Selig: Toughen drug penalties
Reliever David Hernandez found out Friday he was no longer eligible to pitch for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. But he wasn’t without a team for very long.
Hernandez instead will pitch out of the bullpen for the U.S., who lost Indians reliever Chris Perez to a shoulder injury the same day.
Hernandez said he was mistakenly thought to be eligible for Mexico because his great-grandparents were born there. But neither Hernandez, who is from Sacramento, his parents nor his grandparents were born in Mexico.
“I believe it went to my grandparents (who were born in the U.S),” Hernandez said. “It’s disappointing. I was really looking forward to pitch with Mexico, but it’s definitely a great honor to pitch for the U.S. That’s where I was born and raised, so it’s a great honor either way.”
He said he heard in the last week that his eligibility with Mexico was in question. He’s not sure why it wasn’t sorted out sooner.
Fifth starter update
Right-hander Randall Delgado gave up several hard-hit balls in his two-inning stint Saturday, the second time he’s been hit around in as many outings.
Delgado was charged with one run on three hits, including two doubles, and one walk. He gave up five runs (four earned) in one inning of work in his first Cactus League appearance.
Each of the three primary candidates competing for the No. 5 spot in the rotation — Delgado and lefties Tyler Skaggs and Pat Corbin — have made two appearances apiece.
So far, the edge belongs to Corbin, who has tossed five scoreless innings, striking out eight while walking just two.
“Just commanding my fastball,” Corbin said, when asked to explain his good results.
“That’s all they’re really preaching right now is to go out there and throw strikes. I’m just going after guys.”
He also pointed to an improved slider, a pitch he’s been able to both throw for strikes and bury out of the zone to put hitters away.
Skaggs has allowed seven runs (five earned) in 21⁄ innings.
Short hops
» Second baseman Aaron Hill was scratched from the lineup with left quad tightness. Manager Kirk Gibson said it’s not a serious injury.
“We’re not going to fool around with it,” Gibson said. “There’s no reason to do that. We’re going to stay healthy at this point.”
» Outfielder Cody Ross, who was scratched from Friday’s lineup with a sore left calf, is expected back in the lineup today.
» Shortstop Didi Gregorius played catch for the first time since December, when he was sidelined with what the team called a slight strain of the ulnar collateral ligament.
He threw from 60 feet and won’t throw from beyond that distance for another week or two, Gibson said. Gregorius is likely to start the season on the disabled list in the minor leagues.
» The Diamondbacks announced they agreed to terms with 20 pre-arbitration players on contracts for this season and renewed the contract of left-hander Wade Miley. They now have everyone on their 40-man roster under contract for next season.
Teams control how much players earn above the major league minimum — which this year is $490,000 — during the players’ first three seasons in the majors. When players do not “agree to terms” set out by the team, their contracts are “renewed.” The difference is only in the semantics.