MLB Player News

Cleveland will use a committee of James Karinchak, Emmanuel Clase and Wittgren for save chances this season, manager Terry Francona told MLB.com.

Wittgren had a strong spring with a 1.08 ERA and nine strikeouts in 8.1 innings with one walk. It sounds like the closer situation could be flux early in the season, but Wittgren could get a larger share of save chances if he continues his spring performance.

Cleveland will use a committee of Karinchak, Emmanuel Clase and Nick Wittgren for save chances this season, manager Terry Francona told MLB.com. "The other thing we talked to them about is because there's so many days off early on, you want to keep workloads kind of even. So, there may be times they will pitch even when we're losing," he said.

Karinchak entered spring as the leading candidate for the closer role, but struggled with a 6.52 ERA and 10 walks in 9.2 innings. He did have 19 strikeouts. It sounds like the closer situation could be in flux early in the season, so Karinchak could get a larger share of the save opportunities if he improves from his spring training performance.

Rodriguez has made the Angels' Opening Day roster, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Rodriguez accrued a 5.14 ERA and 1.43 WHIP with 10 punchouts over seven innings during spring training. "He's earned it," stated general manager Perry Minasian. "He's had an outstanding spring." Rodriguez looks set to slot in near the middle of Los Angeles' bullpen and will now await his big-league debut.

Thielbar has won a spot on Minnesota's 26-man roster for Opening Day.

Thielbar was limited early in spring training due to a sore back, but looks healthy for Opening Day. He had a 4.15 ERA and six strikeouts and two walks in 4.1 innings this spring. Thielbar's unique curveball (he didn't allow a hit the 94 times he threw it last season) and prowess against left-handed batters (.376 OPS allowed), could see him used in a high-leverage role in the bullpen.

Law will not break camp in the big leagues, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Law threw eight scoreless innings this spring, striking out 13 batters while walking three and allowing three hits, but it wasn't enough earn him a roster spot. The fact that he's not on the 40-man roster certainly didn't help his case. He could be one of the team's top depth options this season, though the lack of a 40-man spot will hurt him there as well.

King will be a member of the Yankees' Opening Day roster, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

King is expected to begin in a bullpen role, but he could be one of the top options to slide into the rotation when a spot starter is needed. He hasn't shown much to suggest he'll be an interesting fantasy option should that happen, however, struggling to a 7.22 ERA in 28.2 innings at the major-league level.

Leclerc (elbow) will undergo Tommy John surgery, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

It's the latest in a long string of bad news for Leclerc, who began his career as as very promising young reliever but has dealt with persistent injury problems in recent seasons. A typical recovery timeline will keep Leclerc sidelined until the middle of next season, at which point it will be anyone's guess how much of his previous potential still remains. In his absence, as well as the absence of several other top bullpen options, uninspiring veterans Ian Kennedy and Matt Bush look set to compete for whatever rare save opportunities the Rangers are able to manage.

Wilson (shoulder) will open the season on the injured list, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

An MRI last week confirmed that Wilson wasn't dealing with a serious shoulder injury, and he's since resumed throwing. He's in a fine place in his recovery, but the lost buildup time means he won't be quite ready to go by Opening Day. The Yankees can backdate his trip to the injured list, meaning he won't have to miss more than a week to start the season.

Ottavino won't have the clear path to serve as the Red Sox's Opening Day closer that it looked like he might have in recent days, as Matt Barnes' positive COVID-19 test was ruled a false positive Monday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

There's been very little to separate Ottavino and Barnes in recent seasons, and they've been similarly effective this spring, so it was tough to say either of them had much more than a 50 percent chance to win the job. Barnes' positive test seemingly opened an opportunity for Ottavino to open the year in the role, which could make it his until he pitched his way out of it. Now that Barnes is back in camp, however, the job looks like it's back to being a coin flip.

Barnes was determined to have a non-infectious positive test for COVID-19 on Monday and is now back in camp, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Barnes looked like he might have to miss the start of the regular season following his positive test Saturday, but the result was evidently a false positive. Missing the start of camp may have left Adam Ottavino as the team's closer to start the year by default, but Barnes is now back in the battle. The winner of the job remains undetermined.