MLB Player News

Milone appears to be a lock for a rotation spot thanks to a strong spring, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Milone has a 2.40 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 15 innings so far this spring training, which is apparently enough to convince Paul Molitor he is worthy of a rotation spot. The final rotation spot is set to to be a battle between Tyler Duffey and Ricky Nolasco, who both pitch on Monday, Bollinger also reports.

Gausman (shoulder) has a chance to be ready to start April 10 against the Rays, MLB Network's Jon Heyman reports.

He could start the year on the DL with a backdating of March 25, which would allow him to slot into the O's rotation without the team having to add another starter to the mix, since they have an off day on Apr. 5. Heyman said it will be a close call, so owners should be prepared for Gausman to have to wait a turn or two before joining the rotation.

Rodriguez (knee) had a successful bullpen session Wednesday, the Boston Herald reports.

Rodriguez is scheduled to throw another bullpen session Saturday, one in which he may face live batters. The lefty has checked off some rehab boxes, but he still needs to face hitters, then pitch in a game situation, and build up his pitch count. We're targeting late April for his return. In the meantime, it's looking like Steven Wright will fill in for him in Boston's rotation.

The White Sox reassigned Lollis to minor league camp Thursday, the Chicago Tribune reports.

He had a less-than-stellar Cactus League showing in his first White Sox camp, allowing two home runs (and six runs overall) in his six innings of work. He should serve as bullpen depth at Double-A Birmingham or Triple-A Charlotte.

Milone gave up two runs over six innings with one strikeout and one walk in Thursday's spring training win over Miami. He has a 2.40 ERA this spring and appears set to win one of the final two spots in the rotation, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Tyler Duffey's struggled this spring have opened competition for the final two spots along with Ricky Nolasco. It looks like Milone is in the best position of the three and Duffey may begin the season in the minors.

Nolasco could win a spot in the rotation along with Tommy Milone as Tyler Duffey continues to struggle this spring, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Nolasco threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in Wednesday's spring training win over Tampa Bay.

Nolasco faced a lineup of mostly players set to be in the minor leagues, but was still impressive and lowered his spring ERA to 4.05 with a strong 14:5 K:BB ratio in 13.1 innings. Duffey has a 6.48 ERA in the spring and Paul Molitor indicated he may not be set for the rotation. Nolasco is likely behind Milone for the fifth starter battle, but both could make the rotation if Duffey begins the season at Triple-A.

Stroman will start Opening Day against the Rays, Sportsnet.ca reports.

Manager John Gibbons made the announcement Wednesday, tabbing the 24-year-old to start Apr. 3 opposite Chris Archer. Stroman could end up starting the team's home opener as well, depending on the status of Marco Estrada (back). He will be the Blue Jays' fifth Opening Day starter in seven years.

McCullers (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The team has already confirmed that McCullers will begin the season on the DL due to the shoulder injury. He remains without a set timetable for a return to action, but a timetable should start to take shape as the right-hander ramps up toward a rehab assignment. Mike Fiers is expected to fill McCullers' rotation spot to open the season.

Manager Buck Showalter said Wednesday that Bundy could be in consideration for a spot in the rotation later in the season if he logs 30-to-40 innings out of the bullpen without incident, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports.

The former top-prospect will start the year in Baltimore's bullpen in order to remain on the 25-man roster and stay under team control, but Showalter hinted Wednesday that a relief role may not be permanent. Bundy has put together a string of quality outings this spring, and with Baltimore's extremely thin starting staff, he could land a spot in the rotation later on in the season. The 30-to-40 inning threshold likely means that Bundy wouldn't join the rotation until the second half of the season, but his progress out of the bullpen will be something to monitor throughout the spring and early summer.

Hamels was announced as the Rangers' Opening Day starter Wednesday.

With Yu Darvish sidelined for at least the first month of the season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, Hamels was an obvious choice to take the mound on Opening Day for the Rangers. Hamels had a strong second half of the season with the Rangers last season, posting a 3.66 ERA to go with 78 strikeouts against 23 walks in 83.2 innings of work. He'll square off against Seattle's Felix Hernandez on Opening Day.