MLB Player News

Jaye agreed to a minor-league deal with the Twins on Thursday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Jaye spent most of the 2017 season with Triple-A Toledo, compiling a 3.58 ERA and 1.56 WHIP across 60.1 innings (11 starts). He did earn a September promotion, however he struggled to a 12.08 ERA, 2.21 WHIP and 4:10 K:BB across 12.2 innings of work, including a pair of starts. He'll offer organizational pitching depth for the Twins next season.

Ramirez signed a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Indians on Thursday.

Ramirez spent the 2017 season jumping from organization to organization, finishing with the Nationals after being with the Giants, Blue Jays and Mets earlier in the year. All in all, he appeared in 29 major-league games, posting a 7.18 ERA and 1.79 WHIP over 31.1 relief innings. Looking ahead, Ramirez will likely start out the season with Triple-A Columbus and should provide organizational depth for the Indians.

Houck posted a 3.63 ERA over 22.1 innings in 10 starts for short-season Lowell. He struck out 25 and walked eight.

Houck was Boston's first-round draft pick (24th overall) in 2017 and, along with 2016 first-rounder Jay Groome, represents the organization's best hope to develop a starter. The Red Sox have drafted and developed just one pitcher that eventually made it to their big-league rotation, the dearly departed Clay Buchholz. Houck is a 6-foot-5 right-hander with long arms and an aggressive delivery that starts on the first base side of the rubber before stepping toward the third base dugout and throwing across his body. It's probably not how you'd teach someone to pitch, but Houck's comfortable with it and, more importantly, can repeat it. The team's pitching development analyst, David Bush, told Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald that the University of Missouri product's goal is to harness his mechanics and keep himself under control. He's expected to start the season at Low-A Greenville.

Ramirez (elbow) will resume light throwing next week, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

He underwent an exam that showed continuing improvement of his damaged UCL on Monday. Ramirez missed the final six weeks of the season and then underwent stem-cell therapy in an effort to heal his elbow without going under the knife. He has undergone three ultrasound exams, and the Angels remain encouraged that he can avoid surgery. In a perfect world, he will be ready to compete for a rotation spot in spring training, but it's too soon to say that is a likely outcome, given the nature of the injury and how early he is in the recovery process. Ramirez notched a 4.15 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 105 strikeouts in 147.1 innings last season.

Turnbull was added to the Tigers' 40-man roster on Monday to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News reports.

The 25-year-old righty reached Double-A for the first time in his career last season, logging four starts while giving up 14 runs in just 20.1 innings. He should return to Double-A, but now that he is on the 40-man roster, the Tigers may fast-track him to the big leagues to see what they have. It is unclear if he will be a starter or reliever long term, but he is unlikely to be a fantasy asset in either role.

Pimentel was suspended 56 games for a positive test of Stanozolol, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pimental only appeared in 14 games for Houston's rookie-league team in 2017, posting a 4.66 ERA and a 21:6 K:BB over 19.1 innings out of the bullpen. He will miss over one-third of the 2018 campaign due to this failed test.

Cobb did not accept Tampa Bay's qualifying offer, and will officially hit the free-agent market, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Cobb will look for a multi-year deal on the open market this winter after declining the $17.4 million offer, which comes on the heels of earning just $12.2 million combined during the last three years with the Rays. The 30-year-old started 29 games this past season, and recorded a 3.66 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, with a 128:44 K:BB over the course of 179.1 innings. Wherever he winds up, Cobb will be a key cog in that organization's rotation.

McGuire signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays on Thursday.

McGuire appeared in six big-league games with the Reds last season, allowing four earned runs off 10 hits and two walks while striking out 11 in 13.2 innings out of the bullpen. He spent a majority of the year with Double-A Pensacola, and will likely begin the 2018 season in the minors while serving as organizational depth for the Blue Jays, although he did earn an invite to spring training with the club.

Mejia allowed four runs (two earned) on four hits and struck out two batters Thursday in his Dominican Winter League debut, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Mejia didn't pitch well during his first start of the Dominican Winter League, although he's likely shaking some of the rust off. The 24-year-old posted a 4.50 ERA in 2017 for the Twins over 98 innings pitched and earned a spot in Minnesota's starting rotation. The good news is that Mejia is still young and has plenty of time to improve. He'll look to have a better outing in his second start of winter league play.

Nuno signed a minor-league contract with the Rays on Wednesday, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports.

Nuno spent the 2017 season within the Orioles' system, and wound up appearing in 12 games for the big-league team. During those appearances, he posted a 10.43 ERA and 2.25 WHIP over 14.2 innings. He will likely see more time at Triple-A Durham next season, unless he's able to show that he can still be a viable reliever in the majors.