MLB Player News

McCullers allowed one run on four hits while striking out six over five innings in Monday's exhibition game against the Royals, Chandler Rome of Houston Chronicle reports. He threw 76 pitches (47 for strikes).

McCullers was sharp in his final tuneup before the regular season. His elite curveball confounded hitters per usual, but the right-hander also mixed in his two-seamer and changeup to elicit 14 swings and misses. He's in line to start the second game of the season, Saturday at home against the Mariners.

Keuchel allowed one hit over five scoreless innings in Monday's exhibition game against the Cubs, Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald reports.

Keuchel faced the minimum of 15 batters as the one lone baserunner was wiped out by a double play. This marked the first time in summer camp that he reached five innings, the minimum number of innings required to qualify for a win. The left-hander is expected to start the second game of the season, Saturday at home against the Twins.

Perez allowed three hits and no walks while striking out six over six shutout innings in Monday's intrasquad game, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports. He threw 80 pitches (52 strikes).

Perez said he found his cutter, which he had problems with in earlier intrasquad games, and that was the difference Monday. The left-hander authored his best outing of camp in his final tuneup and will next start the second game of the season, Saturday at home against Baltimore.

Canning took the win in Monday's exhibition game against San Diego, completing six scoreless innings and allowing three hits and two walks while striking out five.

Canning breezed through six innings against a Padres lineup consisting of projected starters, allowing only five baserunners while fanning five. The right-hander has looked solid in summer camp and has shown no signs of being affected by the elbow issue that shut down his throwing in February. Canning could be a solid source of strikeouts at the back end of the rotation after whiffing 96 batters in 90.1 innings last season.

Maeda gave up three runs over five innings with seven strikeouts and threw 85 pitches in Monday's scrimmage, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Maeda looks ready for the regular season and may not be limited in his first few outings. The 31-year-old was moved to the bullpen multiple times in the last couple years given the Dodgers' plethora of starting options, but he should have a solidified spot in the Twins' starting rotation in 2020.

Paxton threw 84 pitches over five innings in a simulated game Monday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Paxton could have faced Philadelphia in Monday night's exhibition contest, but the Yankees decided to have him throw a simulated game instead because he's lined up to face the Phillies early in the season. Paxton should be ready to take on a full workload when he toes the mound against Washington in his first regular-season outing Saturday.

Manning was reassigned to the Tigers' alternate training site Monday.

Manning and fellow top pitching prospect Casey Mize were both sent to the Tigers' alternate camp in Toledo. If there was a minor-league season in 2020, Manning would have likely pitched at Triple-A and been in line for a promotion to the majors at some point. That could still happen this summer, but the 22-year-old won't be on Detroit's Opening Day roster.

Mize was reassigned to the Tigers' alternate training site Monday.

This makes it official that Mize won't begin the year in the majors, but it was never really expected that he'd break camp with the Tigers. The 23-year-old is still one of the team's top prospects, and he could make his debut at some point this summer.

Keller (not injury related) completed a simulated game Sunday, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Keller remains on the Royals' COVID-19 injured list, but after reporting to camp Friday, the right-hander is healthy again and merely building up to a starter's workload at this point. Lewis suggests there's a chance Keller could build up to a 3-to-4-inning workload at some point this week, which could make him a candidate to make his season debut when the Royals first require a fifth starter July 28 in Detroit. Jorge Lopez and Glenn Sparkman look like the top candidates for a spot start in the event Keller needs to miss his first turn through the rotation.

Anderson (oblique) threw from 120 feet Monday and will throw a bullpen session Wednesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Anderson will be opening the season on the injured list due to an oblique strain he's dealt with throughout summer camp, but the fact that he's nearly ready to throw a bullpen session is certainly a good sign. Starts are available for the Blue Jays until he returns, with Ryan Borucki, Anthony Kay and Nate Pearson lining up as the primary candidates.