MLB Player News

Glasnow continued to experiment with his new delivery with mixed results in Saturday's 11-3 Grapefruit League loss to the Phillies, J. Scott Butherus of MLB.com reports. Glasnow allowed three earned runs on two hits and two walks over his 1.1 innings.

The righty delivered only 18 of his 40 offerings into the strike zone. He continued frequently deploying his new delivery, one in which he double pumps his lead leg after a brief pause before releasing the ball. Glasnow continued to exhibit improved velocity Saturday when utilizing the new approach, as he maxed out at 99 mph on the gun on a strikeout of Scott Kingery. Glasnow assigned blame for his second-inning struggles to a combination of fatigue and some hiccups when trying to switch between his more conventional delivery out of the stretch and his new one, but he remains encouraged with the overall results of his spring experiment. "I know today wasn't really the greatest get-ahead, strike-throwing day," Glasnow said. "But it was a little better than the first, and I think as I build up everything will come into place."

Montas fired three scoreless innings in Saturday's 1-0 Cactus League win over the Indians, allowing two hits and recording a pair of strikeouts.

Montas put up his second scoreless effort in as many spring appearances, with Saturday's outing coming in relief. The hard-throwing right-hander worked the final three innings of the win, earning the save and making another strong case in his bid for the fifth and final rotation spot. According to Jane Lee of MLB.com, Montas is one of two candidates for the job -- Aaron Brooks being the other -- that is out of minor-league options, which could serve as a tiebreaker in his favor when it comes time for manager Bob Melvin to make a final decision.

Kremer (oblique) was seen playing catch Sunday, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun reports.

It was reported early last week that Kremer was still weeks away from throwing as he has battled the left oblique strain for about a month. A return appears to be on the horizon for the 23-year-old, though he'll first need to progress to throwing off a mound. Kremer was also reassigned to minor-league camp Sunday, per Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports.

Blackburn allowed two hits and recorded a strikeout over three scoreless innings in Saturday's 1-0 Cactus League win over the Indians.

One of multiple pitchers vying for the Athletics' fifth and final rotation spot, Blackburn turned in a gem during this time on the mound. Following an injury-marred 2018 that featured a pair of injured list stints, Blackburn has yet to walk a batter over five spring frames and earned high praise from manager Bob Melvin following Saturday's appearance, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports. "He looked by far the best, his bullpens, anything," Melvin said. "Good life in his arm today. Ball was moving late, had a good breaking ball. Looked like when we've seen him pitch really well in Oakland. This was a different guy for me."

Stroman struck out three over two perfect innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays.

After a bumpy spring debut earlier in the week, Stroman looked sharp in this one. The right-hander is looking to rebound from his worst season in the majors, and the first step will be staying healthy after he made only 19 starts last year. Even if does return to his 2017 form, Stroman's lack of strikeouts puts a damper on his fantasy value in most formats.

Heaney's next start has been pushed back due to left elbow inflammation, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Heaney apparently complained of the issue after making his 2019 spring debut Tuesday against the Athletics. Elbow inflammation is often cause for concern, but the 27-year-old continues to participate in long toss and has no MRI scheduled. It's unclear when Heaney will return to game action, though the injury is being described as minor, and Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports he could have a bullpen session Monday.

Kikuchi allowed two earned runs on two hits over three innings in the Mariners' 8-0 Cactus League loss to the Royals on Saturday. He struck out three.

The prized offseason acquisition has been impressive through his first two appearances, even as he gave up his first two earned runs this spring against the Royals. The left-hander was perfect through his first two frames Saturday and struck out two in the first inning. Kikuchi is still naturally in the early stages of adjusting to the majors after a successful career in Japan, and he's already tweaked his pregame routine in an attempt to make it more abbreviated. Moreover, Owen Perkins of MLB.com reports that Kikuchi is actively taking mental notes of in-game adjustments that he'll need to make in order to be successful stateside. "All my pitches are feeling really good," Kikuchi said, speaking through an interpreter. "I need to be a little more fine with my two-strike pitches, because I've noticed if it's too much in the zone that they're going to take advantage of that, so that's the next thing I'm going to work on."

Verander allowed one run on two hits while striking out four over three innings in Saturday's game against the Mets.

Verlander breezed through three innings, throwing 31 strikes among his 38 pitches. The one nick was a Michael Conforto home run. The right-hander has been working on refining his changeup, which he hopes becomes a fourth pitch behind his fastball, slider and curve.

Rodon allowed three runs on three hits and one walk while striking out two in Saturday's game against Colorado.

Rodon, throwing mostly fastballs and changeups. sandwiched two scoreless innings around a frame in which Pat Valaika blasted a three-run homer. The left-hander was unhappy about giving up the homer but pleased overall, having his fastball hit 93 mph "without max effort," per Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.

Farrell was diagnosed with a non-displaced jaw fracture after being hit by a line drive Saturday.

Farrell underwent a CT scan and X-rays and is set to see a specialist Monday. The 27-year-old is out indefinitely, with a return timeline potentially being offered as he is further evaluated.