MLB Player News

Green is one of three pitchers who could serve as the opener in the Yankees' third game against Washington, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Michael King and Jonathan Loaisiga are other options to open the final game of the team's opening series against the Nationals. Green has experience as an opener -- he filled the role 15 times for the Yankees last season -- but was expected to fill a traditional relief role this year. The need for an opener could be limited to one turn through the rotation with Masahiro Tanaka (concussion) on track to rejoin the rotation as soon as July 31.

Loaisiga is a candidate to serve as the opener July 26 versus Washington, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Masahiro Tanaka is slated to be the Yankees' No. 3 starter this season, but the team is opting for a bullpen game in place of his first start while the right-hander recovers from a concussion suffered July 4. Michael King and Chad Green are other options to open against Washington, but none of the three are likely to go deep into the game, and the need for an opener could be limited to one turn with Tanaka possibly returning to the rotation as early as July 31.

Zych was reassigned to the Yankees' alternate training site Tuesday.

The Yankees signed Zych to a minor-league deal in February with the hope that he could contribute to the big-league bullpen at some point during the campaign. That scenario remains a possibility if the right-hander can show that he is finally healthy after two injury-plagued seasons. Zych last pitched in the majors in 2017, when he posted a 2.66 ERA and 1.25 WHIP along with 12 holds in 45 relief appearances with Seattle.

Nelson was reassigned to the Yankees' alternate training site Tuesday.

Nelson had been sent down to Triple-A prior to the suspension of spring training, so it's no surprise that he won't break camp with the big-league club. The right-hander is on the Yankees' 40-man roster and has a history of posting excellent strikeout numbers, so he could conceivably make his major-league debut at some point this season.

Manager Joe Maddon said Tuesday that he plans to use Robles as the Angels' closer to begin the season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

After emerging as the Angels' closer early in the 2019 season and converting 23 of 27 save chances to go with shiny ratios (2.48 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 9.3 K/9), Robles' status as the team's top end gamer was never in much doubt, though Maddon still made the right-hander earn the job in summer camp. Perhaps more notable than Robles being minted as the closer was the fact that Maddon said he doesn't envision the 29-year-old working multiple innings in his appearances early on during the season. That could imply some level of rigidity in Robles' role, which bodes well for him seeing nearly all of the Angels' save chances instead of occasionally being reserved for higher-leverage, non-save scenarios.

Martin (illness) threw a bullpen session Monday for the first time since being cleared to work out, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Martin missed most of summer camp after testing positive for COVID-19 and will start the season on the injured list. He was encouraged by the session, the first time he's thrown off a mound since he was quarantined, when he threw off flat ground.

Pressly started Tuesday's exhibition game against the Royals and set the side down in order in his one inning of work, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pressly, who had been dealing with a blister on his right index finger, showed no effects during a surprise start. With rain threatening a cancellation, the Astros scratched starter Josh James and used a steady stream of relievers to get through the nine innings. Pressly struck out the first two batters on his way to a 1-2-3 inning on 12 pitches, and his fastball approached 96 MPH. "I was really happy with my breaking stuff, the fastball had some life to it," Pressly said. "I'm really excited with where I'm at compared to the end of last year. Everything is moving better and more in sync so I'm excited to get the season going." He'll open the season as Houston's closer while Roberto Osuna (not injury related) is unavailable.

Manaea, who allowed three runs on four hits and recorded four strikeouts over five innings in Monday's exhibition loss to the Giants, came away very pleased with his slider, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports. "I thought it was awesome," Manaea said of the slider. "Judging everything on how it looked from my perspective and how the swings looked, I'm pretty close to being able to backdoor it and just pitch off of that. For now, I'm extremely happy with how it's turned out and how I feel with it."

Manaea was able to retire the final 10 batters he faced after an uneven performance over the first pair of frames, and he came very close to his target of 65 pitches. Gallegos reports Manaea deployed the slider on 22 occasions overall Monday, continuing a focus on developing the pitch that dates back to spring training. The left-hander did top out at just 89 mph with his fastball, but Manaea shrugged off the middling velocity by expressing confidence in his ability to overcome it with good pitch sequencing. The 28-year-old lines up to make his first regular-season start Saturday against the Angels in the second game of the season-opening four-game set, and he's expected to be limited to 75-85 pitches.

Puk (shoulder) will be sidelined at least two weeks after receiving a cortisone injection, Shayna Rubin of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

The 25-year-old landed on the injured list Monday with a left shoulder strain, which appears to be a related to the issue he dealt with in the spring. Puk could face a longer recovery timeline, but for now he'll rest for a couple days before potentially attempting to throw again. Daniel Mengden will step into the A's starting rotation to begin the season.

Covey was traded from the Rays to the Red Sox on Tuesday.

Covey had a clause in his contract with the Rays that forced the team's hand if he was given an opportunity on a 40-man roster elsewhere, and Tampa chose to let him go Tuesday. The 28-year-old spent the past three seasons with the White Sox before signing a minor-league deal with the Rays in February. Covey hasn't produced stellar results in the majors during his career, and it's unclear whether he'll see significant playing time for Boston this year.