MLB Player News

Keuchel (shoulder) isn't expected to make his Grapefruit League debut until early March, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Keuchel suggested he's not behind the curve in his recovery from a bout of shoulder inflammation that sidelined him late last season, but it sounds like the Astros aren't inclined to overextend him early on in the spring. He already resumed throwing off a mound last week and came through the session without incident, and is still on track to make about five starts during spring training. The former Cy Young award winner saw his numbers decline considerably a season ago, but with some better luck on balls in play and a reduction in his home-run rate (closer to what he provided in 2014 and 2015), it's not unrealistic to expect him to turn in a sub-4.00 ERA in 2017.

Cobb threw live batting practice Monday and was happy with the session, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports. "There weren't too many hitters, I had a lot of injured guys in my group who were kind of just tracking," Cobb said. "I had Brad Miller, who was swinging, and he swung often, thankfully [which allowed Cobb to see how a hitter reacted to his pitches]. But it was good."

The 29-year-old righty struggled and in five starts at the big league level last season after missing the entirety of the 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery. Cobb was 1-2 with a mammoth 8.59 ERA and 1.77 WHIP over 22 innings in five starts at the tail end of the season, and enters spring training looking to solidify a spot in the Rays starting rotation. Considering his difficult stretch in 2016, Cobb is looking forward to getting a fresh start this spring and getting some live game action in. "You go from flat-ground work in mid-January, progress up to the bullpens, and live BP. The games. Just another step in that direction. I was happy to get that under my belt."

Eovaldi (elbow) reported no setbacks a day after playing catch for the first time following Tommy John surgery, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 27-year-old righty, who is expected to miss the entire 2017 campaign, took a small but important step in the long road to recovery with the initial throwing session. The Rays plan to keep him on a schedule of every-other-day catch regimen for the time being.

Kluber, who will be on a strict limit this spring, may not be ready to start on Opening Day, Tom Withers of the Associated Press reports.

Manager Terry Francona isn't ready to name his ace the Opening Day starter, and said the club is "slowing" the right-hander down early in camp. "If he's not ready for Game 1, we can adjust," Francona added. Although it's unclear how serious Francona is -- and it's extremely hard to imagine Kluber won't take the hill on Opening Day -- it's not difficult to read between the lines on the manager's message. Playoffs included, Kluber has logged more than 700 innings over the last three years, and Francona is making it clear that he'll protect Kluber's arm this season. He's still an elite fantasy option, but his value could take a slight hit if Kluber won't be guaranteed another 215-plus innings and multiple opportunities to notch complete games (he's had 10 over the last three years).

Miley says he's regained his command and believes a full spring training with the Orioles will allow him to have more success with the team in 2017, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

After spending half of 2016 searching for a lefty, the O's landed Miley in a trade with the Mariners. He went 2-5 with a 6.17 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 11 starts with his newest club, but finished the campaign strong. Miley allowed just four runs over his last 18.2 innings while striking out 23 and only issuing two walks. "I didn't have very good command," he said. "My last few starts, I started commanding the baseball a little bit better and the results were more what I wanted. Command's a big thing." The 30-year-old played his first four seasons in Arizona, before moving through three organizations over the past two years. Miley said he feels settled and able to focus now on moving forward with a team that has confidence in him.

Nuno was traded to the Orioles on Sunday.

Baltimore sent Ryan Moseley, a 22-year-old pitching prospect, to the Dodgers in exchange for Nuno. Nuno has experience as a starter, but has been used more frequently as a reliever over the last two seasons. He's consistently demonstrated fantastic control, as he has a career walk rate of 6.1 percent and posted a mark of 4.5 percent in 2016. However, with a career K-rate of 19.5 percent, prospective owners shouldn't expect much in terms of strikeouts this coming season.

Darvish is planning to re-incorporate the split-finger fastball into his pitching repertoire, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

He used the pitch intermittently before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2015 and pitching coach Doug Brocail asked him not to incorporate it last season. Darvish had a down year in 2016, posting a career-worst 3.41 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 17 starts. The repertoire change may not induce a miracle, but it provides another weapon for the Rangers ace.

Rodriguez (knee) is participating in pitching activities, but being held back from fielding drills, Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports.

Rodriguez threw his first bullpen session Wednesday since sustaining a minor injury during winter league action. He's expected to pitch for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, but clearly isn't back to full strength as of Saturday.

Rodon threw Friday for the first time since arriving to spring training, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The White Sox have adopted a very conservative plan for Rodon, who is at least a week away from his first bullpen session. There will be minimal Cactus League action as the left-hander will get a lot of his work in on the backfields of camp. Rodon, who threw 165 innings last season, is expected to carry a heavier load in 2017.

McCullers (elbow) is experimenting with two new changeup grips this spring, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. The right-hander said he wants to add "a little bit of a different wrinkle."

The changeup is the second wrinkle the 23-year-old is incorporating during spring training; we learned earlier this week that he's introducing a more compact arm action. McCullers has been mostly a fastball/curveball pitcher, but wants to add a little more "pitchability" to his game following a season in which he allowed more baserunners (1.54 WHIP). Despite the uptick in walks and hits in 2016, McCullers was able to limit damage, retaining the same 3.22 ERA that he had the previous season. Adding a third pitch along with his mid-90s fastball and wipeout curve could help reduce baserunners and prevent runs.