MLB Player News

Poche suffered a torn UCL on Tuesday and will miss the 2020 season, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The left-hander was showing improved results throughout camp, but he'll miss extensive time after Tommy John surgery was recommended Tuesday. As a result, he'll be placed on the 45-day injured list and miss the entire 2020 season and most or all of the 2021 campaign. The 25-year-old was set to play a more prominent role in the Rays' bullpen after posting a 4.70 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 72:19 K:BB over 51.2 innings in his first season in the majors last year.

King will be on the Yankees' Opening Day roster, Randy Miller of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

King was battling for a spot with the Yankees' pitching staff during camp, and he was selected for the roster over Clarke Schmidt, who was sent to the alternate training site Tuesday. The pair of moves could signal that King will open the season with a spot in the starting rotation while Masahiro Tanaka (concussion) continues to recover. The right-hander logged a 5.48 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 46 innings in the minors last year.

Garcia was optioned to the Yankees' alternate training site Tuesday, Randy Miller of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Garcia was a longshot to make the expanded major-league roster to begin the regular season, and he'll officially head to the team's alternate training site ahead of the team's season opener Thursday. The right-hander posted a 4.28 ERA and 165:54 K:BB over 111.1 innings in the minors last season and could get the chance to make his major-league debut at some point in 2020.

Yarbrough worked up to 87 pitches during Monday's intrasquad start, his final outing before a scheduled start in the second game of the season versus the Blue Jays, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The southpaw corroborated his ability to eat up some innings right from the outset of the season with Monday's effort. Yarbrough did run into some trouble, however, allowing five earned runs across 4.1 innings. That aside, Yarbrough has looked good in previous simulated game opportunities during summer camp and put together a 11-6 record, 4.13 ERA and 1.00 WHIP across 28 appearances (14 starts) in 2019.

The Tigers announced Tuesday that Norris (illness) has been cleared to rejoin the team for workouts.

Though Norris has fully cleared all COVID-19 protocols, Detroit will still need to formally activate him from the injured list before he's eligible to appear in games. Since Norris has been absent throughout summer camp, he'll likely require at least a week to get his arm conditioned for game action. Due to the time Norris has missed, Detroit may not be willing to prepare him for a traditional starting role, especially if Michael Fulmer (elbow) is ready to join the rotation shortly after Opening Day. Norris could still be a candidate to work as a tandem starter, a role in which he found some success late in the 2019 season.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Monday that Pressly (finger) will "probably" close games for Houston if Roberto Osuna (not injury related) is not ready to go for the start of the season, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Arguably the most dominant non-closing reliever in baseball since arriving in Houston at the 2018 trade deadline, Pressly was already widely assumed to be the odds-on favorite to fill in for Osuna if needed, but it's nice to hear Baker essentially confirm as much in advance of Opening Day. Baker has thus far been cryptic about Osuna's status in advance of the opener, as the incumbent closer didn't travel with the club to Kansas City this week for a pair of exhibitions and has yet to throw off a mound since reporting late to summer camp "through no fault of his own," according to the skipper. Once he gets back on a mound, Osuna probably won't need much time to ramp up, but his uncertain timeline could at least give Pressly a window to claim the closing gig and potentially run away with it. Pressly was stalled early in camp by a blister on his right index finger, but Rome relays that he's slated to appear in Tuesday's exhibition.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Harvey has a little bit of arm fatigue and is day-to-day as of Monday, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The 25-year-old has been battling with Mychal Givens and Richard Bleier to become the Orioles' primary closer throughout summer camp. Harvey thrived after being moved to the bullpen during his rookie season with Baltimore, giving up one run and striking out 11 over 6.1 innings. It is unclear whether he will be forced to miss any time to begin his sophomore campaign in 2020.

Santiago was reassigned to the Tigers' alternate training site Monday.

The veteran lefty was in the mix for a bullpen role to begin the season, but this puts him out of the running for an Opening Day roster spot. Santiago will stay ready in Toledo and could be called upon at some point, given his previous MLB experience, though fantasy managers shouldn't expect much from someone who posted a 6.68 ERA and 1.90 WHIP in 2019.

Fulmer (elbow) is expected to open the season as a piggyback starter, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Fulmer says he's ready to start after working his way back from Tommy John surgery, a procedure he underwent back in March of 2019, though the Tigers seemingly won't ask him to handle a starter's workload right away. Fulmer is already a relatively uninteresting fantasy option, as he posted a 4.69 ERA and a 19.7 percent strikeout rate in his most recent healthy season back in 2018, and he becomes even less interesting if his innings are limited.

Shaw will sign with the Mariners on Monday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Shaw was released by the Rockies on Friday, but he'll quickly find a home in Seattle ahead of the regular season. The right-hander struggled out of the bullpen over the past two seasons and should play a low-leverage role as he looks to bounce back during the abbreviated 2020 season.