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 03/14/2015 MLB Note - Chicago White Sox Robertson, David
RHP David Robertson struggled badly in his second appearance of
spring training. In two-thirds of an inning against San Francisco,
the new White Sox closer allowed two runs on three hits, a walk and
a hit batsman. His spring ERA inflated to 10.80.
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MLB Note - Chicago White Sox Quintana, Jose
LHP Jose Quintana continued his stellar spring with 2 2/3 scoreless
innings on Friday against the Colorado Rockies. Quintana has walked
none and struck out eight in three starts this spring.
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MLB Note - Minnesota Twins Perkins, Glen
LHP Glen Perkins played catch Friday and reported no further issues.
Perkins has missed most of spring training with an oblique strain.
He will throw a bullpen session on Saturday.
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MLB Note - Minnesota Twins Hamburger, Mark
RHP Mark Hamburger has thrown five scoreless innings this spring,
allowing one hit in three appearances. Despite not having a spot on
the 40-man roster, manager Paul Molitor told MLB.com Hamburger has a
shot at earning a roster spot. "I have to say he's in the race,"
Molitor said. "He's had three outings, and he's been effective. He's
different. He has different release points and pitches. He's a
confident young man to put himself in this position. We're somewhat
open-minded to that competition, and I think it would be foolish not
to give people looks throughout the spring."
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MLB Note - Minnesota Twins Polanco, Jorge
INF Jorge Polanco has had an impressive spring, hitting two home
runs and playing better defense. He isn't likely to come north with
the major league club, but could be an early call-up if injury
permits it. Polanco made his major league debut last summer, going
2-for-6 with a double and a triple in an abbreviated stint with the
Twins.
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MLB Note - Kansas City Royals Hochevar, Luke
RHP Luke Hochevar pitched a scoreless inning against the Indians on
March 12 in his March debut. Hochevar had not pitched since last
March before requiring season-ending elbow surgery. "I stepped on
the gas pretty good," Hochevar said. "I had no apprehensions about
anything. I didn't feel anything in my elbow." The Royals will take
it slow with Hochevar, giving him three to four days before pitching
him again. He could start the season rehabbing in the minors, but
likely not for too long.
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MLB Note - Kansas City Royals Ventura, Yordano
RHP Yordano Ventura pitched three scoreless innings Wednesday
against the Padres, permitting four hits and striking out three. He
is the likely starter for the April 6 opener against the White Sox,
but manager Ned Yost has not made it official yet.
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MLB Note - Kansas City Royals Rios, Alex
RF Alex Rios is hitting .368 with a Cactus League-leading three home
runs in seven games. He hit just four home runs last season with
Texas, which Yost said was mostly related to thumb and ankle
injuries. "The impressive thing about it he was on a team that was
in last place and he continued to get after it every single day even
though he was hurt," Yost said. "That shows you the type of player
he is."
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MLB Note - Kansas City Royals Gordon, Alex
LF Alex Gordon, who had right wrist surgery in late December, began
taking hacks in batting practice. The plan is to play Gordon in
minor league games near the end of next weeks, where the club can
control his at-bats more easily before breaking him into Cactus
League games.
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MLB Note - Kansas City Royals Collins, Tim
LHP Tim Collins had season-ending reconstructive elbow surgery March
11. Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery in Florida. That could
open a spot for a left-handed reliever.
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MLB Note - Detroit Tigers Greene, Shane
RHP Shane Greene rebounded from a rough first outing with Detroit to
toss three perfect innings March 13 in his second start of spring
training. "Anybody in this locker room that tells you they're OK
with failing, they're lying," Greene said of the difference between
the starts. "I expect the best out of myself, and when I don't do
that, it's a little frustrating." Greene, acquired from the New York
Yankees as part of a three-team winter trade, allowed six hits and
three runs in his first two innings of the spring. He struck out two
in his second game and only two of the outs he recorded reached the
outfield. He needed just 32 pitches for the three innings. "You've
just got to keep competing," he said. "We're getting further into
spring training, so I'm getting to know the guys a little better, so
that's definitely a bit more comforting."
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MLB Note - Cleveland Indians Moss, Brandon
OF Brandon Moss didn't waste much time in proving that he's put his
offseason hip surgery behind him. In his first two spring training
games, Moss was 3-for-6 with a triple and two home runs. Barring any
setbacks, Moss, who underwent surgery last October to repair a torn
labrum in his right hip, is expected to be the opening day right
fielder.
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MLB Note - Cleveland Indians Floyd, Gavin
RHP Gavin Floyd will be sidelined "for the foreseeable future" after
being diagnosed with a fractured right elbow. Floyd, who missed most
of the 2013 season due to Tommy John surgery and most of the 2014
season with a fractured elbow, suffered a re-fracture of the elbow
this year. The injury creates another opening in the starting
rotation. The leading candidates for the two openings in the
rotation are RHP Danny Salazar, LHP T.J. House, RHP Zach McAllister,
RHP Josh Tomlin, and veteran LHP Bruce Chen.
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MLB Note - Cleveland Indians Carrasco, Carlos
RHP Carlos Carrasco, coming off a dominating second half of the 2014
season, is a much more confident pitcher this spring, according to
manager Terry Francona. "He's real comfortable in his skin, and much
more confident," said Francona. "He throws 97-98, with a good
changeup and breaking ball. I'd be confident, too."
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MLB Note - Detroit Tigers Rondon, Bruce
RHP Bruce Rondon, scarcely a year away from Tommy John surgery,
reached 100 mph March 12 with the third pitch he threw in his first
exhibition game. "No big deal," teammate RHP Justiin Verlander said.
"Just come back from Tommy John pumping 100." Rondon gave up a
two-out double in his scoreless inning, getting two flyouts and a
groundout. Nine of his 15 pitches were for strikes. "I thought he
threw the ball great," pitching coach Jeff Jones said. "His velocity
was good, he threw a couple of good change-ups. His slider was just
OK. Usually the breaking ball is the last one to come. I was very
happy with him. He was very aggressive and that's what we were
hoping for." "I was more excited to hear he feels fine (March 13),"
manager Brad Ausmus said. Rondon was given two days off to get ready
for his next appearance.
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MLB Note - Detroit Tigers Gose, Anthony
CF Anthony Gose, acquired from Toronto during the offseason to fill
a defensive void in center, has been right around .500 through
exhibition games of March 13. Gose hit in the .230s for the Blue
Jays, which kept him from regular duty, but Detroit felt the
left-handed hitter would respond to a change in scenery. The Tigers
aren't saying what they've altered in his swing but Gose seems to be
shorter to the ball and not trying to do more than he can. He also
hasn't seen as many breaking balls and off-speed pitches as he will
late in spring training and when the season begins.
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MLB Note - Detroit Tigers Cabrera, Miguel
1B Miguel Cabrera has been taking ground balls for more than a week
and hitting regularly, indicating he's getting close to being ready
for limited exhibition game action. "Miggy's running on the ground,"
head trainer Kevin Rand said. "Miggy did sprints (March 12), he did
agilities. He's been fielding ground balls progressively. He's
started to range (on grounders). We've been working him now on
ground balls for the last four or five days." Cabrera appears to be
on track to play when the season opens.
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MLB Note - Detroit Tigers Verlander, Justin
RHP Justin Verlander threw 28 pitches in three scoreless innings
March 12, his second scoreless outing of the spring. "I am not
really fighting myself (mechanically) right now," Verlander said. "I
was thinking about a couple of things out there, but for the most
part, the things I've been working on this spring are going pretty
well." His fastball is about the speed it was a year ago, when he
put up 20 scoreless spring innings, but his curve is sharply
improved and his changeup looks good. His slider was "horrible" in
his second outing. "I didn't throw quite as many curve balls, so I
don't really know too much about that today," he said. "But I know
the ones I did throw had good success. I got three outs with it."
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MLB Note - Detroit Tigers Ryan, Kyle
LHP Kyle Ryan, who has started in the minors but is being considered
for long relief in Detroit's bullpen, has looked sharp this spring
in his long-shot bid to make the season-opening roster. Ryan did not
allow a run in four innings through March 13. It's possible he could
open with the Tigers if RHP Bruce Rondon, coming off Tommy John
surgery, isn't quite ready when the season starts. "Jonesy (pitching
coach Jeff Jones) and I were talking during the game about the idea
of maybe keeping three left-handed pitchers being a possibility,"
manager Brad Ausmus said. "We really like what we've seen from him."
It appears only an injury will make Ryan's hope a reality. "The
three lefties would give us more length," Ausmus said. "The
right-handed guys in the mix are more one-inning guys."
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MLB Note - Detroit Tigers Fields, Daniel
OF Daniel Fields is making a solid impression this spring, the start
of a season critical to his career, hitting for both average and
power. Fields, son of Tigers' minor league hitting coordinator Bruce
Fields, was given more than $1.5 million dollars to sign out of high
school but has been stalled by injuries and problems hitting
consistently. "It's March and it's only spring training," manager
Brad Ausmus said, "but he's really driving the ball. I haven't seen
him play a ton, but he's driving it much better than a year ago."
Fields is slated to play this season with Triple-A Toledo. "Unless
Fields is going to play quite a bit, he probably needs to get some
at-bats," Ausmus said. "I've always felt as long as I could stay
healthy and stay on the field I'd be able to produce," Fields said,
"and one day get up to the major league team and help them. I just
have to stay healthy, work hard and hope I can get up there."
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MLB Note - Detroit Tigers Machado, Dixon
SS Dixon Machado, who regained prospect status with a strong hitting
season in Double-A last year, is taking advantage of limited playing
time for SS Jose Iglesias to make a positive impression this spring.
Machado, who had not hit much until last summer, will open the
season playing short for Triple-A Toledo. "We were talking in the
coach's room," manager Brad Ausmus said, "and he's probably been the
most impressive guy in camp so far. We hadn't seen much of him and
all the reports we had said he was a skinny kid who could field but
wasn't strong enough to hit. He put on weight and he's had some good
at-bats. Even his outs are hit hard. He's been good as forecasted on
defense and made some great plays."
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MLB Note - Detroit Tigers Nathan, Joe
RHP Joe Nathan was booed by Detroit fans March 12 after his first
bad showing of spring training. Nathan gave up six runs, two
unearned in two-thirds of an inning. "I didn't feel like maybe there
was as much life as I had (previously), but still had some pretty
good movement," Nathan said. "I feel like during spring you're going
to go through games here and there where it doesn't feel like you
have as much in your legs, as much zip on your pitches, but that's
what this process is about. It's about going out there, going
through the little bumps in the road during spring. As much as you
don't want to go out there and throw 30-something pitches, these can
tend to be the ones that get you over the hump and get you
extended." Nathan had an erratic 2014 and is on the back end of his
$20 million contract, which has a $1 million buyout on an option for
2016. He had pitched scoreless ball, allowing two hits, in his first
three outings.
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MLB Note - Texas Rangers Darvish, Yu
RHP Yu Darvish, 28, decided to undergo season-ending Tommy John
surgery. The team announced Friday that Darvish will undergo
ligament reconstruction surgery on his right elbow. The surgery will
be performed Tuesday by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla. Darvish
left his first Cactus League start on March 5 against the Kansas
City Royals after one inning with tightness in his right triceps. An
MRI and examination by Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister the
following day indicated that Darvish has a sprain of the ulnar
collateral ligament in his right elbow. Darvish was examined in New
York on Tuesday by New York Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek,
who concurred with Meister's recommendation for surgery.
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MLB Note - San Diego Padres Federowicz, Tim
C Tim Federowicz had surgery to repair a meniscal tear in his knee
Friday and is expected to miss three to six months. Federowicz had
arthroscopic surgery and during the procedure team surgeons repaired
a complete tear of his lateral meniscus.
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MLB Note - Retired Player Willis, Dontrelle
LHP Dontrelle Willis decided to retire. Willis signed a contract
with the Brewers last month but hasn't pitched in the major leagues
since 2011. The 33-year-old was the National League Rookie of the
Year in 2003 and finished second in the NL Cy Young Award voting in
2005 after winning 22 games. But his career went downhill from
there. Willis last pitched in the majors for the Cincinnati Reds,
posting a 1-6 record in 13 games in 2011. He spent the first five
years of his career with the Marlins before moving on to the Detroit
Tigers, San Francisco Giants and Reds. In 205 career games, Willis
started 202 and posted a 72-69 record with a 4.18 ERA.
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MLB Note - Chicago White Sox Johnson, Micah
2B Micah Johnson appears to have the early edge against Carlos
Sanchez and Gordon Beckham in the battle for a starting job at
second base. Johnson, 24, is hitting .389 (7-for-18) with one home
run and three RBIs.
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MLB Note - Detroit Tigers Martinez, Victor
DH Victor Martinez is doing some straight-line sprinting, taking
batting practice and doing agility drills in his bid to be ready for
at least nearly full-time duty when the season begins April 6.
Martinez will mark a month from the surgery to trim his meniscus on
March 17. It was estimated then it would be 4-6 weeks before he
would be nearly healed. "It's tough," he said. "When you really love
to play this game, you don't want to sit down and watch your team
play. You want to be out there with them."
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MLB Note - Detroit Tigers Iglesias, Jose
SS Jose Iglesias started back-to-back games for the first time this
spring when he opened at short on March 12 and was the designated
hitter the next day. It's part of the program to build Iglesias up
gradually after the slick shortstop missed all of last season with
stress fractures in both shins. Iglesias won't be asked to play
consecutive complete games in the field until the end of spring
training.
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