MLB Player News

Mayers has a strong chance of making the Opening Day roster in a relief role, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Angels claimed Mayers off waivers in November despite his career 7.03 ERA over 80.2 innings. Per Torres, the right-hander has added a cutter to his arsenal and is focusing on being more aggressive in throwing strikes. The results have been mixed thus far in spring training as Mayers has allowed three earned runs in 5.2 innings but has posted an 11:3 K:BB.

Johnson has a 3.86 ERA over five spring appearances, including two starts.

Johnson was dropped from the 40-man roster during the offseason despite being a hybrid starter/reliever for Boston the last two seasons. A best-case scenario for the left-hander, who is being stretched out in camp, is as a temporary fill-in starter for Chris Sale (elbow). The Red Sox are also kicking around the notion of using an opener as their fifth starter, in which case there may not be room for Johnson.

Taylor is projected to be part of the Opening Day bullpen, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. He's allowed one run on four hits and one walk while striking out seven over five spring innings.

Taylor made a successful transition from starter to reliever in 2018 and pitched well in that role for Boston in 2019, when he posted a 3.04 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. The move to the bullpen improved his strikeout rate, which makes sense when considering a pitcher can let it fly when being asked to pitch one inning instead of six.

Loaisiga pitched three innings in a Grapefruit League contest against Washington on Thursday, allowing one run on one hit and one walk while striking out three.

Loaisiga was touched for a home run off the bat of Victor Robles in the third inning but was otherwise dominant in New York's final game before MLB suspended spring training. The right-hander has a 2.70 ERA along with a sparking 0.40 WHIP and 14 strikeouts in 10 innings. Though the Yankees have yet to determine how they will deploy Loaisiga once the regular season begins, his impressive spring could help him win the competition for the No. 5 starter spot once play resumes.

Puk (shoulder) was able to play catch Wednesday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The towering southpaw continues to progress from his shoulder strain, and he should be able to carry out the throwing program team trainers developed for him despite the cancellation of the remainder of spring training Thursday due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Puk was already likely to miss the remainder of Cactus League play and slated to start the season in the bullpen; however, with Opening Day now delayed by at least two weeks past its original March 26 date, it remains to be seen if the 24-year-old will have a chance of stretching out sufficiently through catch sessions and potential sim games he might be able to participate in if teams are allowed use of their facilities.

Fairbanks worked one inning in a simulated game Tuesday, throwing 21 pitches, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Fairbanks got 14 of his offerings into the strike zone while facing Nate Lowe, Kevan Smith and Daniel Robertson and working with Mike Zunino as his battery mate. The 26-year-old right-hander had a rough go of it in 2019 with both the Rangers (9.35 ERA across eight appearances) and Rays (5.11 ERA in 13 outings), but he'd made a strong case this spring for an Opening Day roster spot with five scoreless, four-hit innings across five appearances and a 10:3 K:BB. With the remainder of Grapefruit League play cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns, it remains to be seen if he built a strong enough case to stick on the Opening Day roster.

Yarbrough threw 60 pitches over four innings in a simulated game Tuesday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The left-hander faced Nate Lowe, Mike Zunino and Daniel Robertson while working with Kevan Smith as his battery mate. Yarbrough threw 40 of 60 pitches for strikes and once again made a strong impression in his bid for a spot in the starting rotation. As it turns out, it was Yarbrough's last spring opportunity to do so now that the rest of the exhibition ledger has been wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but manager Kevin Cash took note of how good his potential No. 5 starter looked. "His ball moves everywhere," Cash said. "The late movement that he can create is really, really impressive. You understand why he's had so much success in his first two seasons."

Garcia allowed three runs on three hits and a walk in 3.1 innings in a Grapefruit League game against Miami on Wednesday. He struck out three.

Garcia retired the side in order in the first inning but struggled in the following frame, giving up a pair of runs on two hits and a fielder's choice. The 20-year-old has been competing for the No. 5 spot in the Yankees' Opening Day rotation, but he'll likely open the season in the minors after allowing six earned runs in 8.2 spring innings.

Giles struck out one in a perfect inning of relief during Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles.

The two teams combined for eight homers during the game, but the Jays' closer breezed through a scoreless sixth inning. Giles has a 2.25 ERA, 0.25 WHIP and 4:0 K:BB through four spring innings, and he already appears ready for the regular season.

Pearson won't have an innings cap this season, Andrew Stoeten of The Athletic reports.

During a radio interview Tuesday, Jays president Mark Shapiro made it clear that while the club would keep a careful eye on Pearson's workload, the plan was still for the right-hander to get in as many innings as he could handle this year. "The one thing I think that is important and we had a lot of conversation about - both with him and on our own - is [if you] go in with a plan where you're trying to save innings on the back side - that's got a good chance to backfire on you," Shapiro said. "If something happens, (like) a twisted ankle, (or he's) hit by a pitch and breaks a bone, all of a sudden you look up and (it's) another year where you didn't get a lot of innings in. So we're going to go out of the box, treating this guy like everybody else, and letting him amass his innings. And if at some point, if fatigue sets in - we're not setting an innings limit, per se - but if fatigue sets in we'll adjust at that point and back it up." Shapiro's comment about "trying to build a foundation for this guy to establish the routines and physical strength and understanding and knowledge to be healthy at the major league level and be able to pitch 200 innings" is another strong clue that Toronto intends to have him return to Triple-A rather than begin the season in the bigs, but Pearson's performance this spring has made it clear he already has the talent to dominate in the majors.