MLB Player News

Hill was traded to the Padres for Franchy Cordero and Ronald Bolanos (ribs) on Thursday, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Hill will bolster the bullpen for a Padres team that finished with a combined 4.59 ERA from its relief pitchers in 2019. The 30-year-old southpaw was excellent against left-handed hitters last season, allowing a .186 batting average without surrendering a single home run. Hill's dominance against left-handed hitters sets up nicely against a Dodgers lineup that feasts on right-handed pitching.

Crowe has been absent from team workouts since they began July 3, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Crowe is supposed to be training in Washington, as he was not listed on the roster sent to High-A Fredericksburg earlier this month. The 25-year-old struggled in Triple-A last season, posting a 6.17 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 41:26 K:BB in 54 innings for Fresno.

Hartlieb was sent back to the Pirates' satellite camp in Altoona on Thursday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Hartlieb was working at the team's major-league training site over the past few days, but he'll head to the alternate training site ahead of the regular season. The right-hander made 29 appearances for the Pirates last season, logging a 9.00 ERA and 38:18 K:BB over 35 innings.

Gott is expected to be a factor in high-leverage, late-inning situations in 2020, but Giants manager Gabe Kapler isn't likely to define roles for any of his relievers prior to Opening Day, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. "We don't really have the personnel with the track record where we could just slot guys into roles," Kapler said. "Outside of [Tony Watson], and Watty is still working himself into shape, we don't have a long track record of success, a long track record of guys being in one role in our bullpen. I think roles will define themselves as performance happens in-season at the major-league level."

During his time as Philadelphia's manager, Kapler was similarly reluctant to set roles for his top late-inning options, so it's no surprise he's planning to take a similar approach with a Giants bullpen that's lacking in proven options. That reality makes it difficult to bank on any one Giants pitcher being the top option for saves, but when handicapping the closer situation, Pavlovic suggests that Gott is an "easy third answer" behind Tony Watson and Tyler Rogers. A former college closer, Gott already boasts ninth-inning experience, and he was generally one of the Giants' more dominant bullpen arms in 2019, posting an 18.7 K-BB% while doing a good job of keeping the ball in the yard (0.7 HR/9). The Giants have had Gott stretch out during both spring training and summer camp, suggesting that he could be groomed for a potential multi-inning role that might give him some value as a ratio stabilizer even if he's not getting save opportunities.

Abbott was added to Chicago's 60-man player pool Thursday, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Abbott will report to the team's alternate camp site in South Bend, Indiana, where he'll continue his development after spending the entire 2019 season with Double-A Tennessee. Across 26 starts with the Smokies last season, Abbott posted a 3.01 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 166:52 K:BB in 146.2 innings.

Miller was added to Chicago's 60-man player pool Thursday, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Miller will report to the team's alternate camp site in South Bend, Indiana. The right-hander notched a 2.56 ERA across 15 starts with Double-A Tennessee in 2019 but struggled following a promotion to Triple-A Iowa, posting a 7.58 ERA in 11 starts.

The Cardinals assigned Thompson to their alternate training site in Springfield on Thursday.

Though he's one of the top pitching prospects in the organization, Thompson hasn't pitched above the High-A level and was considered a long shot to crack the Opening Day roster. The Cardinals remain committed to developing Thompson as a starter, but he's most likely to work as a reliever if he makes his big-league debut in 2020.

Bowman threw a 35-pitch bullpen session Tuesday after missing the start of summer camp with elbow soreness, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Bowman already had an uphill battle to make the team for Opening Day, even with the expanded rosters. This elbow problem probably keeps him on the taxi squad once the season begins.

Jansen needed only eight pitches to retire four batters in an intrasquad game Tuesday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

In Jansen's first intrasquad appearance since joining the team at camp Sunday as he returned from COVID-19, the right-hander made swift work of four teammates, including a pair of league MVPs (Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger). Jansen picked up one strikeout in the efficient appearance, punching out Corey Seager on three pitches. Despite his late start to camp, Jansen should be ready to close games by Opening Day.

Pivetta could be on the outside looking in for the final spot in the starting rotation, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Vince Velasquez has put on a strong performance early in summer training and appears to have the upper hand with just over a week before Opening Day. Regardless, Pivetta will remain stretched out, as the protocols for any player who potentially has COVID-19 could quickly open up a spot in the rotation. Zack Wheeler is also expected to miss some time early in the season while on paternity leave, so at least some starting chances will be available.