MLB Player News

Palumbo allowed one run in 2.2 innings as a starter in Friday's intrasquad game, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Palumbo enters 2020 as a depth starter and should be considered as a sixth or seventh starter. That means the left-hander will be one of the first fill-in starters if the Rangers need one. "I am just going to show up every day and be ready to go when I get that chance to get the ball on the mound and give it 110 percent," said Palumbo. Should a starter suffer an injury that keeps him out indefinitely, Palumbo could vault into a fantasy relevant role.

King is a candidate to open the campaign in the starting rotation if Masahiro Tanaka (concussion) is not ready at the start of the season, Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media reports.

The Yankees appeared to have their starting rotation set and healthy heading into summer camp, but Tanaka's scary encounter with a line drive off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton has his status for Opening Day in question. Should Tanaka be unable to go, a trio of pitchers -- including King, Jonathan Loaisiga and Clarke Schmidt -- are candidates to fill in. Even if he doesn't grab a temporary starting spot, King could make the team as a long reliever.

Banda, who recorded two strikeouts over two scoreless innings in Friday's simulated game, is a candidate to potentially see some spot starts if the current absences of multiple Rays pitchers extend into the regular season, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The trio of Tyler Glasnow, Yonny Chirinos and Brendan McKay are all currently missing from summer camp workouts for undisclosed reasons, leaving open the possibility at least some of them may have produced a positive COVID-19 test. Any such scenario would make the potential return date of the affected player difficult to pin down, and Toribio reports Banda could be one of the options manager Kevin Cash turns to if there are spot starts for the taking early in the season. Banda is now more than a year removed from Tommy John surgery, and he's reportedly looked better with respect to velocity and his breaking pitches as compared to his September big-league stint last season. Additionally, Banda has now added a cutter to his arsenal, and manager Kevin Cash has praised the young left-hander for pitching "fearlessly."

Beeks, who threw 49 pitches over three innings in a simulated game Friday, is a candidate to handle some spot starts early in the season if the current absences of Tyler Glasnow (undisclosed), Yonny Chirinos (undisclosed) and Brendan McKay (undisclosed) extend into the 2020 campaign, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The left-hander is certainly capable of handling rotation assignments if called upon to take them, as he started 94 minor-league games over four-plus years in the Red Sox organization. Beeks also logged three starts for the Rays last season and threw two or more innings on 40 occasions overall. Given the aforementioned temporary vacancies on the pitching depth chart, the expectation is Beeks will continue to have his arm built up over what remains of summer camp.

Duffey threw his first live batting practice of summer camp on Friday, MLB.com reports.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Thursday that Duffey is slightly behind other pitchers in his build-up to the season, so this is a positive sign. However, his progress is worth monitoring because Duffey may be eased into the start of the regular season.

Cordero threw two scoreless innings as a starter in Friday's intrasquad game, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Cordero, who will be a reliever during the regular season, pitched well out of the bullpen for the White Sox in 2019 after spending time with three organizations before joining Chicago. "Jimmy has plus-plus stuff," White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing said. "The biggest thing with Jimmy is controlling the strike zone." Cordero is expected to fill a middle relief role this season.

Tate suffered an apparent right forearm injury during Friday's intrasquad game when he was hit by a line drive, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Tate took a line drive to the right arm while pitching Friday and immediately received medical attention. The exact nature and severity of the injury are unclear, but the Orioles ended the game after the injury occurred.

Hall will join the Orioles' player pool, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Hall's presence in the pool is unlikely to be more than attempt to get him the best coaching possible this season. He's an interesting prospect, but he shouldn't be expected to play a role in the majors this season, as he's yet to reach Double-A.

Blach experienced some elbow soreness Thursday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Blach is getting his elbow checked out Friday, which should determine the extent of the issue. The veteran lefty is part of the Orioles' 60-man player pool, but he's not on the 40-man roster, so he's not necessarily lined up to play a significant role this season.

Graveman faced live hitters for the first time in summer camp Thursday, throwing batting practice to Daniel Vogelbach and Tim Lopes, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

The veteran right-hander worked up to 40 pitches, taking a break after the first 20 in order to simulate a two-inning game. Johns separately reports Graveman encouragingly was able to consistently hit between 94 mph and 96 mph with his fastball during the session. The 29-year-old is looking to rebuild his arm strength after the three-month-plus layoff, but he noted Thursday he is at full health after missing most of the last two seasons following Tommy John surgery and looking forward to finally getting back into regular game action. "I'm very excited," said the former A's Opening Day starter. "I can't hide it. I love this game and have a passion for this game. I'm ready to pitch. I feel like I'm a big league pitcher and can get guys out and help a team win. It's been driving me nuts to not be able to play the last two years, so I'm ready to get out and compete."