MLB Player News

Turnbull will begin the season as the Tigers' No. 3 starter, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Turnbull is slated to start Saturday against the Blue Jays in Toronto and will follow Jordan Zimmermann and Matt Boyd in the rotation. The 26-year-old beat out Daniel Norris for the spot, which opened up when the team announced that Michael Fulmer will get Tommy John surgery and miss the season. Without a ton of standout pitchers around him, Turnbull could lock himself into the rotation for 2019 and possibly beyond if he pitches well out of the gate.

Means appears to have secured a spot on the Orioles' Opening Day roster, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

Baltimore could still do some tinkering with its roster prior to Thursday's season opener against the Yankees, but Means looks in line to fill one of eight bullpen spots for the big club. Means has worked almost exclusively as a starter in the minors, so the Orioles presumably envision him filling a long-relief role to begin the campaign. Manager Brandon Hyde has already said that the team will use Nate Karns as an opener for Saturday's game, so Means and the Orioles' other swingman, Jimmy Yacabonis, could both be tasked with covering multiple innings out of the bullpen that day.

Bundy is slated to start the Orioles' third game of the season Sunday versus the Yankees, Ryan Homler of NBC Sports Washington reports.

Heading into the week, Bundy looked to open the season as the Orioles' No. 2 starter, but he'll be pushed back a day in the pitching schedule with manager Brandon Hyde choosing to use Nate Karns as an opener in Saturday's contest. The extra day off can only help Bundy, who was lit up for 19 runs on 36 hits and four walks over 21.2 innings in spring training.

Smyly allowed three runs on six hits and three walks while striking out five over 3.2 innings Tuesday against the Indians.

Smyly needed 73 pitches, including 33 in the fourth inning, to get 11 outs in the Rangers' final spring game. He hasn't thrown more than four innings this spring and is line to pitch Monday at home against Houston.

The Athletics will place Bassitt on the injured list to begin the season due to a lower-leg contusion, Julian McWilliams of The Athletic reports.

According to McWilliams, Bassitt is still recovering after taking a ball off his right shin during the two-game series against the Mariners in Japan last week. The injury doesn't sound overly serious, but it was enough to cost the 30-year-old his chance at the Athletics' final rotation spot. Aaron Brooks will open the season as the team's fifth starter.

Bassitt and Aaron Brooks are viewed as the main candidates for the final available spot in Oakland's rotation, Julian McWilliams of The Athletic reports.

With a 5.40 ERA and 12:1 K:BB in 10 innings this spring, Bassitt has marginally outperformed Brooks (6.00 ERA, 9:4 K:BB over nine frames), but that probably doesn't afford the former any sort of noteworthy edge in the job battle. Instead, the fact that Brooks has no minor-league options remaining and would have to be exposed to waivers if he's not included on the Opening Day roster likely works against Bassitt, who still has an option left. Brooks will start in Tuesday's exhibition finale against the Giants, with Bassitt potentially following him as both attempt to make their case for the rotation.

Mejia is slated to open the season as member of the Twins' bullpen, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Mejia had been competing for the final spot in the rotation during spring training, but those duties are expected to fall to Martin Perez. The Twins will be able to get by with only four starters until mid-April, so the two will both be used out of the bullpen initially, most likely as long-relief options.

Giolito was named the third starter in the rotation to begin the 2019 season, Jack Magruder of The Sports Xchange reports.

Giolito is in line to pitch the third game of the 2019 campaign against the Royals on Sunday. He struggled to an 8.84 ERA with 18 punchouts over 18.1 frames in spring training and posted a 6.13 ERA over 173.1 innings last season, but the White Sox have confidence that he's the man for the job.

Boyd is slated to start the second game of the season for the Tigers, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

The Tigers recently confirmed Jordan ZImmermann will start the season opener in Toronto and Boyd will follow in the second game Friday. The lefty led the team in starts, quality starts, wins and strikeouts in 2018, and while he doesn't project as the most exciting fantasy option, he should at least have a pretty firm grip on his rotation spot.

Montas has been named to Oakland's starting rotation, Julian McWilliams of The Athletic reports.

Montas will enter the 2019 season at the Athletics' No. 4 starting pitcher, an unsurprising choice given his success in spring training. He started 11 games last year with Oakland and posted a 3.88 ERA with a 43:21 K:BB across 65 innings.