MLB Player News

Verlander completed his first bullpen session of spring training Tuesday, stating afterward that he's mainly focused on locating his fastball and replicating his mechanics at this stage of camp, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. "I felt good," Verlander said. "I threw everything. I definitely wouldn't say everything was working, but I would say it's where it needs to be now."

After winning his second American League Cy Young Award in 2019 and covering 258.1 innings between the regular season and the playoffs, Verlander said he waited until January to begin his offseason training program in earnest. As a result, Houston will play things slowly with Verlander this spring and will likely limit his use in the Grapefruit League, but there's little doubt that he'll be ready to roll for the March 26 Opening Day game against the Angels.

Sale (illness) tossed a bullpen session during Thursday's full-squad workout, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

The side session was Sale's second of the week after he returned to camp Monday following a bout with pneumonia. The time the ace missed due to the illness along with an organizational desire to save his bullets for the games that count may prompt Boston to push back his Grapefruit League debut until next week or the first week of March, but Sale's ability to resume mound work at least indicates he's healthy again.

Keller is scheduled to start Monday in the Royals' Cactus League game against the Padres, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

While he makes his first start of the spring, Keller is expected to unveil a curveball, a new pitch he added to his arsenal during the offseason, per Alec Lewis of The Athletic. Keller is hopeful that the addition of the curveball as a fourth pitch will give him more time to further hone his changeup in side sessions while providing him with another alternative for hitters who handle sliders better than curves. Though he'll essentially be trading out the changeup for the curveball, Keller is still expected to rely heavily on the four-seamer/slider/sinker combination that accounted for 98.6 percent of his overall pitches in 2019.

Manager Aaron Boone said Severino will be shut down for at least a few days with forearm soreness, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

The issue apparently dates back to his last start of the 2019 playoffs, and it could put the start of his season in jeopardy. Per Jack Curry of YES Network, the right-hander will be examined by Dr. Chris Ahmad on Friday, after which more should be known about the severity of the issue. His current treatment plan includes anti-inflammatories and rest. General manager Brian Cashman said the team sent him in for a series of tests -- multiple different times -- over the offseason, though everything came back clean, aside from a "loose body" in Severino's elbow that isn't causing him any problems, per David Lennon of Newsday. The Yankees will certainly proceed cautiously with Severino, as forearm soreness can often be the precursor to a more serious injury.

Javier will start Houston's Grapefruit League opener Saturday against the Nationals, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

Javier will get the ball first for the Astros this spring, with Framber Valdez set to follow him Sunday. The 22-year-old Javier was added to Houston's 40-man roster this offseason in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He notched a 1.74 ERA and 37.3 percent strikeout rate in 113.2 innings across the three highest levels of the minors in 2019, though only 11 of those innings came at the Triple-A level.

Carrasco experienced discomfort in his right leg during a workout Wednesday and is scheduled to undergo further testing and imaging Thursday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

The extent of Carrasco's injury won't be known until the Indians reveal the results of his MRI on Friday, but the fact that he was using a crutch to move about the clubhouse Thursday isn't the most reassuring sign. Carrasco was limited to just 80 innings in 2019 while he recovered from leukemia, but he entered spring training with no restrictions and was in line to slot back into the Tribe's rotation after finishing last season in a relief role. If Carrasco's leg injury proves significant, Cleveland could be without two of its top three starters for Opening Day, as Mike Clevinger (knee) appears likely to begin the season on the injured list.

Glasnow impressed in his first time facing live hitters Wednesday, a session during which he threw 25 pitches, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports. "He's worked hard," said manager Kevin Cash. "I was impressed. The effort level was good but it also was under control. You could tell by the way he was throwing so many strikes and his misses were just, just misses. You could tell by the hitters reactions that the stuff was coming out really, really hot."

Glasnow mostly threw four-seam fastballs while facing Joey Wendle, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo and Hunter Renfroe during the session, but he also included a couple of changeups. Glasnow had reportedly decided to eliminate the pitch this coming season due to discomfort when throwing it, but after tweaking his mechanics this offseason, the right-hander is ready to deploy it once again. Glasnow has also been working on a splitter, and although he didn't utilize the pitch Wednesday, there appears to be a strong chance Glasnow enters the regular season with a four-pitch arsenal that also includes his four-seamer and curveball.

Cole will make his first spring training start against Pittsburgh on Monday, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Cole's exhibition debut will come in the Yankees' third game of the spring. The 29-year-old indicated Wednesday that he will be limited to one inning in the contest. It is a foregone conclusion that Cole will start on Opening Day after New York signed him to a record-setting nine-year, $324 million contract in the offseason.

Canning (elbow) threw a live batting practice session Tuesday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Right elbow inflammation ended Canning's 2019 season early, but he was able to resume throwing in November and it seems like he's right on schedule so far in camp. Canning endured some ups and downs during his first tour of the majors, but he has some intrigue as a former top prospect in the system with a relatively clear path to a rotation spot. His chances of breaking camp as a starter look even better after the deal to acquire Ross Stripling fell through, and with Shohei Ohtani (elbow) not expected to pitch until mid-May.

Allard is scheduled to start the Rangers' Cactus League opener Friday versus the Royals, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

The Rangers will have some of their lesser-experienced rotation candidates make starts early in the spring schedule, with Allard set to be followed in the pitching order by Luke Farrell on Saturday and Joe Palumbo on Sunday. Allard received a late-season look in the Texas rotation and delivered an underwhelming 4.96 ERA across his nine starts in 2019, though he excelled at keeping the ball in the yard and limiting hard contact. Even so, Allard's odds of breaking camp as a member of the Rangers' staff don't appear favorable after the team added three established starting options in Corey Kluber, Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles over the winter.