MLB Player News

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.

Whitlock (hip) will start Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates, Mac Cerullo of The North Andover Eagle-Tribune reports.

Whitlock will make his second appearance of the spring as he works his way back from the hip surgery that has sidelined him for the majority of the exhibition season. The 26-year-old right-hander is expected to open the year on the injured list, but the fact he's making starts in spring training gives him a great chance of making that a short stint assuming there are no setbacks over the next two weeks.

Varland was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Garland made his MLB debut with five starts last year and had a 3.81 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 21:6 K:BB over 26 innings, but he won't open 2023 with the big-league club. The 25-year-old should start out in St. Paul's rotation, though he's likely to receive some spot starts for the Twins at some point this season.

Means (elbow) threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Saturday and incorporated his changeup, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

The 29-year-old continues throwing off a mound and is no longer limited to just throwing his fastball. Means still has a long way to go in his rehab from Tommy John surgery, but he could rejoin the Orioles' starting rotation around the All-Star break if he can avoid any setbacks.

Rucinski is 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 7:3 K:BB across 10.1 innings over three Cactus League starts.

The veteran right-hander has given up multiple earned runs in each start, but he did turn in his best performance yet Tuesday against the White Sox while allowing two earned runs on four hits and two walks in 5.1 innings. Rucinski's last taste of regular-season MLB action came back in 2018 with the Marlins, after which he spent the next four seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization. Rucinski is battling Kyle Muller and JP Sears for the fifth spot in Oakland's starting rotation, but he could certainly also fit in as a middle-relief option considering all but one of his 41 MLB appearances have come out of the bullpen.

Muller is 1-2 with a 5.65 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 6:3 K:BB across 14.1 innings over four Cactus League appearances (three starts).

The offseason trade acquisition's Athletics debut Feb. 26 against the Brewers went smoothly, with Muller firing a pair of scoreless innings during which he allowed two hits and a walk. However, the towering southpaw has pitched to plenty of contact during his subsequent three trips to the mound, surrendering 10 runs (nine earned) on 18 hits, two walks and a hit batsman. Muller has been in contention for a back-end rotation spot with Drew Rucinski and JP Sears, and Steve Stockmar of MLB.com notes the big lefty's five-inning, 57-pitch outing against the Reds on Saturday caught the eye of manager Mark Kotsay. "He came out that first inning and really pounded the zone with his fastball," Kotsay said postgame. "I think he's recognizing the importance of the fastball and got through a full five innings. I thought he did a good job."

German pitched 2.2 innings in a Grapefruit League game against the Tigers on Friday, allowing seven runs on nine hits and no walks while striking out one batter.

German was shelled by Detroit in the outing, and the hits against him were neither quiet nor lucky. The Tigers racked up five extra-base knocks against the right-hander, including four home runs. German also hit two batters, as he clearly struggled to command his pitches. This was easily his worst outing of the spring, as he had allowed just three runs (and no homers) over 7.2 innings before the blow-up. With that in mind, German is still expected to have a spot in the rotation when the season begins, especially with Carlos Rodon (forearm) expected to miss multiple starts.

Valdez is likely to start for the Astros on Opening Day, Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Manager Dusty Baker hasn't made an official announcement, but he did tell reporters Saturday that Valdez will "probably" take the mound on Opening Day. Valdez also drew the assignment in 2022, and he delivered throughout the season by posting an exceptional 2.82 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 194:67 K:BB across 201.1 innings. Even if another Astros starter gets the call for the first game, Valdez will almost certainly start at some point during the team's opening series against the White Sox.

Gil (elbow) recently began throwing bullpen sessions, Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media reports.

Gil underwent Tommy John surgery in May of last year and is about 10 months into his rehab. He hasn't yet faced hitters, but the fact that he's tossing bullpens suggests that the right-hander hasn't had any setbacks. Gil isn't expected to be ready to return to game action until at least July.

Paxton (hamstring) threw 25 pitches off the mound Saturday in a bullpen session, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Paxton told Browne after the session that he felt good, and wasn't thinking about his hamstring at all. It's a positive sign for the southpaw, who has not been able to pitch this spring while recovering from a right hamstring strain. The next step for Paxton is to face live hitting, and then hopefully the 34-year-old will get a chance to pitch in a Grapefruit League game before the exhibition season ends. It's still very likely Paxton will open the season on the injured list.