MLB Player News

Hill isn't scheduled to start any of the Twins' next four games, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

There haven't been any indications that the oft-injured lefty is dealing with yet another ailment, but he'll now have a minimum of eight days' rest between his first two starts of the year. It's possible that the Twins are simply treating the veteran very cautiously after he spent the first half of the calendar year recovering from October elbow surgery.

Turnbull will not make his scheduled start Thursday against St. Louis as the series has been postponed due to the Cardinals' coronavirus outbreak, Mark Saxon of The Athletic reports.

St. Louis has decided against traveling to Detroit this week with 13 members of the Cardinals organization testing positive for the virus. Turnbull was lined up to pitch in the fourth game of the series Thursday but will likely bump back to sometime during a weekend series in Pittsburgh. The Tigers have yet to formally announce their rotation plans.

Boyd will not make his scheduled start Tuesday against St. Louis as the series has been postponed due to the Cardinals' coronavirus outbreak, Mark Saxon of The Athletic reports.

13 members of the Cardinals organization have tested positive for the virus, including seven players. The Tigers have yet to announce their rotation plans for their weekend series in Pittsburgh, which remains on the schedule, but Boyd presumably will start Friday's game.

Paxton is worried about his drop in velocity this season, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports. "I'm concerned. I'm trying to do everything that I can to figure out what's going on," Paxton stated following Sunday's start.

Paxton averaged 95.4 mph on his four-seam fastball in both 2018 and 2019, but his velocity has dropped drastically to 91.8 mph on the pitch so far this season. His cutter has experienced a similar decline (from 88.1 mph in 2019 to 84.9 mph in 2020), leading to a pair of poor starts in which Paxton has allowed a combined six earned runs on 12 hits over four innings. Whether the slow beginning to the campaign and significant dip in velocity are related to the southpaw's February back surgery is undetermined, but Paxton's spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy if he is unable to turn things around relatively soon.

Turnbull is getting more rotation and swings-and-misses on his slider so far this season versus last year, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Turnbull is generating a higher rpm on his slider this year and has made batters whiff on the pitch 63.2 percent of the time through two starts, which is up from 32.3 percent in 2019. The righty may not be able to sustain such success with the pitch, but it's clear he has confidence on the mound right now, and he'll look to build on his solid 2-0 record, 2.45 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore said Keller could be ready to return from the COVID-19 injured list to start Thursday against the Cubs or Friday against the Twins, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports reports.

Keller has been working out with the team for more than two weeks after a positive COVID-19 test sidelined him for much of summer camp. After facing hitters in a live batting practice Saturday, Keller will likely throw one more tune-up bullpen session before the Royals determine where to slot him into their pitching schedule this week. Kansas City has been running out a four-man rotation since Mike Montgomery (lat) was shut down last week, so Keller would ideally return from the IL on Thursday, when a fifth starter will first be needed.

Milone allowed one run on six hits and no walks while striking out eight over five innings in Sunday's win against the Rays. He didn't factor into the decision.

The Orioles picked up a comfortable 5-1 win Sunday, but the team mustered only one run over the first six innings, forcing Milone to settle for a no-decision. The only production the southpaw allowed against the Rays came via a solo home run to lead off the sixth inning that led to his removal from the contest. Across two starts to begin the season, Milone carries a 5.63 ERA and 13:3 K:BB over eight innings. His next chance to enter the win column should come on the road Saturday against the Nationals.

Valdez allowed one unearned run on five hits and one walk while striking out eight over 6.1 relief innings in Sunday's 6-5 extra-innings win over the Angels.

Valdez was needed early following Josh James' disastrous three-inning start. Houston's No. 5 starter saved a decimated Astros' bullpen with his quality innings and gave the offense space to come back and win it in extras. Valdez has had his share of shaky starts, so this was a change of pace for the left-hander. Valdez had been scheduled to start Tuesday, but Sunday's relief effort pushed his next start to the weekend against the Athletics.

Paxton allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits and struck out four in three innings in a no-decision versus the Red Sox on Sunday.

Paxton labored through his second start of the year, needing 62 pitches (45 strikes) to complete the three innings. He's given up eight runs (six earned) across two short starts this season. The southpaw has only walked one batter, but he continues to deal with a drop in velocity -- he hovered around 91 mph with his fastball Sunday. Paxton is expected to start next weekend versus the Rays.

Chirinos allowed one run on five hits and two walks while striking out three over 4.2 innings in Sunday's loss to the Orioles. He didn't factor into the decision.

Chirinos slightly increased his pitch count in his second start of the season as he fired 72 pitches, but he had to settle for another no-decision against the Orioles. His next chance to get into the win column should come at home Saturday against the Yankees.