MLB Player News

Means was scratched from his scheduled start for Sunday's exhibition game with arm fatigue, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Manager Brandon Hyde said he chose to keep Means off the mound Sunday as a precautionary measure to give him extra rest after the southpaw was experiencing arm fatigue over the past few days. The 27-year-old was named the Orioles' Opening Day starter, but Hyde said that it's too early to tell whether the issue will impact his availability for the start of the season. Tom Eshelman will fill in as the starter for Sunday's exhibition game against the Phillies.

Eovaldi was named the Red Sox's Opening Day starter Saturday, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Eovaldi will be handed the relatively easy task of shutting down the Orioles' lineup next Friday and will line up to face the Mets in his next outing. He wouldn't have gotten the Opening Day nod in a typical season, but with Chris Sale recovering from Tommy John surgery and Eduardo Rodriguez only just reporting to camp Saturday after clearing COVID-19 protocols, he's the team's best available option. Eovaldi has been capable of ace-like stretches at times in his career, though his career 4.30 ERA over eight MLB seasons certainly doesn't meet that mark, and his 5.99 ERA in 67.2 innings last year was quite poor.

Rodriguez (illness) was cleared to join his teammates at Fenway Park on Saturday, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

A positive COVID-19 test had kept Rodriguez away from his teammates up to this point and will prevent him from making the Red Sox's Opening Day start (which will go to Nathan Eovaldi). He had been able to throw while away from the team, however, so it's possible he's not too far behind his teammates. When exactly Rodriguez is expected to make his season debut and how many pitches he'll be able to throw in his first few starts remain to be seen.

Cole tossed 5.2 innings in an intrasquad game Friday, unofficially allowing two runs on four hits while striking out seven, per Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record.

Cole hit one batter and didn't allow any walks. He served up back-to-back home runs to Mike Ford and Miguel Andujar but otherwise kept his teammates in check. Cole's next outing will take on much more significance -- he's scheduled to be on the mound against Washington on Thursday in the first regular-season MLB game of the 2020 campaign. After having worked up to 87 pitches Friday, New York's ace is expected to take on a full workload Opening Day.

Manager Kevin Cash said Saturday that he expects Morton will start Opening Day, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The announcement comes as little surprise, and the Rays are using Morton on a timeline that should allow him to be fully rested once the regular season begins July 24. The right-hander is scheduled to pitch in Sunday's intrasquad matchup, which should be his final outing of camp prior to the start of the season. Morton's Opening Day start will be his second in as many seasons in Tampa Bay. He finished 2019 with a career-best 2.05 ERA and 1.08 WHIP with 240 strikeouts over 194.2 innings.

Ryu is expected to throw six innings Saturday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Toronto's big free-agent signing seems right on track to handle a regular workload in his Opening Day assignment July 24 against the Rays. Ryu's ability to pitch to weak contact should be a better fit for the Jays, and result in better ratios, now that Vladimir Guerrero has been shifted across the diamond to first base.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli announced Berrios will start Opening Day against the White Sox on July 24, MLB.com reports.

Berrios will throw in Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage as his last outing before the start of the regular season. He threw 73 pitches Monday and has looked sharp in summer camp.

Bassitt is expected to open the 2020 season in the rotation spot originally intended for Jesus Luzardo, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Luzardo just arrived in summer camp Friday after quarantining due to a positive coronavirus test, and he'll therefore need to time to build his arm up for starting duty. Fortunately for manager Bob Melvin, Bassitt is a versatile veteran that has started 50 games for the Athletics the last four seasons and fashioned an impressive 10-5 record and 3.81 ERA in that capacity in 2019. The right-hander is likely to at least handle what would have been Luzardo's first couple of turns at the start of the regular season, and he's certainly capable of subsequently transitioning to long reliever if and when Luzardo is ready for a starter's workload.

Luzardo, who made his summer camp debut with a 30-pitch bullpen session Friday and will face hitters prior to Monday's exhibition game against the Giants, is now likely to start the season in the bullpen. Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports. "Today was amazing. Probably the best day of 2020 for me, by far," Luzardo said after his bullpen session. "I was going crazy locked up in a room. Being able to get back out here at the Coliseum around the guys was a lot of fun."

The promising left-hander finally had a chance to get back around his teammates after being forced to quarantine due to a positive COVID-19 test prior to the start of summer camp. Luzardo, who'd remained in his home in South Florida during the shutdown, had to sequester in the Bay Area during his recent isolation, but he was able to work out at a local field with the aid of a net and keep his strength training up with resistance bands. Luzardo is now likely to open the season as a reliever because of the time he's lost at camp, with his rotation spot set to go to Chris Bassitt for the time being. "The experience I gained last year coming out of the bullpen, I think that's going to help me a lot, especially early in this year," Luzardo said. "I feel good right now, and I'm ready for whatever they ask me to do."

German (suspension) announced Friday that he has left baseball, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

German was ineligible to take part in the shortened 2020 season with 63 games left on his suspension, but his update posted Friday on his personal Instagram page signals that he may not return to MLB once his suspension is over. The 27-year-old has posted a 4.52 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 273:81 K:BB over 55 appearances (38 starts) in three seasons with the Yankees.