MLB Player News

Sale (illness) felt sore following a live batting practice session Sunday and was sent for an MRI on his elbow, the results of which will be read by Dr. James Andrews, Sean McAdam of BostonSportsJournal.com reports

The lefty just can't catch a break. Already ruled out for the start of the season after missing time this spring due to a bout of pneumonia, he's now been linked to one of the most dreaded names in baseball. Dr. Andrews' name brings with it fears of Tommy John surgery, a procedure which was deemed unnecessary when Sale dealt with elbow trouble late last season. Whether or not that's on the table this time around remains to be seen.

Gibson allowed one hit and one walk while striking out one over two scoreless innings in Monday's spring game against Cleveland.

Gibson, who made his spring debut Monday, is slightly behind schedule in building up innings as he manages an ulcerative colitis diagnosis that impacted his 2019 season. "I felt pretty good in all the live BPs that I threw in the bullpen," Gibson told Sam Blum of the Dallas Morning News. "So I wasn't feeling like I needed to work on one thing. I think next time I'll work on a little more consistency with my curveball and my changeup a little bit." The right-hander is lining up to be the No. 4 starter in Texas' rotation.

Keuchel allowed one run on six hits while striking out one over four innings in a spring game against the Padres on Monday.

Keuchel looked in midseason form during his spring debut, inducing nine groundball outs with a lot of soft contact. The left-hander worked his pitch count to 50 (34 strikes) and was pleased with where he's at. ''I've been saying all spring that I felt ahead of schedule physically and mentally where I'm at,'' Keuchel, who missed spring training as a free agent a year ago, told Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. ''That's just a huge sign for me.'' The groundball pitcher also suggested the White Sox might deploy defensive alignments behind him, which could allow fewer balls to get through the infield.

Teheran tossed two perfect innings against the Cubs on Monday, striking out two. According to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, the hurler touched 93 mph with his fastball during the outing.

Teheran mostly sat in the 91-92 mph range with his four-seamer Monday, representing a marked increase over his 89.7 mph average on the pitch last season. Still, Bollinger notes that the right-hander reportedly experienced a bump in his velocity last spring as well, so it remains to be seen whether Teheran can carry over the improvement into the regular season.

Anderson has given up five runs with a 1:4 K:BB through 2.2 innings over his first two spring starts.

Picked up from the Brewers in the offseason to bolster the team's pitching depth, Anderson is being counted on to break camp in the middle of the Jays' rotation and at least give the club consistent, serviceable innings. Rough performances early in the spring are often long forgotten by Opening Day, but if Anderson continues to struggle over the next couple of weeks, it could put Toronto in a tough position with regard to its rotation plans.

Teheran (hamstring) will make his first Cactus League start Monday against the Cubs.

Teheran's spring debut was pushed back a week after he experienced left hamstring tightness, but the right-hander erased any concerns about his health after completing a bullpen session over the weekend. Though he's slightly behind the Angels' other starting candidates at this stage of the spring, Teheran should be ready to go for Opening Day if he can build up to around five innings before the Angels head back to California in three weeks.

Snell (elbow) was "feeling good" Monday and is still on track to play catch Tuesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Snell received a cortisone shot in his elbow Friday after feeling some discomfort after his start Wednesday, but he appears to be on track in his recovery. The southpaw is expected to play catch Tuesday and throw a bullpen session Friday, so he'll have several chances to test the elbow over the next few days. A clearer picture for his return could become more apparent after he resumes throwing.

Walker will pitch in an intersquad game Wednesday rather than pitching against the Angels in the Cactus League, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Walker was expected to make his Cactus League debut this week, but the Mariners will instead opt to use him in their intersquad game Wednesday. The right-hander has thrown several times already during spring training, and it appears as though he could win a spot in the major-league rotation to begin the regular season.

Eovaldi allowed one hit and struck out four over three scoreless innings in Sunday's spring game against the Braves.

For the second straight start, Eovaldi was pinpoint with his command. He's allowed three hits and no walks while striking out eight over his two spring starts (five innings). It's an encouraging sign out of the right-hander, from whom the Red Sox are expecting a bounceback year. An elbow injury limited him to 67.2 innings in 2019. They envision Eovaldi taking the ball every fifth day. Other than 2014 with the Marlins, when Eovaldi threw 199.2 innings, he hasn't sniffed the 200-inning mark, so expectations are high.

Kluber allowed two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out four over three innings in Sunday's spring game against the Dodgers.

Kluber ran into immediate trouble, loading the bases with none out in the first inning before escaping with just one run. The veteran right-hander made his spring debut, threw all of his pitches, and eventually found his command over the final two innings. Catcher Jeff Mathis gave manager Chris Woodward a positive review. "I was talking to Math and he was like, 'balls were moving all over the place -- back-door sinker, front-door sinker, front-door cutter,'" Woodward told Dave Sessions of MLB.com. "Balls were moving all over the place and he was commanding it." Kluber did allow a home run, but that was the lone bit of hard contact off him.