MLB Player News

Red Sox starting pitcher Wade Miley avoided arbitration by agreeing to a three-year, $19.25 million contract, Miley's agents -- O'Connell Sports Management -- announced Thursday. Miley's contract covers all three years of arbitration and includes an option for the 2018 season.

Miley will receive a $500,000 signing bonus. His salary in 2015 will be $3.5 million, $6 million in 2016 and $8.75 million in 2017. His 2018 option is for $12 million, which includes a $500,000 buyout, according to ESPN.

The Red Sox acquired Miley in a December trade with the Diamondbacks. He comes to the AL with a 38-35 record and 3.79 ERA over four MLB seasons. He was an All-Star in 2012.

Taijuan Walker will head to camp this spring competing with Roenis Elias and Erasmo Ramirez for the final spot in the Mariners' rotation. Walker is looking forward to battling for a spot in the rotation, per MLB.com.

"I feel like since I've been drafted, there's always been a lot of depth," Walker said. "We've had a lot of really good arms every year. It's fun competition. You want to go out there and do your best. Pitching against other guys and fighting for that spot brings out the best in everyone."

Walker arrived to camp last spring dealing with a sore shoulder, which set him back. However, the Mariners believe the highly touted prospect will be in better shape this spring.

"The thing about Taijuan is he's still growing," trainer Rick Griffin said. "He's still very young. When he lifts weights, he gets big very quickly and he learned that last year. He didn't do anything wrong. His body type is just such that when he lifts weights, he gets big quickly. So we completely changed his routine this offseason.

"He's doing things that basically center around his core, his legs and his cardio. He's not doing a lot of lifting for his upper body other than things he needs to do to maintain his flexibility and his shoulder strength. We feel going into spring that he'll be a lot better off in that way."

Red Sox starting pitcher Justin Masterson went through a relatively light workout Wednesday at the team's spring complex in Florida, throwing 25 fastballs and doing some running.

However, the day was significant for Masterson because he appears to be in a much better situation healthwise as compared to this time last year, per WEEI.com.

“Nothing hurts,” he said when asked about the difference in throwing his second bullpen, compared to his initial time off the mound with the Indians last season. “I feel like I’m getting through a ball. When I came to spring last year I didn’t feel like I could get through a ball. I just figured I needed to loosen up, but it never did. Coming in right now compared to last year? It’s huge.”

After winning a career-best 14 games in 2013, Masterson struggled in 2014 with the Indians and Cardinals. It appears an offseason injury contributed heavily to Masterson's struggles last season.

“In the offseason, after I tore the oblique, I didn’t get it worked through. I didn’t get that scar tissue taken away,” Masterson said. “I didn’t strengthen the way I should have. A lot of things I didn’t do right just because it felt fine. And then it was like I was catching up the whole time, and because of the lack of rotation other stuff started working harder and then you go down that chain. The knee starts hurting a little bit. The hips aren’t working as well as they should. The arm’s not coming through. You’re like, what’s going on here? All of those things were a trickle down effect."

There are 5-6 teams still trying to trade for Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels, according to USA Today. However, no team is close to coming up with a deal the Phillies like.

CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman reported in mid-January the Padres, Red Sox, Cubs and Cardinals have expressed interest in Hamels, who finished sixth in the NL Cy Young race in 2014 (9-9, 2.46 ERA). The Dodgers and Rangers have also reportedly shown interest.

The left-hander Hamels is a three-time All-Star. He had won at least 10 games from 2007-12. He still has four years left on a seven-year, $159 million contract.

Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander said last week this is the best he's felt physically approaching the start of spring training in at least three years.

Apparently, the optimism doesn't end with Verlander. Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski indicated the Tigers are expecting big things from Verlander in 2015 after he posted a 4.54 ERA in 2014, failing to make the All-Star team for the first time in six seasons.

"Justin Verlander is as prime a pitcher as there is in the game of baseball," Dombrowski said, per the Detroit Free Press. "Last year, he was not the traditional Justin. But when you look at what he came back from with the surgery, I think he's going to go out and have a real big season for us."

The Indians will consider a multiyear extension for pitcher Corey Kluber, according to MLB.com.

General manager Mark Shapiro didn't indicate that the two sides were close to a deal, but said Kluber has all the aspects the team looks for when considering a long-term deal. "Corey represents all of the things we look for in players: dependable, reliable person, committed to his work ethic, talented." Shapiro added, "it's something we'll probably look at over the next couple of months. He has all the precursors that we would look for to enter into a multiyear agreement."

The 28-year-old Kluber is set to make the league-minimum next season, and won't be available for arbitration until 2016. He's under team control through 2018, so there's no hurry for either side to agree to a new deal. 

Kluber posted a 2.44 ERA over 235 2/3 innings last year.

Speaking publicly for the first time since he was shut down late last season with right elbow inflammation, Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish said he's feeling no ill effects now, reports MLB.com. Darvish, who's throwing off flat ground, is on track to begin throwing off a mound early next month.

"My elbow feels fine and I am able to throw on my throwing program," Darvish said, per the website.

Darvish has been working out in Texas during the offseason and said his training is "going well." General manager Jon Daniels said Darvish is "right on schedule."

"I think Darvish is very in tune with his body as much as anybody and knows how he's feeling," Daniels said. "He's very confident. Like any of these guys, until they're out there you're always going to have some reservation, but that's the worrywart in me. From all the information we have, I'm encouraged. He's basically been cleared to do just about everything."

Darvish's last start came Aug. 9 against Houston. He went 10-7 with a 3.06 ERA in 22 starts, tossing two complete games and one shutout.

Taijuan Walker, Roenis Elias and Erasmo Ramirez are the leading candidates for the fifth spot in the Mariners' starting rotation, reports the Tacoma News Tribune. "The more competition, the better," Walker told the paper.

"It brings out the best of everyone who is fighting for the spot."

Walker posted a 1.96 ERA in six outings last September after being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma.

The White Sox are willing to wait before deciding Carlos Rodon's immediate future, according to Comcast SportsNet Chicago on Saturday.

Although general manager Rick Hahn said Rodon will go through his first professional spring training as a starter, pitching coach Don Cooper indicated that the team could use a similar bullpen-to-rotation blueprint to groom Rodon down the road, which Chicago used for previous pitchers like Chris Sale and Mark Buehrle.

"We didn't draft this guy third in the nation to be a reliever," Cooper said. "At some point he's going to be a starter. We haven't discussed when is that point. Right now he's going to come to spring training, show us what he can do and he's going to give us all the information we need.

"Chris Sale, Mark Buehrle, they started their careers in relief. Buehrle's one of the top pitchers over the last 15 years in White Sox history and Sale is quickly rising up those ranks."

After being drafted No. 3 overall in June, the left-hander worked his way from the Arizona League to Triple-A Charlotte in limited minor league action. He told the Chicago Tribune he's ready for whatever comes his way.

"I'm just focusing on getting better," Rodon said. "They tell me what to do, I show up and I pitch. That's how I look at it."

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber told the Akron Beacon Journal Thursday night after being named professional athlete of the year in Cleveland that he's more focused on bringing home a championship, not a contract extension. Kluber noted that his agents have not engaged in any contract talks.

"No, not that I know of," Kluber said. "That's not my job to worry about that, my job is to go out there and pitch. I have agents that can handle that stuff for me when the time comes. My job is to get prepared to play this season."

Kluber is under contract until after the 2018 season. He went 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA over 34 starts. He posted a 1.09 WHIP and 269:51 K:BB ratio over 235 2/3 innings, good enough for him to capture the American League CY Young award last season.

"As cool as it was to win a Cy Young, I think winning a World Series would be a lot better," Kluber said.