MLB Player News

Manning might not make his MLB debut this season due to the suspension of play, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Manning wasn't a lock to make his MLB debut this year even if the season started on time, but the Tigers might be even more reluctant to promote their prized righty given the current circumstances. The 22-year-old probably needed some solid showings at Triple-A to get the call, and if he's unable to do that, the team could simply hit the pause button until 2021.

Snell indicated that he was satisfied with the health of his left elbow before spring training was suspended, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. He's confident that he'll be ready to pitch without any restrictions once the season resumes.

Prior to the MLB-mandated shutdown, Snell had been cleared to pitch in a simulated game after a cortisone shot alleviated the discomfort he had been experiencing in his elbow. Had the season started on time, Snell may have had to skip his first turn through the rotation while he built up his arm for starting duty, but now that the MLB hiatus is set to last until at least mid-May, he should be ready to go for Tampa Bay's opening series. While Snell is ostensibly healthy and should benefit from the extended break, it's not the most reassuring sign that his elbow was already barking again this spring after he had it scoped last July.

Kremer allowed no runs off six hits and two walks while recording five strikeouts over 5.1 innings during spring training.

Kremer pitched well over a limited sample this spring, but he'll still likely begin the season in the minors. The 24-year-old recorded an 8.84 ERA and 1.78 WHIP over 19.1 innings at Triple-A last season. If Kremer can continue to build on his production from spring training, it wouldn't be surprising to see him debut in the majors at some point in 2020.

Houck will start the 2020 season at Triple-A Pawtucket, Alexandra Francisco of NESN reports.

Houck's name bubbled up as a possible candidate for the rotation in 2020, even before news of Chris Sale needing Tommy John elbow surgery. Now with two rotation slots to fill, the Red Sox are digging deeper to find depth starters. However, they plan to keep Houck at Pawtucket, where he finished up the 2019 season as a reliever. If the Red Sox are not a contender in 2020, they may hand out starting opportunities to their young starters, like Houck, Bryan Mata, Mike Shawaryn or Kyle Hart.

Civale made his case for a spot in the rotation during his final start before the suspension of spring training, Joe Noga of Cleveland.com reports.

Civale struck out six Giants' hitters across three frames March 9, with his only blemish coming via a solo home run by Alex Dickerson to lead off the second inning. Though Civale threw only five total innings prior to spring training being suspended, he impressed by recording nine punchouts and allowing just one hit. The delay to the start of the regular season will give Mike Clevinger (knee) and Carlos Carrasco (elbow) a chance to get healthy, but Civale made a strong case to be in Indians' rotation when the regular season opens, regardless of the health of the more established arms.

Means will head the Orioles' rotation this season and was lining up to be the Opening Day starter, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Means was never officially named to the Opening Day assignment before play was suspended, but his schedule lined him up for the duties. Whenever MLB resumes, the southpaw figures to lead the Orioles' rotation, working ahead of veteran Alex Cobb. Means is coming off a breakout 2019, during which he posted a 3.60 ERA and 1.14 WHIP while walking just 38 batters across 155 innings.

Odorizzi only threw two innings during Grapefruit League play, but he honed his offspeed pitches and built up to 52 pitches on the backfields against minor-league hitters prior to the shutdown, LaVelle E. Neal of the Star Tribune reports.

Odorizzi, who is coming off the best season of his career, likes to work on his pitches during spring training in a simulated game environment, where he is less focused on trying to get out of an inning. The Twins supported him in this approach, although he would have gotten into more Grapefruit League games had spring training continued. He was unwilling to shed any light on what exactly he was working on, although he said he really likes the shape of his offspeed pitches and values seeing how hitters react to those pitches in that informal environment -- few of the hitters were able to make contact.

Rodon (elbow) could return to active duty by July, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper talked about what looks like a strong starting rotation to open the season, then anticipated the additions of Rodon and Michael Kopech. Cooper expects both pitchers to join the rotation at some point in 2020. Rodon played catch while training camps were open, and Cooper said the left-hander looked better than expected. Rodon underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2019, so a return during the second half of the season is likely, unless there's a setback.

Sale will undergo Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.

Sale's elbow troubles date back to last season. Tommy John surgery appeared to be on the table back in August and again when the issue return at the start of this month. The procedure was deemed unnecessary both times, and Sale was able to resume throwing Wednesday. His elbow evidently didn't respond well to Wednesday's session, however, as the decision to have him finally undergo the procedure was made just one day later. With a typical recovery timeline, the lefty will miss all of this season and the start of the 2021 campaign as well.

Hill (elbow) is continuing his rehab at home while baseball remains shut down and is still on track to pitch in June, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Depending on when play is able to resume, it's possible Hill won't wind up missing any games due to his offseason elbow surgery. He's expected to be able to maintain a similar rehab schedule from home, so his timeline won't be significantly impacted.