MLB Player News

Musgrove allowed one run on three hits and struck out one over two innings in Monday's game against the Mets.

Musgrove got the first chance in the competition for Houston's final spot in the rotation. The right-hander fell behind hitters in the first inning when he gave three hits before settling in for a 1-2-3 second inning. He and Mike Fiers are the primary contenders for the open job in the rotation.

Paxton is scheduled for his spring debut next Saturday versus the Rockies, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Paxton will be the last member of the projected starting rotation to see action this spring, and he won't actually open the game versus Colorado. Rather, the 28-year-old southpaw will "piggyback" starter Yovani Gallardo, going through his full pre-game routine as if preparing to start the game but actually working in a relief capacity. Paxton is scheduled for a normal workload this spring and recently commented that he's "scheduled for 25 (spring) innings" and that he's "healthy and right on schedule."

Giolito took the mound for the first time in a White Sox uniform Monday, allowing one earned run and three hits while striking out two in two innings of work.

Giolito's first start of the spring had some bright moments, but was fairly shaky as a whole. The 22-year-old began his outing by giving up hard-hit singles to Kyle Schwarber and Kris Bryant, and ended up allowing a long home run to Addison Russell an inning later. He'll look to improve upon Monday's start going forward as he continues to get settled in at big league camp.

Berrios gave up a run over two innings with two strikeouts and a walk in his spring debut in Sunday's win over Washington.

Berrios and Trevor May are the primary candidates competing for the fifth starter job, though five other starters (including Tyler Duffey) are also in the mix. Berrios will pitch for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, which may delay Minnesota's decision on its fifth starter role until late in spring training. Berrios was spectacular at Triple-A last season (2.51 ERA and 10.1 K/9) but struggled so much in the majors (8.02 ERA and 5.4 BB/9) that the Twins may feel he needs to regroup in the minors at the start of the season.

Boyd went two scoreless innings in his spring training debut, giving up two hits and striking out two.

Boyd, who appears to have the inside track on the No. 5 spot in the rotation, threw 32 pitches, 23 for strikes. A strong spring would help Boyd hold off the likes of Anibal Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey for that last rotation spot.

Keuchel (shoulder) faced hitters Sunday for the first time since last August, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. "All went well" during the live batting-practice session, according to Houston manager A.J. Hinch.

Keuchel, who finished up the final five weeks of the 2016 season on the disabled list because of a shoulder injury, threw between 35 and 40 pitches Sunday morning. The left-hander is on an individualized throwing program and is not expected to make the first of his five spring starts until the second week of March.

Gray will not play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic due to not being cleared for contract insurance, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Although this is unfortunate news for Gray, the A's are likely happy as he will now be present for the entirety of camp. The 27-year-old wasn't granted contract insurance after he spent more than 60 days on the DL last season. He said he feels great physically, and now he'll have an extra month to ease into things for 2017.

Sale will make his first Grapefruit League spring start March 6 against the Astros, Scott Lauber of ESPN.com reports.

The southpaw has impressed his new skipper early on in spring and he will have plenty of time to get himself ready for the regular season and acclimated with his new club. Manager John Farrell hasn't yet announced a starter for Opening Day, but Sale is a strong candidate for the assignment.

Bridwell was hammered for three runs on two hits -- both of which were home runs -- and struck out two in Saturday's spring contest against the Pirates.

Bridwell struck out the first two batters in the eighth inning before giving up back-to-back homers to Chris Bostick and Jin-De Jhang. The right-hander's physical makeup has always been highly regarded, but he's never consistently performed well throughout his professional career. Saturday was certainly not what he the Orioles had hoped to see in the 25-year-old's spring debut. Bridwell won't be afforded many opportunities to prove he can pitch at the big league level, so he'll need a drastically different outcome in his next Grapefruit League game, or he'll be on the first list of cuts.

Rodriguez showed no hesitation in his delivery while throwing his first live batting practice Saturday, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

Rodriguez will make his spring training debut Thursday as he returns from an offseason knee injury. The 24-year-old has been held out from certain drills thus far in camp, but it appears all systems are go at this point. More importantly, pitching coach Carl Willis said that Rodriguez is ahead of both Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright for the final two spots in the rotation, a strong indication that he'll be a player to monitor this spring.