MLB Player News

Cease has been scratched from Thursday's start against the Indians for unknown reasons.

Cease reportedly warmed up prior to the contest, but no details have been revealed just yet on why he was scratched. Jose Ruiz will get the start as a result.

Bieber (15-8) took the loss Wednesday as Cleveland was downed 8-3 by the White Sox, giving up five runs (three earned) on 10 hits and a walk over 5.2 innings while striking out seven.

A Carlos Santana throwing error saved a little damage to Bieber's ERA, but the right-hander was still not at his sharpest on a night when Cleveland could not afford a loss. The club is now five games back of the Twins in the AL Central with four to play, and they've fallen 1.5 games behind the Rays for the second wild-card spot as well. Unless he's needed in a play-in game, Bieber finishes up 2019 with a 3.28 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 259:40 K:BB through 214.1 innings.

Allard (4-2) took the loss Wednesday, allowing five runs on six hits and a walk over three innings as the Rangers were routed 10-3 by the Red Sox. He struck out one.

The 22-year-old has logged a couple of good outings for Texas after the trade that brought him over from Atlanta, but Allard finishes his first prolonged stint in the majors with a 4.96 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 33:19 K:BB through 45.1 innings. The Rangers will be counting on the young southpaw to take a big step forward in 2020.

Morton (16-6) picked up the win in Wednesday's 4-0 victory over the Yankees, allowing one hit and three walks over six scoreless innings while striking out nine.

The hit -- a two-out single in the sixth inning by DJ LeMahieu -- was the only one the Rays staff gave up on the night. Barring an appearance in a potential play-in game, Morton wraps up his 2019 with a 3.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 240:57 K:BB through 194.2 innings, marking career-best performances across the board.

Heaney allowed one run on six hits and two walks while striking out seven through 5.1 innings in a no-decision against the Athletics on Wednesday.

Heaney was cruising before allowing a solo home run in the fifth inning and running into early trouble in the sixth frame to end his day. This was an encouraging outing to end the season, as Heaney had posted a 9.31 ERA in his previous four starts. The 28-year-old finishes the season with a 4-6 record with a 4.91 ERA and 118 strikeouts through 95.1 innings.

Montas gave up one run on four hits and two walks while striking out six through six innings in a no-decision agains the Angels on Wednesday.

In his return from an 80-game suspension, Montas allowed a solo home run in the second inning but fired four scoreless frames to register the quality start. The 26-year-old seemed to show no rust, providing optimism for 2020 with a fine performance. Montas finishes the season with a 9-2 record with a 2.63 ERA and 103 strikeouts through 96 innings.

Kikuchi (6-11) gave up two runs on six hits and no walks while striking out four through six innings to take the loss against the Astros on Wednesday.

Kikuchi allowed three hits and two runs in the first inning, but he settled down to fire five consecutive scoreless frames. It was a nice finish to an otherwise ugly stretch for the 28-year-old, as he had a 6.10 ERA in his previous 14 starts. Kikuchi finishes the season with a 5.46 ERA and 116 strikeouts through 161.2 innings.

Greinke (18-5) gave up two hits and one walk while striking out nine through 8.1 scoreless innings to record the win over the Mariners on Wednesday.

Greinke took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning before allowing two singles to end his electric performance. Greinke was dominant in all areas, registering 20 swinging strikes without allowing a three-ball count until the fifth inning. Greinke finishes the regular season with a 2.93 ERA and 187 strikeouts in 208.2 innings.

German's period of administrative leave was extended through the end of the World Series by MLB and the MLBPA on Wednesday.

German had already been ruled out through the postseason by the Yankees, so Wednesday's announcement merely makes his restriction official. His status for 2020 remains up in the air as the league investigates the incident that led to German's alleged violation of the Joint MLB-MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy.

Whitley, who took a no-hitter into the fifth inning of his 2019 Arizona Fall League debut, attributed a lot of his woes this season to trying to make some necessary mechanical adjustments that he hopes will ease the stress on his shoulder going forward, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports. "I'm getting a lot more comfortable with the newer delivery, throwing a lot more strikes as of late, bullpen [sessions] have been really solid lately," Whitley said.

He missed seven weeks with shoulder fatigue this year, which is what led to the mechanical tweaks that he says resulted in some growing pains that will be worth it in the long run. Whitley is working on maintaining a better posture in is upper body, and it is understandably not an overnight fix when adjusting a delivery that he has been using for the past seven years. He struck out six while allowing one hit and two walks in 4.2 innings for Peoria over the weekend. Whitley is simply too talented to struggle for much longer if his health cooperates. He won't make the big-league rotation out of spring training, but if his mechanical adjustments pay off, he could spend a good chunk of 2020 in the majors.