MLB Player News

Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson posted his strongest outing of spring training Sunday, going four scoreless innings against the Cardinals. Gibson seemed to breeze through his outing, but he thought it was more of a labor, reports MLB.com.

"I wouldn't call [those innings] easy," Gibson said. "It was a little different with the heat out there, a little different getting through the third and fourth innings. I made it a little harder on myself than I should have with getting behind some hitters."

Gibson is working to improve all three of his pitches as the season approaches.

"The slider was probably about as good [today] as it's been in my three starts, so I was happy with that," Gibson said. "I've been trying to work on my curveball, and sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not. It's still pretty inconsistent but it's getting better as well. My changeup's been as I would hope it'd be against righties. … as long as I've got a good feel with it and I'm executing it down, I think it'll be a good pitch for me."

Rays manager Kevin Cash acknowledged Sunday that pitcher Drew Smyly (shoulder) is unlikely to be ready for the start of the season even if his rehab goes well, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Smyly is dealing with left shoulder tendinitis, and it was reported Monday that the team was planning a contingency in case he missed the beginning of the regular season. He played catch on Sunday, throwing 30 times from a distance of 60-to-70 feet, as he continued the progression of his rehab.

Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker threw three scoreless innings Saturday, pushing his streak to eight innings in three spring training appearances. Walker could earn the final spot in the Mariners' starting rotation if he is able to keep this pace up, reports MLB.com.

"He showed a lot of poise when we made a mistake there and put him behind the eight-ball," said manager Lloyd McClendon. "He kept pitching, pounded the zone and did a nice job. I think he's come a long way from September of last year. He's grown quite a bit."

McClendon is hoping Walker can provide depth to the rotation and bullpen that was not there last year.

"You look at last year, we didn't have that," McClendon said. "We were a mess leaving Spring Training. It's nice to have that depth and knock on wood it will stay that way."

Twins starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco worked past a minor hiccup and was able to put together three solid innings of work Saturday against the Cardinals.

Randal Grichuk took him deep for a solo home run to left-center field in the second inning for his only blemish of the day. He allowed one run on four hits (three singles) and one walk while striking out two over three innings of work. He tossed 49 pitches, 29 of which were called strikes.

"It was fine," Nolasco said, per MLB.com. "Felt good the whole time. Had to make some pitches. They're always a tough team to pitch against. They're always grinding at-bats. It was a good test. Just work on things."

Chris Sale has been out for the last week with an avulsion fracture in his right foot. 

The injury is supposed to keep him off the field for the White Sox for at least another two weeks, but MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports that Sale is moving around much better than before. He was able to throw lightly off a mound on Saturday for the first time since suffering the injury. 

Rays pitcher Drew Smyly has made progress in his return from shoulder tendinitis, according to a report by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Manager Kevin Cash said that Smyly is feling better and is scheduled to play catch on Sunday. 

Carlos Carrasco was scratched from Saturday's start for the Indians. The team announced that the righthander is suffering from an illness. 

Bruce Chen will start in Carrasco's place. 

Carrasco has allowed one run and two hits in three innings this spring. 

The Blue Jays are looking for another lefthander for their bullpen, as Marcus Stroman's season-ending injury has created a ripple effect throughout the pitching staff.

Stroman's vacancy in the starting rotation will be filled by Aaron Sanchez, who was expected to share closing duties with Brett Cecil. 

That means Cecil can't help with relief in the middle innings, as was the original plan when he was slated as a co-closer. Manager John Gibbons told MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm that it would be "ideal" to find another southpaw to help with the mid-innings.

Jeff Francis , signed by the team during the offseason, is a candidate. The 33-year-old posted a 5.85 ERA over 20 innings with three teams last year.

"He's a different type pitcher now, but I could see a place on this team for him. ... He's going to come out and throw strikes, and that's so valuable coming out of the bullpen," Gibbons said. "You don't want to bring in guys trying to find the strike zone. He can be tough on lefties, but he can also get righties out. I think, too, coming out of the bullpen in that role, that can extend his career another four or five years. He's a great competitor."

Colt Hynes, who went 1-4 with a 3.67 for two Triple-A teams last year, is also a candidate for the spot. 

Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish will undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and miss the 2015 season, the team announced Friday in a press release. He will have the surgery Tuesday, which will be performed by Dr. James Andrews.

Darvish left his first spring start March 5 against the Royals after one inning with tightness in his right triceps. An MRI and examination by Dr. Keith Meister indicated Darvish had a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Darvish was then examined in New York on March 10 by Dr. David Altchek, who agreed with Dr. Meister’s recommendation for surgery. The Rangers then sent Darvish's MRIs to Dr. Andrews for a third opinion.

The 28-year-old Darvish was an All-Star in each of his first three seasons in the majors. He is 39-25 with a 3.27 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over 83 MLB starts. He also has 680 strikeouts in 545 1/3 innings.

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander put in another solid performance in Wednesday's spring-training game against the Phillies, allowing just one hit in three innings of work in a 6-5 loss. 

Verlander pitched three innings and struck out one batter. Verlander only faced nine batters as Odubel Herrera was picked off at second after hitting a double. Verlander's fastball was hitting in the 91-93 mph range. 

"I was pretty pleased again," Verlander said, via MLB.com. "I didn't throw quite as many curveballs. I don't really know too much about that today. I know the ones I did throw, I had some pretty good success on it. Other than that, it went pretty well. Threw a couple good changeups again. Slider was horrible, so I have some work to do."

Twenty-one of Verlander's 28 pitches went for strikes.