Mexico in Monday's WBC semifinal game against Japan, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Sandoval will get a big spring test against a loaded Japanese lineup that will include Angels teammate Shohei Ohtani. This will be Sandoval's second start in the WBC -- in his first outing, he allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out two batters in three innings against Team USA, who Mexico will face in the final if able to advance. The southpaw also got into two Cactus League games with the Angels prior to the WBC, allowing one run on three hits and posting a 6:0 K:BB over five frames.

Singer gave up four runs on four hits over two innings in his lone appearance for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic.

Fantasy managers should be concerned for a couple of reasons. One is that Singer has made just three competitive appearances between Cactus League and WBC play. He's also logged just 6.2 innings this spring, which leaves some doubts about how stretched out he'll be to begin the regular season. With Singer's poor performance on the international stage, his usage has been limited. He should be fine long-term, but with the USA making a deep run in the tournament, he'll likely get only one or two more outings in the Cactus League before the 2023 campaign gets underway.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters that Paxton (hamstring) will throw another bullpen in the next three-to-four days, Mike Monaco of ESPN reports.

Cora said that everything went well Saturday with Paxton's bullpen session, and it's a positive sign that he'll be back on the mound for another round shortly after. The left-hander is all but a lock to open the season on the injured list, but it does appear that Paxton will make starts for Boston in April as long as there's no setback.