MLB Player News

Rays general manager Matthew Silverman confirmed that Alex Cobb will be shut down for approximately a week because of tendinitis in his right forearm, and is no longer the starter for Tampa Bay on Opening Day, per the Tampa Bay Times.

Cobb left Tuesday's Grapefruit League game with the injury after tossing three perfect innings. He will be evaluated again after at least seven days of rest, and is not expected back in games until April at the earliest per the Tampa Tribune.

Silverman would not reveal his Opening Day plans, citing that he's more focused on putting a staff together, internally and externally. Manager Kevin Cash told reporters that there's a lot of moving pieces in the rotation, but he likes what he's seen out of Nathan Karns, Burch Smith and Matt Andriese this spring, per the Tribune.

Mariners starting pitcher James Paxton vowed to reporters that he'll be ready for the start of the season, according to the Tacoma News Tribune. Paxton, who is working his way back from a forearm injury, pitched three simulated innings against minor-leaguers -- his first action of the spring.

"I felt like it was pretty good," Paxton said. "I was throwing some curveballs and cutters for strikes. I was moving the fastball around a little bit. I threw some OK change-ups…but I have some time to tighten those things up."

Manager Lloyd McClendon expects Paxton to make four Cactus League starts, starting on Sunday, according to ESPN 710 AM in Seattle. The left-hander believes that's enough for him to be ready for the start of the season.

"I'll be ready," Paxton said. "Absolutely."

The Rays confirmed that pitcher Alex Cobb has tendinitis in his right arm, and is no longer expected to make an Opening Day start, according to the team's official website on Wednesday.

Cobb departed Tuesday's Grapefruit League game with forearm tightness, and was further evaluated before he was diagnosed with tendinitis. Manager Kevin Cash told reporters that he will need at least four-to-seven days of rest before he is evaluated again, per the Tampa Bay Times.

Rays pitcher Alex Cobb has been diagnosed with tendinitis in his arm following his start Tuesday, reports The Tampa Bay Times.

Cobb left the game with tightness in his right forearm and went for an MRI. Cobb is likely to miss a few games, including possibly Opening Day.

"If it was something I was really concerned of, I probably wouldn't have thrown today at all," Cobb said. "This was something I knew about."

Pitching coach Jim Hickey feels it was mostly a precautionary move to take Cobb out Tuesday.

"At this point, any starter coming out of the game with forearm tightness is not good, so this is certainly not good," Hickey said. "But I really thought it was more precautionary than anything else on his part, which is also good because he can be stubborn and want to just go through it."

Indians Opening Day starter Corey Kluber struggled to find a rhythm in Tuesday's outing against the Reds. Kluber surrendered two solo home runs and wasn't feeling quite right on the mound, reports MLB.com.

"I was rushing to the plate a little bit," Kluber said. "Maybe it was the little extra intensity or whatnot, but I just wasn't quite staying over the rubber and giving myself time to catch up. The last inning, I made that adjustment and obviously the results were there."

Kluber finished with four innings pitched, allowing three runs and four strikeouts.

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander surrendered four earned runs on five hits and one walk in four innings while striking out three and serving up two home runs in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Nationals.

Verlander said after the outing that he dealt issues with his slider in the loss, MLive.com reports.

"Besides the misplaced fastball, the only thing they really hit was my slider because it was horrible," Verlander said. "I just kept throwing it to get a feel for it."

Verlander hadn't been charged with a run in spring training since 2013. He had tossed five scoreless innings in two previous outings this spring before struggling Tuesday.

Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Tuesday, according to the Star-Telegram. The procedure was done by Dr. James Andrews in Gulf Breeze, Fla.

Darvish missed the final weeks of the 2014 season due to elbow inflammation, and experienced tightness in his right triceps on March 5 before an MRI revealed a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. After multiple options from different doctors, Darvish and the Rangers opted for surgery, ending his 2015 season.

Darvish went 10-7 with a 3.06 ERA in 22 starts, tossing two complete games and one shutout last season. He is 39-25 with a 3.27 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP and 680:218 K:BB ratio over 83 MLB starts (545 1/3 innings).

Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb turned in three perfect innings but was forced out of Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against Philadelphia with right forearm tightness, according to the Tampa Tribune.

"Felt like I got my work in pretty good," Cobb said, per MLB.com. "I know I didn't get my pitch count up, but I was only going four regardless. So I just thought it would be best, precautionary, to kind of shut it down after three."

Cobb struck out three and did not issue a walk in his outing. Mike Montgomery took over for him to start the fourth inning. He told reporters his forearm was tight before the game, and told pitching coach Jim Hickey he was done after three frames. He added that he'll know more on how his forearm feels the next day when the Rays further evaluate his injury. The right-hander has a 3.68 ERA this spring.

Mariners starting pitcher James Paxton is scheduled to take part in a simulated game on Tuesday, per the Tacoma News Tribune. Paxton, who is working his way back from a forearm injury, is scheduled to log three innings of 45 pitches. Tom Wilhelmsen and Fernando Rodney are also expected to make an appearance in the simulated game.

Paxton vowed that he'll be ready for the start of the regular season, per the Tribune.

Astros starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel has been named the Opening Day starter on April 6 against Cleveland, per the team's official website.

"He does everything that you would want in a guy you're going to hand the ball to. He's coming off a great season," manager A.J. Hinch said, per the Houston Chronicle.

Keuchel gets the nod after leading the club in victories in 2014, posting a 12-9 record with 2.93 ERA over 200 innings. He also posted a career best five complete games.