MLB Player News

Gonzales fired four scoreless innings in a Cactus League loss to the Rockies on Saturday, allowing two hits and no walks while recording five strikeouts.

The left-hander stretched out to 58 pitches, impressively throwing 44 for strikes. Gonzales has fired six scoreless spring frames across his first two outings, and Saturday he notably put on his impressive performance against a Rockies lineup full of regulars.

Bundy pitched 4.2 scoreless innings against Chicago in a Cactus League game Sunday, yielding two hits and one walk while striking out two.

Bundy was scheduled to throw four innings heading into the contest, but he ended up getting a couple more outs in the fifth due to his efficient pitch count. The right-hander finished with 53 pitches overall, then proceeded to throw some more in the bullpen following the outing, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Bundy has yet to allow a run through two spring starts and is lined up to take the mound for the Angels on Opening Day.

Lynn allowed one hit and three walks while striking out four over 3.1 innings in Sunday's spring game against Athletics.

Lynn's command was off for a second straight start. He's handed out seven free passes over the last six spring innings but remains unscored upon in eight Cactus League frames. The good news is that he's building his pitch count; the bad news is the inefficiency. Despite the lack of command, Lynn told Scott Merkin of MLB.com that he feels good physically and shook off the walks.

Manager Rocco Baldelli named Maeda the starter for Opening Day against the Brewers on April 1, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The 32-year-old had a dominant first year in Minnesota last season with a 2.70 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 80:10 K:BB across 66.2 innings, so it's not much of a surprise to see him at the head of the rotation for 2021. Maeda is hoping to utilize his curveball more this season after throwing it on only 3.4 percent of pitches in 2020.

Wacha was impressive while logging three innings and facing one batter to simulate the start of a fourth frame in an intrasquad game Saturday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports. "He creates a lot of depth on the cutter and the changeup," manager Kevin Cash said. "Asking [pitching coach Kyle Snyder] at different times, 'Which one was that?' I guess it doesn't matter if it's going underneath the barrel."

Wacha's primary three-pitch arsenal of a fastball, cutter and changeup has worked extremely well for him thus far this spring ahead of what both the Rays and the veteran right-hander hope will be a resurgent season. Prior to Saturday's outing, Wacha had logged three scoreless frames across his first two Grapefruit League outings against the Red Sox and Twins.

Hill fired three scoreless innings in a Grapefruit League loss to the Twins on Saturday, allowing just a hit and a walk.

About the only blemish on Hill's performance was his failure to record a strikeout, but otherwise, the left-hander turned in a polar-opposite effort of what was a rough Grapefruit League debut on March 5. Adam Berry of MLB.com reports Hill threw 23 of 36 pitches for strikes and actually outpaced his planned two-inning workload due to his level of efficiency. "Just really the conviction behind every pitch, that was the biggest difference," Hill said. "Getting on top of the ball, throwing the ball downhill, committing to the pitch and the task at hand right there."

Garcia has tossed two scoreless innings in Grapefruit League action so far. He's allowed three hits and a walk with no strikeouts.

Garcia, who's in the mix to close for Detroit, has been used sparingly so far this spring, so it's hard to take much away from his performance. He did register a solid 1.66 ERA and 1.29 WHIP across 21.2 innings last season, though he struck out only 12 batters, so he doesn't profile as the typical overpowering end-game option. Gregory Soto is the other frontrunner to close for the Tigers, and the lefty does overpower hitters a bit more frequently, which may push Garcia to more of a setup role. The 25-year-old Garcia was second on the team with four saves last season.

The Twins optioned Ober to minor-league camp Sunday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Along with Ober, fellow pitchers Dakota Chalmers, Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic were also optioned as Minnesota made its first cuts of spring training. Ober didn't play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor-league season, but he dazzled between three minor-league stops in 2019, posting a 0.69 ERA and 0.81 WHIP while striking out 100 over 78.2 innings. Expect him to slot into the rotation at Triple-A St. Paul to begin 2021.

The Twins optioned Ober to minor-league camp Sunday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Along with Ober, fellow pitchers Dakota Chalmers, Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic were also optioned as Minnesota made its first cuts of spring training. Ober didn't play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor-league season, but he dazzled between three minor-league stops in 2019, posting a 0.69 ERA and 0.81 WHIP while striking out 100 over 78.2 innings. Expect him to slot into the rotation at Triple-A St. Paul to begin 2021.

Ray struck out three and walked two over four no-hit innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports. "This [Baltimore] is a younger team. They're going to be super aggressive," Ray said afterwards. "I think I only threw five pitches in the first inning. After that, I knew they were going to continue to be aggressive, so I just tried to use that against them."

The veteran southpaw averaged 95.8 mph with his fastball and topped out at 97.3 mph, a very good sign for his 2021 fortunes after he averaged 93.9 mph last year. Ray got stretched out to 52 pitches in the outing, putting him on pace to reach his target of 90-plus pitches by the end of camp, but he was most pleased with where he was locating them Saturday. "Even the walks that I've had, the ball has been right around the zone," Ray said. "As far as command, I feel really good about where my pitches are at. I'm around the zone and my misfires aren't far off. I feel like I'm in a really good spot." The Jays' rotation is very shaky after Hyun Jin Ryu, so getting a bounceback performance from Ray after his rough 2020 will be crucial for the team's success.