MLB Player News

Skubal will be competing for a spot in the Tigers' rotation during spring training, according to executive vice president of baseball operation Al Avila, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Skubal and Casey Mize will both enter camp looking to nab a spot on Detroit's staff. Avila noted that both hurlers could wind up in the rotation come April, but he also hinted at the notion that they could be competing against each other for a roster spot. Skubal posted a 5.63 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 37:11 K:BB across 32 innings in 2020.

Mize will be in competition for a rotation spot come spring training, according to executive vice president of baseball operations Al Avila, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

The highly touted right-hander's MLB career got off to a somewhat underwhelming start in 2020, as he allowed seven homers while posting a 6.99 ERA across 28.1 innings. While the Tigers are certainly hoping Mize does enough this spring to crack the Opening Day roster, Avila's comments indicate that he is far from guaranteed to break camp with the big club.

Wolf was traded from the Mets to the Indians along with Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez and Isaiah Greene in exchange for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco on Thursday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Wolf is a prospect, but not a particularly elite one. The 2019 second-round pick combines mid-90s heat with a promising curveball, but he's nowhere close to the majors at this point. He threw just eight professional innings at the rookie-ball level in his debut season and was unable to pitch last year due to the cancellation of the minor leagues.

Wilcox is set to be traded from the Padres to the Rays in exchange for left-hander Blake Snell, pending a review of medical records, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Wilcox signed a record $3.3 million deal with the Padres after he was selected with the 80th overall pick in the 2020 first-year player draft, and he spent the entire season at the team's alternate training site. The right-hander should get his first chance to play in the minors in 2021 as part of the Rays organization, where he'll work to develop his plus slider and plus changeup after a somewhat inconsistent performance at Georgia.

Snell is set to be traded to San Diego from Tampa Bay for Luis Patino, Francisco Mejia, Blake Hunt and Cole Wilcox, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports. The deal is pending a review of medical records.

Snell had a 3.24 ERA and 11.3 K/9 last season in a bounce-back campaign atop the Rays rotation. He'll move to the top of the Padres' rotation and could be allowed to go deeper into games. Snell never pitched into the seventh inning last season, including infamously being pulled after 5.1 innings with a lead in Game 6 of the World Series.

Urena (forearm) signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Tigers on Wednesday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The 29-year-old was non-tendered by Miami at the start of December shortly after being designated for assignment, but he's found another big-league opportunity in Detroit. Urena started five games in 2020 and had a 5.40 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 15:13 K:BB over 23.1 innings before fracturing his forearm in the last game of the regular season. The right-hander will presumably enter spring training as a member of the Tigers' starting rotation, though he did work out of the bullpen for part of 2019.

Faedo (forearm) will undergo Tommy John surgery later this month.

Faedo was shut down for the season in late August due to what was deemed a slight forearm strain, but he'll undergo reconstructive surgery on his UCL during the offseason. As a result, the right-hander won't pitch in 2021, but he'll likely attempt to return to the mound in 2022.

Wacha signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Rays on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays' reputation is such that it's generally safe to assume that if they want a player, he's probably better than he seems. In Wacha's case, his 6.62 ERA in 34 innings for the Mets last season came with a solid set of peripherals, as he struck out 23.7 percent of opposing batters while walking a career-low 4.5 percent. He did also see his groundball rate plummet from 48.0 percent in 2019 to 35.5 percent in 2020, however. Still, there's enough there to suggest that he should have a decent chance to carve out a successful season as a back-end starter or in whatever creative role the innovative Rays elect to deploy him.

Farrell signed a minor-league contract with the Twins on Thursday as a non-roster invitee, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Farrell elected free agency in early November after he was outrighted to the minors by the Rangers. He'll be invited to spring training with the Twins in 2021, where he should compete for a spot as a low-leverage reliever. The right-hander made four relief appearances for Texas last season, posting an 8.44 ERA and 1.88 WHIP over 5.1 innings.

Sale remains without a clear timeline for his return from Tommy John surgery, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Sale underwent the procedure in late March. A typical recovery timeline would see him back on a big-league mound sometime in the middle of the 2021 season, though it's difficult to predict his exact return date with any precision. While manager Alex Cora declined to give a timeline for the lefty's return Tuesday, he did note that his recovery was coming along well.