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 03/20/2015 MLB Note - Cincinnati Reds Bailey, Homer
RHP Homer Bailey, after having his schedule pushed back due to a
stomach virus, threw another successful bullpen session and plans to
throw around 30 pitches to minor-leaguers March 22 in a simulated
game. Bailey, who underwent season-ending surgery Sept. 5 to repair
a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm, is expected to miss one
or two starts to begin the season.
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MLB Note - Cincinnati Reds Leake, Mike
RHP Mike Leake was one of the bright spots this spring, tossing nine
scoreless innings in his first three Cactus League starts. Leake
allowed just four hits with a pair of walks and eight strikeouts. He
is expected to begin the season as Cincinnati's No. 2 starter behind
RHP Johnny Cueto.
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MLB Note - Cincinnati Reds Cingrani, Tony
LHP Tony Cingrani will begin the season in the bullpen. The 25-year
old lefty had been a candidate for one of the open spots in the
rotation. Cingrani, who is coming off an injury-riddled 2014 season
in which he made just 13 appearances, is working to refine his
secondary pitches.
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MLB Note - Cincinnati Reds Maholm, Paul
LHP Paul Maholm likely will begin the season in long relief. Reds
manager Bryan Price believes Maholm's ability to log innings and be
effective against both right- and left-handed batters makes him a
solid candidate for the bullpen. Maholm was 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA
through his first 7 1/3 innings this spring.
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MLB Note - Cincinnati Reds Mesoraco, Devin
C Devin Mesoraco missed a week after sustaining a concussion when he
took a foul ball of his mask in a March 7 game. Mesoraco, who is
coming off an All-Star season in which he hit .273 with 25 homers
and 80 RBIs, batted .167 in his first six Cactus League games but
said he felt fine.
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MLB Note - Cincinnati Reds Holmberg, David
LHP David Holmberg, who made seven appearances including five starts
last season for Cincinnati and was expected to compete for one of
the open rotation spots, was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on
March 16. He went 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA in three Cactus League
appearances.
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MLB Note - Cincinnati Reds Bruce, Jay
RF Jay Bruce, who had an encouraging start to the spring, missed
three games with a calf strain but returned to the lineup March 14.
Bruce was hitting .278 with two homers and six RBIs in eight Cactus
League games through March 19.
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MLB Note - Milwaukee Brewers Lucroy, Jonathan
C Jonathan Lucroy is feeling fine after a strained hamstring held
him back for the first few weeks of camp. He began catching in games
last week and was finally able to go full speed on the base paths;
he went from first to third on a single Wednesday and later took
second on a wild pitch and eventually scored on an RBI single.
Lucroy is batting .222 with a homerun in nine Cactus League at-bats.
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MLB Note - Milwaukee Brewers Rodriguez, Francisco
RHP Francisco Rodriguez arrived at camp last week, passed a physical
and formally signed his two-year contract with the Brewers. The
33-year-old could start throwing in minor league games this weekend,
manager Ron Roenicke said.
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MLB Note - Milwaukee Brewers Lind, Adam
1B Adam Lind made his first Cactus League start at first base
Wednesday against the Royals. Lind, acquired from Toronto last fall,
had been limited to serving as designated hitter because of back
problems that kept him out of all action for about a week.
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MLB Note - Chicago Cubs La Stella, Tommy
2B Tommy La Stella, acquired by the Cubs in last month's trade with
the Braves, was hitting .462 (10-for-23) in his last five games
through midweek.
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MLB Note - Chicago Cubs Ortiz, Joseph
LHP Joseph Ortiz was tied with Giants RHP Hunter Strickland for the
big league lead with seven spring appearances after working one
scoreless inning on Wednesday. Ortiz, 24, missed much of the 2014
season with a broken foot suffered in an offseason motorcycle
accident in his native Venezuela. He was claimed off waivers from
the Rangers last October.
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MLB Note - Chicago Cubs Bryant, Kris
3B Kris Bryant entered Thursday with a major league-leading six home
runs and 30 total bases. But whether he opens the season with the
Cubs or at Triple-A Iowa over a service time issue remains up in the
air. Agent Scott Boras says Bryant belongs with the Cubs. "Everyone
says, 'They cannot send this guy down.' It's too obvious," he told
USA Today. "This isn't a system choice. This isn't a mandate. This
is a flat ownership decision. Do they really want to win here?''
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MLB Note - Chicago Cubs Arrieta, Jake
RHP Jake Arrieta struggled but the Cubs offense showed plenty of
life with a 13-hit attack in a midweek victory over the Los Angeles
Dodgers.
But Arrieta, who had carried a 1-1 record and a 1.50 ERA into the
game, said he wasn't worried despite allowing five runs in four
innings in Wednesday's 7-5 victory.
Arrieta, who went 10-5 with a 2.53 ERA in 25 appearances in 2014, is
projected as part of the Cubs' starting rotation. His 10 wins
matched a career high (2011 with the Orioles) while he struck out
167 and walked 41.
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MLB Note - Pittsburgh Pirates Marte, Starling
OF Starling Marte, normally the starting left fielder, has been
seeing action in center field while McCutchen is sidelined. Many
scouts believe Marte is a better defender than McCutchen, who won a
National League Gold Glove in 2012. Nearly all the advanced
defensive metrics also rate Marte above McCutchen.
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MLB Note - Pittsburgh Pirates McCutchen, Andrew
CF Andrew McCutchen missed his fifth straight exhibition game March
19 with what the Pirates are describing only as lower-body soreness.
McCutchen says he is not concerned about his condition and would be
playing if it were the regular season. Nevertheless, the air of
secrecy about the exact nature of McCutchen's injury is enough to
cause some raised eyebrows.
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MLB Note - New York Yankees Ellsbury, Jacoby
CF Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique) is confident he won't miss the start of
the season. After an MRI exam March 18 found a low-grade strain, the
Yankees shut down Ellsbury from baseball activities for seven days.
That would leave him a week and a half to get ready for Opening Day,
April 6 against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays. "It feels a lot
better already, so I guess we'll take a few days and see how it
feels," he told reporters March 19. "The good thing now, we're in
spring training and these games don't count, so I can give it time
to let it get 100 percent. I feel very confident that I'll be there
Opening Day ready to play." Ellsbury, 28, was hitting .222 with one
RBI in nine games this spring.
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MLB Note - St. Louis Cardinals Jay, Jon
CF Jon Jay (left wrist) could play in his first spring game March 20
when St. Louis travels to Port St. Lucie to face the New York Mets.
That falls in line with the timetable established for Jay, who
underwent offseason surgery. Jay took 13 at-bats in an intrasquad
game March 18 with three hits and a stolen base. Jay said that 40
at-bats in the last two weeks of exhibition games would be enough to
have him ready for Opening Day.
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MLB Note - St. Louis Cardinals Lynn, Lance
RHP Lance Lynn (hip flexor) pitched three innings in a simulated
game March 18 and should be in line to get a start by March 23.
Lynn, who was injured during his first spring start, has worked on
his changeup in hopes of adding it to his game arsenal on a more
frequent basis. It would make him a tougher opponent for left-handed
hitters, who have slugged .409 against him in his career.
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MLB Note - St. Louis Cardinals Wainwright, Adam
HP Adam Wainwright (abdominal strain) is scheduled to pitch his
first spring training game March 21 when he starts against Atlanta
in Jupiter. Wainwright is expected to throw between 50 and 60
pitches, more than a starter normally throws in his first outing.
But Wainwright was able to throw despite his injury, suffered just
before the official start of workouts.
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MLB Note - Pittsburgh Pirates Walker, Neil
2B Neil Walker made little headway toward a contract extension
during talks with the Pirates over the winter. However, he hasn't
let that be a distraction this spring as he has gone 7-for-17 (.412)
with five doubles and a home run. Walker is not eligible for free
agency until after the 2016 season and the Pittsburgh native remains
hopeful, though not necessarily optimistic, about working out a deal
with the Pirates.
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MLB Note - Pittsburgh Pirates Locke, Jeff
LHP Jeff Locke is losing ground in the competition with RHP Vance
Worley for the one open spot in the Pirates' starting rotation.
Locke, two years removed from being selected to the All-Star Game,
has allowed eight runs and 11 hits in eight innings in Grapefruit
League play. If Locke losses the starter's job, he almost certainly
will begin the season in the bullpen because he is out of minor
league options.
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MLB Note - Pittsburgh Pirates Liz, Radhames
RHP Radhames Liz started March 19 against Baltimore, allowing one
run and two hits in two innings, but manager Clint Hurdle said he
will be used in long relief when the season starts. The Pirates
signed Liz to a one-year, $1-million contact during the offseason
after their scouts were impressed with him in the Dominican Winter
League. The 31-year-old last pitched in the major leagues in 2009
with Baltimore and was 3-2 with a 2.95 ERA in a combined 12 starts
last season with Toronto's Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A
Buffalo farm clubs.
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MLB Note - Pittsburgh Pirates Kang, Jung-Ho
INF Jung Ho Kang is expected to make his first start of the spring
at second base sometime during the weekend. Kang played shortstop in
the Korean Baseball Organization, where he was the Most Valuable
Player last season when he hit .356 with 40 home runs in 117 games
for the Nexen Heroes. Signed to a four-year, $11-million contract as
a free agent in January, Kang has seen action at third base in
Grapefruit League games and will begin the season as a utility
infielder.
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MLB Note - Pittsburgh Pirates Tabata, Jose
OF Jose Tabata, who figures to begin the season at Triple-A
Indianapolis, will likely miss a few games with a bruised left
ankle. Tabata was removed from a game March 18 against Detroit when
he fouled a ball off the ankle and had to be carted back to the
clubhouse. He was walking with a pronounced limp March 19.
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MLB Note - Pittsburgh Pirates Stewart, Chris
C Chris Stewart has a strained right hamstring that is likely to
keep him out through the end of the month. General manager Neal
Huntington said it is "too early" to say whether Stewart would begin
the season on the disabled list but said it is a possibility.
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MLB Note - Philadelphia Phillies Harang, Aaron
RHP Aaron Harang, scratched from his scheduled start Sunday due to
back spasms, returned to action Thursday. He threw three innings of
one-run ball against the Yankees. "It's nothing. I'm not worried
about it," he told the Philadelphia Daily News regarding his back.
"I've been feeling really good in the last few days."
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MLB Note - Los Angeles Dodgers Perez, Chris
LHP Chris Perez threw a scoreless innings Thursday and has allowed
just one earned run in 6 1/3 innings of work this spring, but still
isn't a lock to make the Brewers' 40-man roster. Perez, 29, signed a
non-roster, minor league deal in early February. The team has until
March 31 to add him to the 40-man roster, assign him to Triple-A
Colorado Springs or release him.
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MLB Note - Milwaukee Brewers Fiers, Mike
RHP Mike Fiers reported slight weakness in his right shoulder and
was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday but manager Ron
Roenicke said he is expected to remain on schedule and open the
season as Milwaukee's No. 4 starter. Instead of starting against the
Giants, Fiers threw a bullpen session.
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MLB Note - Chicago Cubs Soler, Jorge
RF Jorge Soler went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI against the
Dodgers and has reached safely in all eight games he's played this
spring. Soler is hitting .417 (10-for-24) with a .440 on-base
percentage and a .708 slugging percentage.
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MLB Note - Minnesota Twins Perkins, Glen
LHP Glen Perkins, who missed most of spring training with an oblique
strain, threw to hitters for the first time March 19. He pitched one
inning against minor-leaguers, then said he expects to be ready for
Opening Day.
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