AL West Notebook: Zito begins comeback bid, Hamilton's fate still in limbo

Every Friday, theScore's MLB editors will bring you a roundup of everything you need to know from around the division with the AL West Notebook.

Los Angeles Angels

The waiting game. The Halos are still awaiting the fate of Josh Hamilton, but reports are surfacing the slugger is facing a year-long suspension for his drug relapse. An arbitrator could make a decision by early next week.

Delayed gratification. Right-hander Garrett Richards will not be ready to pitch by Opening Day and may not take the mound until late April. The young starter is still recovering from August knee surgery and the Angels aren't going to take any chances with the promising 13-game winner.

Seattle Mariners

Injury bug strikes. The Mariners suffered their first major injury of the spring when first baseman Ji-Man Choi suffered a fractured right fibula on Wednesday. The 23-year-old is expected to miss four-to-six months of action after slashing .283/.381/.392 last season with Triple-A Tacoma. Logan Morrison is the projected Opening Day starter at first base and will be backed up by Rickie Weeks.

Cruz strikes early. Nelson Cruz homered in his Mariners' debut on Thursday to lift Seattle 9-4 over the San Diego Padres. Cruz, who signed a four-year, $57-million deal with the Mariners in the offseason, revealed after the game teammate Felix Hernandez had asked him to go yard. He had to oblige.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Oakland Athletics

Blast from the past. Barry Zito's comeback bid is one of the most interesting storylines coming out of A's camp. The crafty lefty tossed two innings of two-run ball in his first spring start Thursday, but retired the first five batters he faced - two of them via strikeout. Zito hasn't appeared in a regular-season game since Sept. 29, 2013 and will earn $1 million if he cracks the 40-man roster.

Switch it up. Ambidextrous reliever Pat Venditte is also emerging as a huge spring story. He worked a perfect third inning Thursday following up Zito and has now retired all five batters he's faced this spring despite only throwing in the low-80s.

Houston Astros

Reinforcements on the way. Roberto Hernandez has finally resolved his visa issue and has thrown his first bullpen session for the club. The man formerly known as Fausto Carmona split 2014 between the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers, compiling an 8-11 record with a 4.10 ERA in 32 games.

Too much young talent? FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal wrote an interesting piece this week on how the Astros may be progressing too quickly for their own good. He believes the additions of Colby Rasmus and Evan Gattis may force the team to demote a promising young player, such as Jake Marisnick or Jonathan Singleton.

Texas Rangers

Yu problem. Staff ace Yu Darvish was limited to only one inning of work in his spring debut Thursday due to right triceps tightness. The righty will undergo an MRI Friday, so we'll find out then just how precautionary his removal from the game was. Darvish was shut down at the end of last season due to elbow inflammation.

Perez on the mend. The Rangers are encouraged by Martin Perez's rehab from May Tommy John surgery. The left-hander is scheduled to throw off a half-mound Tuesday and is still projected to rejoin the rotation at some point near the All-Star break.