MLB Player News

Kluber worked six-plus innings and threw 80 pitches in an intrasquad game Thursday, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports. He allowed two hits, did not walk a batter and struck out nine.

Other than Rougned Odor catching all of a cut fastball for a home run, Kluber was on point. He retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced and fanned seven of them in what was his second time on the mound at Globe Life Field. "He was definitely ahead of the hitters today," manager Chris Woodward said. "I felt it was his command, and the baseball was moving. The movement is really late. Honestly, I was thrilled to watch that. You see the reaction of a lot of our hitters. A lot of them had a really tough time against him." Kluber is line for two more camp outings before the regular season arrives.

McCullers threw four innings and 67 pitches in an intra-squad game Thursday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McCullers, who pitched in a simulated game last week, had his first session in a game-like environment. Like last week's sim game, the right-hander reported feeling strong enough to pitch longer. He navigated early issues and was able to make mid-game adjustments to elicit swing-and-misses over the final two frames. McCullers, who missed all of 2019 following Tommy John elbow surgery, looks ready to go as the Astros' No. 3 starter.

Verlander (groin) threw three hitless innings in a simulated game Thursday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Facing Houston's presumed everyday lineup, minus Yordan Alvarez (undisclosed), Verlander struck out five and did not have a ball leave the infield. The only baserunner against Verlander reached via error. The right-hander unveiled slight tweaked mechanics, which lowered his release point relative to where it was in 2019. While last year's AL Cy Young winner told manager Dusty Baker last month that he was healthy and free of pain, it's good to see him actually get onto the field and dominate again after undergoing right groin surgery in mid-March. Verlander would appear on track for Opening Day.

Manager Joe Maddon said Sandoval reported to camp Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Sandoval has officially joined the Angels for workouts after missing the start of summer camp for undisclosed reasons. The southpaw, who posted a 5.03 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 42:10 K:BB over 39.1 innings as a rookie last season, is a candidate to serve as the team's sixth starter during the shortened 2020 season.

Montas was impressive in Tuesday's simulated game at Athletics summer camp despite giving up a home run to Franklin Barreto, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander had already gotten camp off to a strong start by demonstrating his usual velocity during a bullpen session, but he was able to continue impressing Tuesday while facing some his talented teammates. Montas continues to insist he's already geared up to take on close to a normal early season workload, which, if true, has him within range of manager Bob Melvin's expectations. "Montas looked good. He tells me he could go close to five innings right now," Melvin said. "I don't think we're there yet with all of our starters, but if we could get to 80 or 85 pitches for their first game, that's kind of what we're targeting."

Kikuchi was impressive while facing live batters for the first time in summer camp Wednesday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Kikuchi was labeled by manager Scott Servais as the pitcher likeliest most prepared to endure a heavy workload as summer camp began, and he helped validate his boss's faith Wednesday. The left-hander reportedly elevated his fastball up to 95 mph once he warmed up, ringing up some swings and misses against multiple teammates in the process. Kikuchi also confirmed he's slated to pitch in his first intrasquad game of camp Tuesday.

Snell threw 23 pitches in a simulated game Wednesday, his first time facing hitters since March, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Snell reported no issues with the elbow problems that once plagued him, and he was able to get 14 of his 23 offerings into the strike zone against the quartet of Yandy Diaz, Joey Wendle, Michael Perez and Daniel Robertson. Snell stated he'd already been feeling back to normal after throwing for the last week and a half, emphasizing that he'll "continue to feel better" with the additional work he plans on putting in before Opening Day.

Morton threw four innings in Wednesday's simulated game, allowing two runs and recording three strikeouts, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports. "Overall I felt pretty good," Morton said. "The last live [pitching session] I threw was in the lab here, so really, I think my stuff is getting to where it needs to be. ... I felt like I was working on my endurance and still had pretty decent stuff in the fourth [inning]. I'm pretty optimistic about everything overall."

The veteran right-hander faced the quartet of Yandy Diaz, Michael Perez, Daniel Robertson and Joey Wendle and threw 37 of his 47 pitches for strikes. Morton reportedly looked particularly sharp with his breaking ball, but he did allow two hits to Diaz and a home run to deep right field to Perez.

Whitley threw live batting practice at the main camp at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Whitley, who has spent time at both the main and alternate camps, will not be part of the 30-man active roster when the regular season starts. As such, he will spend the season in the player pool, which will shift activities to Corpus Christi on July 24.

Giolito threw three innings in a simulated game Wednesday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

This marked Giolito's first game action since he pitched one lone inning during a spring training game Mar. 6. The right-hander continued the work on his slider, a pitch he admitted was largely absent during his breakout 2019 campaign. Giolito will make his next camp appearance Monday, when he believes he'll be able to go six innings.