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MLB notebook: Tulowitzki unlikely to be ready by Opening Day

[March 05, 2018] Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is not expected to be ready for the season opener because of a bone spur on his right heel.

Manager John Gibbons said Sunday the 33-year-old Tulowitzki is making progress, but it might not be enough for him to play on Opening Day,

Tulowitzki has been limited during spring training due to the chronic bone spur. His 2017 season ended on July 28 with a right ankle sprain, and he also sustained ligament damage.

Tulowitzki hit .249 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs in 66 games last season. He is a career .290 hitter with 224 home runs and 779 RBIs in 12 major league seasons with the Colorado Rockies (2006-2015) and Blue Jays (2015-17).

--Texas Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels is against the team's possible plan of using a six-man rotation this season, with the four-time All-Star saying "it's not part of baseball."

Entering his 13th season in the majors, Hamels made his position clear, adding "you might as well be in college." Rangers manager Jeff Banister said that he is not yet fully committed to using the six-man rotation, but admitted the team is "exploring it."

"It's not part of baseball,'' Hamels said Saturday. "I know that's the new analytical side of trying to reinvent the wheel, but I was brought up in the minor leagues on the five-man (rotation), and that's what I'm designed and conditioned for. That's the mental side of how you prepare, how you get ready for games, how you condition your body. You throw in the six-man, you might as well be in college. ... That's just not what MLB is to me. That's not how I learned from my mentors, and that's not the type of way that I'm here to pitch."

The 34-year-old Hamels went 11-6 with a 4.20 ERA in 148 innings over 24 starts with the Rangers last season.

--The Oakland Athletics designated first baseman/outfielder Brandon Moss for assignment and claimed left-hander Jairo Labourt off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.

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The 34-year-old Moss was acquired from the Kansas City Royals on Jan. 29 for his second stint with Oakland. Moss slugged 76 homers from 2012-14 with the Athletics and was an American League All-Star in 2014. He batted just .207 with 22 homers and 50 RBIs last season for Kansas City.

Labourt, who turns 24 on Wednesday, is being claimed off waivers for the second time in a five-day span. The Reds claimed him from the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday. Labourt pitched six games for the Tigers last season and has a 4.50 ERA and made 45 relief appearances across three minor league levels and was 1-1 with a 2.17 ERA.

--The Chicago White Sox signed free agent left-handed reliever Robbie Ross Jr. to a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to spring training.

Ross, 28, most recently pitched in three seasons with the Boston Red Sox but was limited to eight appearances in 2017, with a 7.00 ERA in nine innings. He was placed on the disabled list June 1 with elbow inflammation, had surgery on his back in August and was outrighted by the Red Sox in November.

During his last healthy season in 2016, Ross was 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 54 relief appearances over 55 1/3 innings for the Red Sox. Ross has appeared in 266 career major league games (12 starts) with the Texas Rangers (2012-14) and Red Sox (2015-17), going 16-12 with a 3.92 ERA over 330 2/3 innings.

--Field Level Media

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