MLB Player News

Fairbanks, who pitched in a simulated game during Thursday's summer camp session, made a strong impression on manager Kevin Cash by striking out three of the four hitters he faced, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports. "This has a chance to be a pretty big season for Pete," Cash said. "To just continue to establish just how talented he is."

The young right-hander faced the foursome of Kevin Kiermaier, Hunter Renfroe, Nate Lowe and Chris Herrmann, striking out the latter three after allowing Kiermaier an infield single. Fairbanks' impressive four-seam fastball was on display, as well as a new changeup he's developed and what Kiermaier described as a "nasty" slider. Fairbanks already has two Tommy John surgeries on his medical chart, but he's back to throwing in the high 90s and offered some reason for optimism last season after arriving in Tampa following a trade with the Rangers. While the 26-year-old finished with a 5.11 ERA in his 13 appearances with the Rays, that bloated figure was accompanied by an impressive 2.89 FIP that implied Fairbanks ran into some tough luck.

Loup was one of four pitchers to participate in a simulated game at summer camp Thursday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The veteran southpaw is thought to have a firm grip on an Opening Day roster spot after posting a 1.93 ERA and 0.43 WHIP over four Grapefruit League appearances. Loup threw 20 pitches overall during his one inning Thursday, getting 12 into the strike zone and recording a strikeout while facing the quartet of Manuel Margot, Yoshi Tsutsugo, Kevan Smith and Mike Brosseau.

Duffey has not thrown in live batting practice or a scrimmage in summer camp as he's slightly behind other pitchers in his build-up to the season. MLB.com reports. "Duff, just due to every guy being in a different spot, probably just going to be a hair behind as we build him up," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We're just building him up right now before we get him out there facing hitters."

It's not clear if Duffey is dealing with an injury or just behind on his conditioning. Either way, it doesn't look like a major concern. However, Duffey was thought to have sneaky fantasy value early in the season if starting pitchers are not going to be able to go far into games, as he could get significant innings and opportunities as a result. If Duffey is eased into the start of the season, he may not be able to capitalize on those potential early relief innings.

The Rays are specifically not naming Anderson (or anyone else) the closer, John Romano of The Tampa Bay Times reports. "We've tried to stay away from naming specific roles because we think it's a benefit to our club to be able to be versatile and prioritize matchups," manager Kevin Cash said. "But there's no way you can doubt the value of how challenging getting the last three outs of the game is."

The Rays had 11 pitchers record saves last year, but Anderson wasn't one of them. Yet following the Emilio Pagan trade, he's the favorite to inherit at least the majority part of the role, but given the Rays' approach to the role, perhaps a little caution is advised, despite his excellent skills.

Poche is working on throwing his slider more frequently this season after throwing it only 9.7 percent of the time in 2019, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Poche used his slider on a few occasions in Thursday's intrasquad scrimmage with some success. "I got some swing and misses on it (Thursday), which is always a good sign," he said. "Anytime you can get high-level hitters to swing and miss at a pitch that's not my fastball, it's a big confidence booster for me. The more and more I get comfortable with it, the more it can really be a weapon and actually make my fastball even better.''

Trivino is battling shoulder soreness but is expected to resume throwing Thursday, John Hickey of the East Bay Times reports.

Trivino took several days off while experiencing shoulder soreness, but manager Bob Melvin said that he's expected to resume throwing Thursday. It wouldn't be surprising to see the team proceeding cautiously with the right-hander as he resumes activities, but whether the issue will impact his availability for Opening Day remains to be seen.

Manager Ron Roenicke said McHugh (elbow) is scheduled to throw at least "a couple more bullpens," Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Roenicke added that McHugh, who is working his way back from a flexor strain, is not yet ready for game action. It's still unclear whether he'll be ready for the start of the regular season at this point.

Adams (knee) faced hitters in a live batting practice session Wednesday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Aside from allowing a long home run to teammate Kyle Lewis, Adams looked sharp in what was his first appearance against hitters since he tore the ACL in his left knee Sept. 21. The Mariners consider Adams a full go for summer camp, but it wouldn't be surprising if the coaching staff elected to use him mostly in simulated-game settings initially rather than intrasquad or exhibition contests. In any case, the expectation is that Adams will be a member of the Opening Day bullpen, likely handling a high-leverage role after ranking third in the American League among relievers in 2019 with a 14.8 K/9 rate.

Norris said Thursday that the Tigers placed him on the COVID-19 injured list, but he indicated that he otherwise feels healthy and strong, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

After he was absent for the first six days of summer camp, Norris was placed on the IL late Wednesday, but it wasn't clear if he was heading to the 10-day IL or the COVID-19 IL. The southpaw offered clarity on the transaction after speaking to the media, and indicated that he'll still need to submit two negative test results before he's allowed to rejoin the Tigers for workouts. Due to the timing of his placement on the IL, Norris appears unlikely to be ready to go for Opening Day, which could allow either Michael Fulmer (elbow) or Tyler Alexander to crack the rotation to begin the season.

The Tigers placed Norris on the 10-day injured list Wednesday due to an unspecified issue, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

The transaction comes after Norris hadn't been in attendance for any of the Tigers' six summer-camp workouts to date. Due to his lack of training along with his placement on the IL, Norris now appears unlikely to be ready for Opening Day on July 24, creating an opening in the Detroit rotation. Michael Fulmer (elbow) could be the top candidate to take Norris' spot if he can get the green light from team doctors, while left-hander Tyler Alexander also looms as a potential replacement.