MLB Player News

Verlander allowed one run on two hits with no walks while striking out eight over five innings and 61 pitches in Friday's game against the Cardinals, Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Verlander said following the game he's pleased where he's at after making his third start of the spring. The 35-year-old right-hander's goal is to get to around 95 pitches by his final spring start -- he's scheduled for three more starts before the regular season. Over three spring starts, Verlander has given up just one run and struck out 17 over 10 innings.

Montgomery will open the season in the Yankees' rotation, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

Montgomery was assumed to be the favorite for the role, though there was a possibility of a challenge from reliever Chad Green. Manager Aaron Boone has now officially named Montgomery the team's fifth starter, and he'll look to build on a solid rookie season in which he recorded a 3.88 ERA and a 9-7 record in 29 starts.

Lewicki was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Friday.

The 6-foot-3 righty turns 26 on April 8, and has just 10.1 career MLB innings under his belt. The 2.03 ERA and 33 strikeouts he posted in 31 innings (five starts) at Triple-A last year looks impressive, but he profiles as a swing man or middle reliever long term. That said, it wouldn't be surprising if he got a handful of starts in the majors in 2018 on a rebuilding Tigers club.

Stroman (shoulder) was able to successfully play catch Thursday and Friday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The Blue Jays are currently devising a throwing program for Stroman now that he seems to be recovering from the right shoulder inflammation that has kept him sidelined since February. That said, it still seems doubtful that Stroman will be ready in time for Opening Day.

Gonzales fired four scoreless innings in Wednesday's 7-3 Cactus League loss to the Athletics, allowing two hits and two walks while recording a strikeout.

The 26-year-old southpaw has now racked up nine scoreless innings across a trio of starts to open spring training. Gonzales is averaging a strikeout per frame thus far as well, exhibiting much more confidence and efficiency than in last season's rocky 10-appearance (seven starts) stint with Seattle after being acquired in a July trade with the Cardinals. His experience this spring is also a marked departure from his activity level at this time last year, given he was still in the midst of working back from April 2016 Tommy John surgery at that point, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. "Very different," Gonzales said. "I wasn't even in games. I was throwing bullpens, barely. I'm grateful to be able to take the mound and feel good afterward."

Snell fired three scoreless innings in Wednesday's 7-2 Grapefruit League loss to the Orioles, allowing two hits and compiling four strikeouts.

That's three impressive outings for Snell to open spring, as he's now allowed just one earned run over seven innings while racking up 10 strikeouts. Just as important, he's issued only one free pass, an encouraging development considering location was a significant problem for the young left-hander at the big-league level last season (51 walks and a 4.1 BB/9 over 129.3 innings). Slated to be part of the Rays' four-man starting rotation in 2018, Snell's fantasy value would see a nice spike were he to exhibit the level of improved control he's flashed thus far once the regular season commences.

Severino will make his first Grapefruit League start Thursday against the Phillies, Brendan Kuty and Randy Miller of NJ.com reports.

After cementing himself as the Yankees' staff ace last season with a 2.98 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 10.7 K/9 over 193.1 frames, Severino entered spring training without any health concerns, but New York has nonetheless managed the 24-year-old's workload carefully. Though he'll face opposing hitters for the first time in the spring Thursday, Severino hasn't fallen behind the rest of his fellow pitchers in preparation for the season, as he's instead built up his arm through side sessions and simulated games. Expect Severino to cover only two or three innings Thursday before escalating his pitch count in his subsequent Grapefruit League outings.

Rodriguez (knee) is on the verge of throwing a live batting practice session in the coming days but will begin the season on the DL, The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham reports.

Rodriguez continues to progress at a solid pace after undergoing right knee surgery in October. He was able to begin mound work last week, throwing a 35-pitch bullpen that included a mixture of fastballs and changeups, and he could be nearing a simulated game if all goes well with the batting practice session. While there isn't a set target date for his return, Rodriguez is likely going to miss most of April.

Chirinos is one of several relievers who could be called upon to work extended innings under the Rays' plan to use the bullpen as a de facto fifth starter, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

Manager Kevin Cash elaborated on his plans for the Rays' pitchers Wednesday, explaining that he plans to utilize a four-man rotation for the entirety of the season if possible and deploy multiple relievers -- Chirinos among them -- as the collective fifth starter on days when one is needed. That leaves Chirinos with the possibility of multiple multi-inning stints over the course of 2018, a role that he would presumably be comfortable in, given his minor-league body of work. The 24-year-old right-hander has logged 58 starts at various stops in the Rays organization, including a career-high 22 at Triple-A Durham in 2017.

Boyd is working on his offspeed pitches during spring training and could use them more this season, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Boyd's hard-hit rate on curveballs and sliders last year was 13.5 percent, which was second best among qualified starters. The lefty is taking that success to heart, as he plans to diversify his pitches more and challenge hitters less frequently with his fastball. He said his slider is "definitely becoming more of a weapon for me, and something that I'll probably use a little more in the course of a game if the game dictates it more, too. I feel comfortable with it." Boyd posted a 5.27 ERA and 1.56 WHIP last season, but he's in line to secure a spot in Detroit's rotation nonetheless.