MLB Player News

Ray will miss a spring start after bruising his elbow while falling down some stairs but still hopes to be ready for the start of the regular season, Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star reports.

It's never good to see a pitcher suffer an elbow injury, though a bruise is among the least concerning possible issues. He's looked great this spring, posting a 1.98 ERA and an 18:5 K:BB in 13.2 innings -- seemingly setting himself up for a bounce-back season. The bruise could make him miss a turn in the rotation to start the year but shouldn't significantly alter his overall outlook.

Through four Grapefruit League appearances, Taillon has given up one run on nine hits and four walks while striking out 14 in 8.1 innings.

The Yankees haven't asked Taillon to cover any more than 2.2 innings in any of his four spring outings, but the right-hander has looked good thus far in his comeback from Tommy John surgery. Expect New York to exercise some caution with Taillon's pitch and innings counts early on during the regular season, but the 29-year-old should get a longer leash as the campaign rolls along. He's projected to open the season as the Yankees' No. 3 starter.

Stripling threw 68 pitches over 3.2 innings in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers, and the right-hander is expected to toss around 80 pitches in his final spring outing, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Nate Pearson's groin injury has pushed Stripling into the Jays' initial rotation plans, and he hasn't needed much time to get stretched out in response. His 5.19 spring ERA looks shaky, but his 9:1 K:BB over 8.2 innings is much more promising, and the 31-year-old could prove to be a useful streaming option for fantasy purposes while he's in the rotation. Prior to his 2020 struggles, Stripling posted a 3.51 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over his first four seasons while filling a swingman role for the Dodgers.

Paxton, who recorded eight strikeouts over 4.1 innings in his Cactus League debut versus the Brewers on Sunday, saw his fastball top out at 97 mph during the outing, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports. "This is what I've been working for," Paxton said. "Last year was tough for me. I didn't have any of the velo, my body wasn't in the right place, but I went to work this offseason and I feel like I'm in a really good place now."

Paxton had been putting in work exclusively on the back fields of the Mariners' spring complex due to a now-resolved visa issue, so Sunday marked his first time facing opposing hitters since Aug. 20 of last season while with the Yankees. The left-hander battled back and flexor injuries last season, which led to the average velocity on his fastball dropping to a career-low 92.2 mph. That made his form in Sunday's outing, during which Paxton struck out exactly half of the 16 hitters he faced and yielded just two hits, particularly encouraging. Paxton likely lines up for one more Cactus League start before the end of spring training.

Tigers manager AJ Hinch said Tuesday that Teheran is feeling well after exiting his Grapefruit League start Monday against the Blue Jays with back tightness, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Teheran struck out three and gave up a run on one hit (a solo home run) in his two innings before departing from the Tigers' 4-3 loss. Hinch suggested that Teheran's removal was precautionary, as the skipper noted that the right-hander will go through his normal after-start workout Tuesday. Assuming Teheran's back responds well to the activity, he'll throw a bullpen session Wednesday, which would put him on track to make his next turn through the Tigers' rotation.

Rodriguez allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks while striking out one over two innings in Monday's spring game against Tampa Bay.

Rodriguez battled command issues and needed 45 pitches to get his six outs. It was surprising that the outing was cut short after the left-hander threw five innings in his previous start, but manager Alex Cora didn't want to belabor things for his ace, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports. Instead of going deeper into the game, Rodriguez finished his work in the bullpen.

Kopech allowed two hits and struck out two over 1.1 innings in Monday's spring game against the Giants.

Kopech entered the game in relief of Lucas Giolito and stranded the two runners he inherited to end the fifth inning. He followed that up with a bases-loaded strikeout (looking) to end the sixth. The right-hander, who has allowed one run and struck out seven over 5.1 spring innings, will serve as a reliever to start the 2021 season.

Giolito allowed two hits and three walks while striking out four over 4.2 scoreless innings in Monday's spring game against the Giants.

Giolito referred to the outing as a "grinder day," per Daryl Van Schouwen of Chicago Sun-Times. It was the second consecutive outing that required the right-hander to execute good pitches in tense situations, which is good preparation for the regular season. Giolito ran his pitch count to 85 with one more spring start remaining before he takes the ball for Opening Day on April 1.

Rodon will open the season as the White Sox's fifth starter after the team sent Reynaldo Lopez to the alternate camp Monday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

This should be no surprise to those who have looked at the spring numbers. Rodon outpitched Lopez, who had a 9.00 ERA and 1.82 WHIP over four outings and 11 innings. For his part, Rodon has tossed nine scoreless innings this spring, allowing just four hits without a walk while striking out 10.

Gilbert was reassigned to minor-league camp Monday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Gilbert only threw two official innings this spring as the team seeks to manage his workload. However, he pitched well at Double-A Arkansas in 2019 and also impressed at the alternate site last season. As a result, he's nearly major-league ready and should join the team's rotation sometime relatively early on in the campaign.