MLB Player News

The Red Sox selected Covey's contract Wednesday.

Covey had been attending summer camp with Tampa Bay as a non-roster invitee, but he'll now get a spot on the 40-man roster and 30-man Opening Day roster two days after Boston acquired him in a trade. The Red Sox have yet to clarify his role, but Covey looks like a logical fit in a thin rotation lacking in any healthy, established options beyond Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez. If Boston decides to go with other alternatives at the back end of the rotation, Covey would likely work as a long man out of the bullpen.

Hatch made Toronto's 30-man roster.

This comes as a bit of a surprise, as Hatch has never pitched above Double-A. The 25-year-old righty logged a 2.80 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 34:2 K:BB in 35.1 innings (six starts) at Double-A after getting traded to the Blue Jays from the Cubs in last year's deadline deal that sent David Phelps to Chicago. He had a 51.1 percent groundball rate over that stretch, which was easily a career best, due to an increase in cutter and changeup usage. The Jays could deploy Hatch in multi-inning relief stints if they intend to continue developing him as a long-term starter.

Kay is included on the Blue Jays' season-opening 30-man roster and is expected to serve as the team's fifth starter, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

With Chase Anderson (oblique) opening the season on the 10-day injured list, Kay, Nate Pearson and Ryan Borucki had been viewed as the top candidates to replace the right-hander in the rotation. Toronto has since moved Pearson to the taxi squad, while Borucki was optioned to the team's alternate training site, leaving Kay as the last man standing in the job battle. Pearson is still expected to get added to the roster July 29 so that the Blue Jays can secure an extra year of service time, so Kay won't necessarily have much longevity in the Toronto rotation.

The Blue Jays optioned Borucki to their taxi squad Thursday, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

Though Borucki missed out on the 30-man Opening Day roster, he'll be on the short-list for a call-up after receiving a spot on the taxi squad, which currently includes two other players (pitcher Nate Pearson and catcher Caleb Joseph). Anthony Kay was able to beat out Pearson and Borucki for a spot in the Opening Day rotation, where he'll replace the injured Chase Anderson (oblique).

The Athletics activated Mengden (elbow) from the 45-day injured list Wednesday.

Mengden was first placed on the 60-day IL in mid-February after requiring arthroscopic right elbow surgery, but he made a full recovery from the procedure while MLB was on hiatus for four months. After satisfying the Oakland coaching staff with his performance during summer camp, Mengden will open the season as the Athletics' fifth starter, taking the spot that was opened by A.J. Puk's (shoulder) move to the 10-day IL.

The Orioles placed Tate (forearm) on the 10-day injured list Thursday.

Tate won't be available out of the Orioles' Opening Day bullpen while he continues to deal with a sore right forearm, an injury he initially picked up when he was struck by a comebacker in an intrasquad game. Once he's deemed healthy, Tate projects to work in middle relief for Baltimore.

The Orioles moved Harvey (elbow) to the 10-day injured list Wednesday.

Considered a potential option to close for the Orioles coming out of spring training, Harvey's bid for the job was derailed after he experienced soreness in his right elbow late in summer camp. The setback is a troubling one for a young pitcher with a history of arm injuries, so Harvey is far from a lock to make it back from the IL in the minimum 10 days. Mychal Givens now looks like the clear best option for saves in the Baltimore bullpen with Harvey on the shelf.

The Tigers reinstated Fulmer (elbow) from the 45-day injured list Thursday.

The transaction was merely procedural after manager Ron Gardenhire confirmed a day earlier that Fulmer would be a part of the Tigers' Opening Day rotation, operating as a "opener type" in front of a primary pitcher, most likely Tyler Alexander. Fulmer should gradually have his restrictions loosened in his subsequent turns, as the Tigers are just exercising caution with his usage coming off his March 2019 Tommy John surgery.

Montero (forearm) isn't listed on the Rangers' Opening Day roster, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The 29-year-old missed the start of summer camp while tending to a personal matter and has been dealing with forearm soreness since reporting to the team. It's only a matter of time until he's officially move to the injured list. Montero had a 2.48 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 34:5 K:BB over 29 innings for the Rangers last season, but it's unclear when he'll be ready to take the mound in 2020.

Hearn won't be a member of the Rangers' Opening Day roster, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

The 25-year-old had hope of beginning the season as the Rangers' top left-handed reliever since Joely Rodriguez (lat) and Brett Martin (illness) have been unavailable, but he'll end up reporting to the team's alternate training site. Hearn has traditionally been a starter in the minors and missed most of 2019 with an elbow injury.