MLB Player News

Clement will be a part of the Indians' 60-man player pool this season.

A speedy middle infielder who has played just three games at Triple-A, Clement has enough relevant tools to project as at least a bench infielder down the road. However, the fact that he will be training with other prospects, most of whom are several years younger than him, at an alternate site while the big leaguers train at Progressive Field, suggests he won't see much, if any, time in the majors this season.

Herrera will be a part of the Orioles' 60-man player pool this season.

Once a noteworthy prospect with the Mets, Herrera was in camp on a minor-league deal this season. He could provide infield depth but is unlikely to play enough to provide fantasy value.

India will be a part of the Reds' 60-man player pool this season.

India's prospect star has faded over the past year, but he will now be eligible to make his MLB debut this season. He is not on the 40-man roster and will not be training with the Reds' best players at Great American Ball Park.

Mathias is expected to be named to the Brewers' 60-man roster pool Sunday, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The 25-year-old was optioned to Triple-A San Antonio in March shortly after the suspension of spring training, but he'll now have another chance to stake his claim to a roster spot. The expanded 30-man roster to begin the season provides an opportunity for Mathias to potentially earn a bench spot with the Brewers.

Brujan is projected to be part of the 60-man player pool that will report to the Rays' summer camp, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 22-year-old second baseman is already on the 40-man roster, and it appears he'll have a chance to continue his professional development this year even if the minor-league season is cancelled outright. Brujan has steadily progressed through the organization since beginning his career in 2016, and he posted a solid .266/.336/.391 line at Double-A Montgomery in 2019 while swiping 24 bases for the second consecutive professional stop.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo talked about using the designated hitter position as a way to keep Marte's bat in the lineup while giving him a break in the field, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Marte had a breakout season in 2019 before he suffered a stress reaction in his back in September. The theory was that he played too much, particularly in center field, which was a new position to him. "It will give me a chance to get guys off their feet," Lovullo said of the DH. "Knowing the workload is going to be pretty heavy and we're going to be going full throttle, getting a guy off his feet for a day game in Colorado is probably something we would be addressing." The manager had every intention of giving Marte more downtime in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to MLB. The desire to rest him is still there during the 60-game sprint of a regular season. Only now, the rest will be in the form of having Marte serve as the DH. Others being considered for the DH rotation are Jake Lamb, Christian Walker, Eduardo Escobar and Kevin Cron.

Lowe got in both batting practice and fielding work at Tropicana Field on Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Lowe was part of a contingent of six Rays position players that was present Monday for the team's ongoing small-group, informal workouts, and Topkin's report implies the versatile infielder put in a full workload under the circumstances. Live batting practice is supposed to be on the menu for the first time in Wednesday's workouts, a particularly timely development considering there now appears to finally be a tangible chance for a 60-game regular season that would begin in late July. Lowe, who impressed during Grapefruit League play before spring training was suspended, should have about a month to ramp back up and continue developing a tweaked swing that now includes a heel tap.

The Pirates released Johnson on June 9.

Johnson was set to open the season at Double-A Altoona, but he'll now have to look elsewhere for work with Pittsburgh releasing several minor-league players in anticipation of affiliated ball being canceled in 2020. The infielder spent the entire 2019 season at Triple-A level as a member of the Reds organization and slashed .241/.353/.355 across 241 plate appearances.

The Pirates released Elmore on June 9.

Elmore was one of several minor-league players cut loose by the Pirates, likely as a cost-saving measure. The utility man appeared in 20 games with the big club in 2019, slashing .213/.245/.234 with zero home runs and four RBI across 49 plate appearances.

Lowe recently revealed on a podcast appearance that he's tweaked his swing by adding a heel tap, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Lowe elaborated on the adjustment to Neil Solondz of Rays Radio, explaining that he picked up the heel tap from former teammate Avisail Garcia last season. Lowe saw Garcia hit a career-high 20 home runs with that approach in 2019, which likely made a strong impression on the emerging 25-year-old. Lowe has been able to engage in batting practice regularly at home while spring training has been suspended, and he'll enter a potential 2020 season with high expectations after hitting .350 during Grapefruit League action before play was paused.