MLB Player News

De Leon said Thursday that he plans to visit Dr. James Andrews in the coming days for a second opinion on the torn UCL in his right elbow, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

De Leon added that he wanted to get his Tommy John surgery done "as soon as possible," so it sounds like his consultation with Dr. Andrews is more of an assessment of how best to approach the procedure rather than the 25-year-old maintaining hope that he'll be able to treat the injury through non-surgical methods. The year-plus recovery timeline typically associated with Tommy John surgery should effectively eliminate any remaining appeal De Leon may have had in dynasty formats.

Johnson seems to have the lead on the fifth starting rotation spot with both Steven Wright (knee) and Eduardo Rodriguez (knee) unlikely to be ready to start the season, MassLive.com reports.

Johnson is out of options, and his main competition for fill-in duty, Hector Velazquez, is off to a rocky start to spring training (10 hits, two strikeouts in 7.1 innings). The left-handed Johnson has turned in four scoreless frames to begin the spring with two strikeouts and no walks. He hasn't enjoyed much success at the big-league level to this point, and he won't offer much upside given his limited strikeout potential (6.9 K/9), but those in AL-only leagues looking to replace an injured pitcher could probably do worse.

Yarbrough is one of several relievers who could be called upon to work extended innings under the Rays' plan to use the bullpen as a de facto fifth starter, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

The 26-year-old southpaw was thought to be in the mix for a rotation spot earlier this spring, but manager Kevin Cash appears set on utilizing the quartet of Chris Archer, Blake Snell, Jacob Faria and Nathan Eovaldi as his starters. According to his Wednesday remarks on the subject, he also wants to make it through the entirety of the season with that four-man rotation and utilize several of his relievers with starting experience -- Yarbrough among them -- as his collective fifth starter on days when one is needed. That type of potential multi-inning usage would be right in Yarbrough's wheelhouse, considering he's started in 83 of his 87 career minor-league appearances dating back to 2014. The hard-throwing lefty has made a positive impression this spring, allowing an earned run on two hits and two walks over 4.2 innings in three appearances, including one start.

Pruitt is one of several relievers who could be called upon to work extended innings under the Rays' plan to use the bullpen as a de facto fifth starter, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

The 28-year-old right-hander logged the first eight starts of his major-league career last season with the Rays, and according to the plans elaborated on by manager Kevin Cash on Wednesday, he could potentially be in for several extended outings this season despite not being projected as a starter. Cash explained he plans to go with a four-man rotation as his foundation for the entirety of the season if feasible, and utilize multiple relievers with starting experience -- Pruitt among them -- as the collective fifth starter on days when one is needed. Pruitt's introduction to big-league hitters was a rocky one in 2017, as he generated a 5.31 ERA and 1.51 WHIP over 83 innings. He's been steadier thus far this spring, posting a 4.50 ERA over four innings across three appearances.

Andriese is one of several relievers who could be called upon to work extended innings under the Rays' plan to use the bullpen as a de facto fifth starter, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

Manager Kevin Cash expounded on the plan Wednesday, telling reporters that not only does he intend to go with a four-man starting rotation through the first month of the season, he'd also like to stick with that plan for the entirety of 2018 if possible. Whenever a fifth starter is needed, Cash envisions deploying several of his multi-inning-capable relievers -- Andriese among them -- to work those games. The arrangement would seem to mesh well with Andriese's skill set, considering he's already logged 44 career starts in 72 appearances and has served as a long reliever as well.

Jimenez has made adjustments to his slider grip and has been getting more movement on the pitch this spring, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Tigers pitching coach Chris Bosio didn't tinker with Jimenez's arm action but he did suggest a new grip, which the 23-year-old righty has been incorporating during spring training. Jimenez said the change has given the pitch more right-to-left action. "It's doing a lot to set up hitters," he said. "Before it was more like a three to nine (hands on a clock) movement. Now it's more one to seven." Jimenez struggled mightily last season, posting a 12.32 ERA and 2.11 WHIP in 19 innings, but he has the stuff to be a dynamic late-inning reliever. The rebuilding Tigers will likely give him plenty of opportunities this season to figure things out at the MLB level.

Armstrong was designated for assignment by the Mariners on Wednesday, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

A 40-man spot was needed to make the signing of Ichiro Suzuki official, and Armstrong wound up being the roster casualty. The 27-year-old struggled in 24.2 innings with Cleveland last season, producing a 4.38 ERA, but he did have a 3.07 ERA in 29.1 innings with the club's Triple-A affiliate. Armstrong's major-league experience could make him attractive to a few teams.

Rumbelow is dealing with a neck issue in addition to shoulder discomfort, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Rumbelow hasn't appeared in a spring game since Feb. 24 when he exited an outing against the White Sox with a cut on his right thumb. Although the thumb is no longer an issue, shoulder discomfort and neck problems are obviously not good signs as Opening Day looms right around the corner. The 26-year-old was expected to push for a spot on the Opening Day roster in a relief role, but those hopes are all but dashed unless he's able to make a speedy recovery and impress the organization within the next couple weeks.

De Leon was diagnosed with a torn UCL on Wednesday and will require Tommy John surgery, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Once highly touted as a pitching prospect, De Leon missed significant time last season due to a lat strain, forearm tightness and ultimately elbow tendinitis. He'll head to see Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion according to Topkin, but the worst-case scenario is still expected. De Leon will now miss the entirety of the 2018 season while rehabbing from the major procedure with the hopes of returning during the early portion of 2019.

Banda will be squeezed out of a rotation role by the Rays' four-man rotation experiment, the Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

Banda might be the Rays' fifth-best starter right now, and he'd certainly be in contention for their fifth starter job, but that job is unlikely to exist, at least at the start of the season. Manager Kevin Cash confirmed that the team will run a four-man rotation for at least six weeks and hopefully longer. The added off days in the major-league schedule this season will make a fifth starter less necessary, and the Rays intend to go with a bullpen game whenever they have five games in a row. Banda could be the first pitcher on the mound in those games, but he would be removed after two or three innings and thus would be ineligible for a win. This setup hurts Banda's potential fantasy value, though he's possibly just one injury away from being a member of the Rays' four-man rotation and could still see a decent number of innings as a long man in the team's bullpen.