MLB Player News

Kaprielian (shoulder) threw live batting practice Sunday, and manager Mark Kotsay said he believes there's enough time for the right-hander to be built up enough to make the Opening Day rotation, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The 28-year-old is coming off shoulder surgery in October but has a strong chance to be ready for Opening Day given he's already facing live batters. Kaprielian should continue ramping up his throwing program before progressing to game action.

Bello (forearm) threw a bullpen session Sunday with no apparent issues, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Bello was briefly shut down from throwing after he experienced some soreness in his forearm during mid-February, but he's now back on the mound after playing catch over the past week. The Red Sox are likely to remain cautious with the 23-year-old righty this early in camp, but at this point it appears he's avoided any serious issues and should continue ramping up his throwing program.

Kikuchi seemed more focused on the mound during his spring debut Saturday against the Pirates, a change that may have been prompted by MLB's new pitch clock, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

The 31-year-old left-hander has had a very up-and-down MLB career so far, posting an ERA under 5.00 only once in four seasons, but Kikuchi's arm talent has never been in question. Being forced to work more quickly could prove to be a boon for him, as he won't be able to overthink things and will simply have to get the ball to the plate. "I think the clock is going to help him with the way he worked," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Saturday. "The tempo was fabulous." Kikuchi worked two scoreless innings against Pittsburgh, giving up one hit and striking out five, and if he continues to impress in camp he should emerge as the favorite for the fifth starter spot ahead of Mitch White (shoulder).

Sale (wrist) threw a simulated inning against live batters Saturday and came away with no issues, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Sale threw 23 pitches and avoided hard contact. He said there were command issues against one batter, but Sale was largely pleased with the results, particularly the shape of his breaking ball. The lanky left-hander was limited to two starts last year amid a number of injuries. He sustained a rib injury during a bullpen session in February, then suffered a broken pinkie finger against the Yankees in July followed by a wrist injury in an August bicycle accident. Next up for Sale is a two-inning live bullpen session Thursday before making his spring debut after that.

Eovaldi struck out four over two scoreless innings in Saturday's spring game against Kansas City. "I was able to throw all my pitches. The cutter was good, the split was good, the curve was my best pitch," the pitcher told Tim Colishaw of the Dallas Morning News.

Eovaldi faced the six-batter minimum in his debut in a Rangers uniform. The right-hander was in strong form, hitting 98 MPH repeatedly and topping out at 99. Eovaldi threw just 19 pitches and tossed another 10 in the bullpen following his time in the game, which lasted no more than 10 minutes thanks to the new pitch clock. He's expected to serve as the No. 2 starter behind Jacob deGrom.

Lynn allowed one earned run on three hits and no walks while striking out four across three innings in Saturday's Cactus League matchup against the Padres.

Lynn allowed three consecutive singles to begin the game, but he settled in from there and did not allow any additional baserunners during his outing. Though he faced a watered-down version of the Padres' lineup, it was still an encouraging opening start of spring training. Lynn will be looking to bounce back from a relatively disappointing 2022 campaign when he posted a 3.99 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 121.2 frames.

Maeda (elbow) threw 13 pitches in a scoreless inning with a hit allowed and strikeout in his spring debut Saturday. He reached 90.3 mph with his fastball. "Just a relief to be able to come back scoreless," Maeda told MLB.com.

Maeda hadn't thrown a competitive pitch since August of 2021 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He hopes to reach 92-93 mph with his fastball, but velocity hasn't been a big part of his arsenal (90.5 mph in 2021). The Twins will slowly ramp him back up this spring, but the larger question is if the Twins will use a six-man rotation in April to ease Maeda back into action once the regular season begins.

Kaprielian (shoulder) will throw a live batting practice Sunday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Kaprielian has a long injury history, most recently undergoing shoulder surgery in October. He appears to be trending in the right direction and has time to be ready by Opening Day if all goes well. He's expected to throw at least two live batting practice sessions before pitching in the Cactus League.

Rodriguez is slated to start Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The start will be Rodriguez's spring debut, and the lefty will be looking to rebound after a tumultuous 2022 debut in Detroit. He made only 17 starts for the Tigers as he missed significant time due to personal reasons. Rodriguez logged a respectable 4.05 ERA in those starts, though he only struck out 72 batters across 91 innings, giving him a 7.1 K/9. He had a 10.6 K/9 a year earlier with Boston, so he'll be looking for an improvement in that area this season as the leader of Detroit's staff.

Paxton (lat) will start Friday's spring training game against the Twins, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Paxton is reportedly healthy heading into camp, and he'll get the chance to prove it next week. He's made a grand total of seven starts over the last three seasons while dealing with multiple injuries, including Tommy John surgery and most recently a lat strain. The veteran lefty owns a strong 3.59 career ERA, but between his long layoff and his age (34), it's hard to have confidence that he'll get back to anything close to peak form.