MLB Player News

Indians pitcher Justin Masterson still hasn't heard back from the team regarding the contract proposals he made a few weeks ago, CBSSports.com baseball insider Jon Heyman reports.

The proposals that Masterson put forth "are said to be pretty reasonable (or even very reasonable, according to one unbiased party familiar with the offers)." However, Masterson was still waiting for a response from the team as of Tuesday afternoon. The sides still have hope that a deal will be struck before the regular season starts.

White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana surrendered nine earned runs on seven hits and two walks while failing to record an out in his team's 16-6 loss to the A's Tuesday.

Quintana had been rocked for seven runs over three innings previous start, and he failed to improve Tuesday as his spring ERA shot up to 30.00. He's struck out four and walked seven in six innings.

Rangers pitcher Martin Perez gave up five earned runs on five hits and one walk in five innings while striking out three in his team's 9-3 loss to the Brewers Tuesday.

Perez retired the first nine batters of the game in order before allowing a leadoff double in the fourth, with the runner coming around to score on consecutive groundouts. He then gave up four runs in the fifth, with three coming on a Carlos Gomez home run, before retiring the final two batters he faced. Perez owns a 6.23 ERA and 8:8 K:BB ratio in 13 innings this spring.

Rays manager Joe Maddon said he expects to make a decision on the team's fifth starting pitcher after one more turn through the spring rotation, per The Tampa Tribune.

Cesar Ramos will start Thursday and he will be followed by Jake Odorizzi in relief. Erik Bedard will then start Friday's spring game.

Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman might have punched his ticket to the minors to begin the season after the horrendous performance he turned in Tuesday against the Tigers. Pitching in relief, Stroman allowed seven runs on six hits and one walk, while striking out one in one-third of an inning.

Stroman took the hill to begin the fifth inning, but it would be a performance he would want to forget. The first six batters in the inning reached base, but the big hit came off the bat of Don Kelly, who had a grand slam. Stroman would face eight batters before being pulled from the game.

Stroman's ERA jumped from 8.00 to 14.46 in his fourth spring appearance (one start). He's allowed at least two runs in each of his four appearances.

Tigers starting pitcher Drew Smyly rebounded from his worst start of the spring to have arguably his best outing of the spring Tuesday against the Blue Jays. Smyly, who allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings last time out, tossed five scoreless innings Tuesday.

He allowed two hits and one walk, while striking out three. He was able to lower his ERA from 4.76 to 3.31. Smyly has issued five walks and has 11 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings.

Mariners starting pitcher Taijuan Walker (shoulder) will throw a 50-pitch bullpen session Wednesday, which will include breaking pitches. He will then progress to live batting practice or a simulated game, if all goes well.

Astros starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel had been outstanding through his first three spring starts while trying to secure a spot in the team's rotation. That all changed in his fourth spring start Tuesday against the Marlins.

The Marlins roughed up the left-handed hurler for seven runs on 13 hits in four innings. Miami did all the damage in the first two innings. Giancarlo Stanton parked a three-run homer in the first inning. The Marlins then came back for four more runs in the second inning, which included a bases-clearing double from Casey McGehee.

Keuchel, who had tossed nine scoreless innings to start spring training, saw his ERA rise to 4.85. He struck out one batter Tuesday and has five strikeouts in 13 innings.

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber surrendered three earned runs on seven hits and two walks in 4 1/ 3 innings and struck out five in his team's 5-4 loss to the Reds Monday.

While Kluber's spring ERA rose to 5.02 in the loss, he has done an excellent job of flashing elite command this spring, as he has racked up 15 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings, with Monday's two free passes being the first he's recorded. He's looking for a big followup to last year's breakout season.

Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb threw 86 pitches over 6 2/3 innings during a simulated game against minor leaguers Monday, per the Tampa Bay Times. Cobb was happy with his outing despite windy conditions.

"It turned out to be a really good day," Cobb said. "All things considered everything worked out really well."