MLB Player News

Marsh received an invitation Friday to Kansas City's major-league spring training.

The 22-year-old joined the team's 60-man player pool in mid-September last year and spent the final couple weeks of the season at the alternate training site. Marsh had a 4.05 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 38:4 K:BB over 33.1 innings at rookie ball during 2019 and is likely to begin 2021 in the lower minors.

Lynch received an invitation Friday to the Royals' major-league spring training.

The 24-year-old was included in Kansas City's 60-man player pool for 2020 but didn't end up seeing the field. Lynch had a 3.10 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 77:23 K:BB over 78.1 innings at High-A in 2019, so he's likely ticketed for Double-A or Triple-A to begin 2021.

Sale (elbow) was forced to modify his rehab program after suffering from neck stiffness, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

The team's chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom clarified that the setback was not directly related to Sale's recovery from Tommy John surgery. Even so, he admitted that the injury did push back Sale's timetable to return to the mound. More optimistically, there have been no reports of further arm issues for Sale and the neck injury is not expected to change his health status in the long-term.

Manning has been developing a new, sharp breaking ball, which could be classed as either a slider or a cutter, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

The 23-year-old righty already had quite a high ceiling, and the existence of a third offspeed pitch to pair with his plus curveball and above-average changeup could potentially push it even higher. It's of course no guarantee the pitch works as well as Manning hopes, however, and he'll come with question marks this season even if it does, as he could have been on a path to debut last year but was shut down with a strained right forearm. While he feels 100 percent now, it's certainly possible the issue returns.

The Angels acquired Cobb in a trade with the Orioles on Monday, Dan Connolly and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report.

The exact terms of the trade remain unknown, but Baltimore is unlikely to get a major prospect in return, assuming the Angels are covering a portion of the $15 million Cobb is owed in 2021. Over his three seasons in Baltimore, Cobb didn't emerge as the frontline starter the Orioles had hoped they were getting after inking him to a four-year, $57 million deal in the 2017-18 offseason. In addition to missing extended time due to injuries, Cobb wasn't particularly effective when he was healthy enough to pitch, submitting a 5.10 ERA (5.22 FIP), 1.42 WHIP and 6.1 K/9 in 41 starts for Baltimore. With his new organization, the 33-year-old right-hander won't be assured a rotation spot, as the Angels already have Dylan Bundy, Shohei Ohtani, Andrew Heaney, Griffin Canning and Jose Quintana on hand as starting candidates.

Rodon signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the White Sox on Saturday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Rodon will return to the White Sox after being non-tendered by the team in early December. The southpaw has battled injuries over the past two seasons and only made 11 appearances (nine starts) as a result. During that time, Rodon posted a 5.74 ERA and 1.46 WHIP over 42.1 innings. He should compete for a back-end rotation spot once again heading into 2021.

Irvin was traded from the Phillies to the Athletics on Saturday for cash considerations, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Irvin spent most of the 2020 season at the Phillies' alternate training site after allowing seven runs on 11 hits and one walk while striking out four over 3.2 relief innings. The southpaw has worked as a starter and reliever in the past and could serve as a swingman for his new club in 2021.

Severino is on track to return from Tommy John surgery in late summer, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Severino underwent the procedure in February of 2020. If his recovery was on the fast end of the typical timeline, he could be pushing to return not long after Opening Day, but general manager Brian Cashman seemed to suggest he'd need a bit longer than that. "Late summer" is unfortunately somewhat of a vague time frame, but it sounds as though there's a real chance Severino doesn't wind up making much more than six or seven starts this season, which makes even a pitcher of his talents tough to hold onto in many formats.

Boyd pitched through a hamstring injury suffered during summer training camp, and then later with plantar fasciitis in his left foot over his last couple of starts, Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press reports.

It wasn't enough to put Boyd on the IL, but perhaps it should have, as he turned in a 6.71 ERA with 15 homers allowed. "Physically, it affected me in terms of being able to repeat my delivery," Boyd said Monday. "There was no pain for the majority of the year, but my mechanics moved and adapted to where I wasn't able to do the same things on the mound that I used to." The southpaw saw his K% tumble from a career-high 30.2 percent in 2019 to 23.3 percent last season, so perhaps a return to health will allow him to regain some dominance.

Gilbert was invited to the Mariners' big-league camp Thursday, Lauren Smith of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Gilbert only has 26 total professional starts to his name, but he's already knocking on the door of the majors. He recorded a 2.13 ERA and a 31.7 percent strikeout rate across three levels in his lone professional season in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic robbed him of the chance of pushing for a big-league debut with another strong campaign in the upper minors last year. Whether or not Gilbert is given a legitimate shot to win an Opening Day roster spot remains to be seen, but even if he isn't, his debut may not be far away.