MLB Player News

Gray was named as the A's Opening Day Starter on Wednesday, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Manager Bob Melvin confirmed Wednesday that Gray would be taking the hill on Opening Day for the third consecutive season when the A's begin their 2016 campaign against the White Sox. Gray has not allowed a run in his other two Opening Day starts.

Darvish (elbow) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session with breaking pitches from a normal distance, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Darkish just began throwing breaking balls last Friday, and it appears that he is holding up fine in his rehab process. He's still on track for a mid-May return to the Texas rotation.

The swelling in Rodriguez's dislocated kneecap has "minimized" but he is not yet cleared to throw off a mound, ESPN's Scott Lauber reports.

It sounds like he is progressing well, but prospective owners will want to continue to follow the situation to make sure he can return to the mound in time to get enough work in to be ready for the start of the season. A healthy Rodriguez makes for a cheap breakout candidate, as he has the stuff and physical characteristics to make it as a No. 3 starter.

Manager Bob Melvin said that Alvarez (shoulder) looked good in his 25-pitch bullpen session Tuesday, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

This is an excellent development for the right-hander, as this opens the door for him to face live hitters in the near future. As long as he continues to progress steadily while looking and feeling good, there's a good chance that he could get into the Oakland rotation by sometime in May.

Eovaldi (groin) is scheduled to make his spring debut Thursday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

A bout of groin tightness delayed Eovaldi slightly, but any lingering concern will likely be put to rest with a successful Grapefruit League debut. The hard-throwing right-hander struggled in the ratio categories last season, but his FIP has hovered around 3.50 the past three years, and further development of his changeup should help him improve against lefties in 2016.

Kopech fractured his right hand (on his throwing arm) after engaging in an altercation with a teammate recently, WEEI's Rob Bradford reports.

The organization is handling the issue internally while continuing to work through a medical plan. This is not the first time Kopech's makeup has popped up as possibly suspect, as he served a 50-game suspension last year for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. He is Boston's second-best pitching prospect behind Anderson Espinoza, but it's not hard to find reasons to discount him for off-the-field issues. Continue to monitor his status for an update on his timetable to return to the mound.

Paxton, who is competing for the fifth spot in the rotation, struggled Monday as he allowed four runs and seven hits in three innings with one strikeout and no walks.

Paxton threw 25 pitches in the first inning but needed only seven to get out of the second inning. He threw 47 total, 33 for strikes. He's battling Nate Karns for the last rotation job. Paxton's fastball was 90-92 mph, but he said he intentionally did not crank it up his usual mid-90s because it is early in spring training.

Rodriguez (knee) experienced some minor cramping in his calf during his throwing session Monday, ESPN Boston reports.

Rodriguez was able to finish his session, so this may not be a big deal. What is a big deal, however, is that there's still swelling in the knee and Rodriguez has not yet progressed to throwing off a mound. Manager John Farrell estimates the left-hander has a 10-day window to progress to the point of making his first spring start if he's going to be ready for Opening Day.

Rosenbaum was reassigned to minor league camp Monday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

This comes as no surprise, as the highest level the southpaw reached last season was Double-A. He'll head back to the minors to work on transitioning from being a starter to being a reliever.

Manager John Farrell said that it'll be tough for Rodriguez (knee) to start the season on time if he doesn't pitch in a game in the next 10 days, Scott Lauber of ESPN reports.

Rodriguez progressed to throwing off flat ground Saturday, but he hasn't thrown off a mound yet. The left-hander appears to be in line for a rotation spot after pitching well in 21 starts with the Red Sox last season, but Opening Day could be in jeopardy for him if this knee issue continues to linger. He's already a bit behind the rest of the pitchers, and with plenty of other options in the Red Sox system, it is important for the southpaw to get back to action as soon as possible.