MLB Player News

Indians starter Justin Masterson endured a tough outing as he gave up a pair of home runs Sunday against the Reds in Cactus League play. Masterson got behind early on as he allowed a three-run blast to Xavier Paul and a two-run shot to Todd Frazier in the opening frame. He settled down and tossed three scoreless innings before his day was done. Masterson yielded five runs on four hits in four innings of work. He also struck out six and walked two in a 7-7 tie. Masterson, who is tabbed for opening day, has a 6.39 ERA through four Cactus League starts.

Rangers starter Martin Perez, who has a fractured left ulna, is not expected to resume throwing for approximately four weeks, reports ESPN Sunday. 

Perez, the team's top pitching prospect, is expected to be out for at least two months after he suffered a non-displaced fracture of his left ulna when he was struck by a line drive during a Cactus League game.

Tampa Bay Rays starter Alex Cobb had a so-so start on Sunday in a Grapefruit League outing against the Red Sox. Cobb didn't have much chance in a game that saw Jon Lester go six perfect innings, but the Rays starter wasn't so sharp. 

Cobb allowed four runs -- three earned -- on six hits and a walk over 5 1/3 innings before being removed in favor of Juan Sandoval. Cobb was hurt by two Will Middlebrooks doubles and Jonny Gomes cashed in all the runs scored against him. 

The good news for Cobb is that even with his three earned runs allowed, his spring ERA remains solid at 2.33. He had given up just two runs over 14 innings with 18 strikeouts over his first four Grapefruit appearances. 

Cobb, 25, went 11-9 with a 4.03 ERA over 23 starts for the Rays last year. He struck out 106 over 136 1/3 innings with a solid 1.247 WHIP. He has a rotation spot locked up heading into the regular season. 

Tigers rotation candidate Drew Smyly, who continues to be locked in competition with Rick Porcello for the No. 5 spot in the rotation for manager Jim Leyland, had a chance to shine on Sunday in a Grapefruit League start against the Nationals. 

Instead, Smyly fizzled. The starter surrendered a solo homer to Tyler Moore -- one of two homers Moore hit on the day -- in the fourth inning as he gave up four runs in that frame. Overall, Smyly allowed five earned runs on seven hits and a walk and lasted four innings. He struck out five batters and his ERA on the spring is now at 3.86. 

Smyly had allowed just thre earned runs over his first 15 1/3 innings this spring before the four-run fourth on Sunday. He now has 12 Ks over 16 1/3 innings on the spring. Porcello, who has been mentioned in trade rumors, has pitched to a 2.50 ERA this spring over 18 innings with 18 strikeouts. 

Orioles starter Jason Hammel couldn't finish what started off as a solid outing on Sunday in a Grapefruit League start against the Phillies. Hammel was given an early lead and went nine up and nine down against the Phillies until hiccuping in the third inning.

Hammel gave up a run apiece in the third and fourth innings and then surrendered a two-run homer to Freddy Galvis in the fifth before leaving the game in favor of Tommy Hunter, who got the final out in the fifth. Hammel finished with 4 2/3 innings as he allowed four runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out three and his spring ERA is now at 5.00.

The possible opening day starter for the Orioles, Hammel has given up five runs this spring over nine innings with nine Ks. He went 8-6 last year with a 3.43 ERA for Baltimore over 20 starts and is completely over his knee injury.

Minnesota starting pitcher Vance Worley took the mound for a Grapefruit League start against Baltimore on Sunday. Things didn't go his way. 

Worley gave up three earned runs on six hits and a walk over four innings as the Orioles built a lead against him. Worley surrendered a solo homer to J.J. Hardy in the fourth inning as he was knocked around a bit. He struck out two batters in the outing and his Grapefruit ERA is now at 6.00. 

Worley, projected to possibly be the opening day starter for the Twins, has now surrendered eight earned runs this spring over 12 innings with six Ks. He was 6-9 over 23 starts with a 4.20 ERA for the Phillies last year. 

The Astros announced Sunday they reassigned Sergio Escalona, C.J. Fick, Che-Hsuan Lin, Carlos Perez, Josh Zeid, Paul Clemens, Robbie Grossman, Dallas Keuchel, Jimmy Paredes and Jonathan Villar to minor-league camp.

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is competing for the final spot in the rotation this spring and put together a solid showing in Saturday's Cactus League game against the Giants. He allowed a run on two hits over five innings. Carrasco also struck out five without walking a batter. The right-hander has a 5.54 ERA through four spring outings with a 10-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 13 innings pitched. 

White Sox manager Robin Ventura announced Saturday that Chris Sale will start opening day against the Brewers.

Sale made his third start of the Cactus League on Saturday against the A's. He allowed five runs on seven hits over five-plus innings. The left-hander allowed three runs in the second and a run in the third. In the sixth, Sale surrendered a solo homer to Josh Donaldson. Sale also struck out three and walked two as his spring ERA increased from 1.23 to 4.38.

After being hailed as a superstar for several years in Japan, Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish had to acclimate himself to several different aspects of American life and baseball during his first MLB campaign. Now entering his second season with Texas, the hard-throwing righty has adjusted to the rigors of preparing for his outings and looks to build off his strong finish from last year in which he compiled a 3-0 record and 2.21 ERA over his last five starts. Darvish also piled up 39 strikeouts and just seven walks over 36 2/3 innings during that five-game stretch.

"(He's) understanding what’s expected of him, mainly understanding what’s expected of himself, rather than what other people are expecting of him," manager Ron Washington told ESPN.com on Friday. "He knows the routine that we go through now, he’s been through it one time and he’s come in and he has a different look in his eyes. He’s more relaxed, he’s just going about his business, going through the process of just trying to make certain that he’s ready when the opening bell rings."