MLB Player News

Civale was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Civale threw only five innings during Cactus League action as he began the spring by battling a groin injury. However, he made a strong impression during his final outing, striking out six batters across three innings on March 9. Civale should remain a strong candidate for the rotation throughout the season, though it appears the team is currently content to see how Mike Clevinger (knee) and Carlos Carrasco (elbow) progress from their injuries before play resumes.

Springs was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

With Springs, Matt Hall and Chris Mazza all heading to the minors, and presuming Collin McHugh (elbow) his healthy, it appears either Ryan Weber or Brian Johnson will open the season as Boston's fifth starter. The 27-year-old Springs struggled across 25 relief appearances with the Rangers in 2019, posting a 6.40 ERA, 1.89 WHIP and 32:23 K:BB in 32.1 innings.

The White Sox optioned Kopech to Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Kopech is healthy again after missing the entire 2019 season following Tommy John surgery, but the White Sox likely want to see their top pitching prospect build up his pitch count and refine his command at Triple-A for at least a few starts before returning him into the big-league rotation. The hard-throwing righty made just one appearance in Cactus League play before the MLB suspended its season, striking out one over a perfect inning.

Paxton (back) has been throwing in his home state of Wisconsin, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Paxton had back surgery in early February and was initially expected to miss the early portion of the regular season. He has indicated that he could be ready to pitch in games as soon as mid-May, which is supported by the fact that he has resumed throwing. With the regular season postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it's well within reason to believe Paxton could occupy a spot in the rotation come Opening Day.

Keller gave up 11 runs in 6.2 innings this spring, but he finished on a strong note in his third and final start, Jesse Borek of MLB.com reports.

He tossed four innings and allowed one run on five hits while walking one and striking out three during his first outing throwing to Salvador Perez since 2018. Keller mentioned how much he enjoyed having Perez behind the dish and was encouraged by how well he threw his slider in his final outing of the spring. Keller and Danny Duffy are the top two candidates to take the ball on Opening Day.

Lynch, who was sent to minor-league camp before the hiatus, will likely open the year at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

He dominated in the Arizona Fall League and was in line for a promotion to Double-A last season before he missed a couple months with arm soreness. Considered to be the Royals pitching prospect with the highest ceiling, Lynch is a 6-foot-6 lefty with a big fastball and plus slider. He gave up one earned run on three hits and three walks while striking out three in 2.2 innings this spring before getting reassigned.

Bubic will likely open the year at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

He gave up four earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two over 3.1 innings this spring. According to Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs, Bubic was sitting in the upper 80s with his fastball at times while touching 93 mph in a March 8 outing against the White Sox. This is important to factor in when looking at Bubic's eye-popping stats from 2019. He is a lefty with a plus changeup and average curveball, and that is often more than enough to flummox low-level hitters. While his statistics make him seem like a pitcher with a high ceiling, his stuff is more in line with a back-end starter.

Singer was a candidate to win the fifth starter's spot before spring training was postponed, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

While the team's other top pitching prospects (Jackson Kowar, Daniel Lynch) were already sent to minor-league camp before the hiatus, Singer was still competing for a rotation spot. He gave up three earned runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out six over 5.2 innings this spring. Manager Mike Matheny said Singer would have to prove he was the obvious option for the fifth starter's spot, as the young righty has still never pitched at Triple-A. Singer is a sinker/slider type who relies on generating weak contact. His changeup is a distant third pitch, but so far that has not slowed his climb through the minors -- he skipped Low-A altogether, needed just 10 starts at High-A, and logged a 3.47 ERA in 16 starts at Double-A.

Canning (elbow) may be able to resume throwing sometime next week, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Canning received a platelet-rich plasma injection March 6, but had to wait four weeks until throwing again. That would put him in line to start ramping up as early as April 3, though no specifics were given by general manager Billy Eppler. Canning had complained of elbow discomfort -- the original cause of his shut down -- but the team has consistently maintained there is no structural damage, and he is reportedly feeling well in his recovery.

Faedo will likely start the 2020 season in the rotation at Triple-A Toledo, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

With Joey Wentz undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this month, Faedo will almost assuredly secure a rotation spot in Toldeo, along with highly-touted prospects Casey Mize and Matt Manning. Mize and Manning have higher ceilings, but Faedo posted solid numbers with Double-A Erie last season (3.90 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 134 strikeouts in 115.1 innings) and could make it as a fourth or fifth starter.