MLB Player News

Cease will begin the 2019 season at Triple-A Charlotte, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

With Michael Kopech sidelined by Tommy John elbow surgery, Cease becomes the starter prospect most likely to make an impact at the major-league level in 2019. The right-hander exhibited no dropoff moving from High-A to Double-A last year, and if he remains on that trajectory, pitching in Chicago after the All-Star break is a real possibility.

Luzardo was among the pitchers general manager David Forst named Friday as candidates for the Oakland rotation this season, Chris Haft of MLB.com reports. "We're not going to rule [Luzardo making the Opening Day rotation] out. I think we've said that for a little while," Forst said. "If he's good enough, there's no reason not to have him in the rotation. It's obviously a big leap for someone who has thrown only a few innings at Triple-A. But he's going to get a nice, long look in spring training -- as long a look as you can get in 32 days, or however long we're down there."

Beyond free-agent signings Mike Fiers and Marco Estrada, Oakland appears to have no other surefire rotation members from a group that includes Luzardo, Daniel Mengden, Paul Blackburn, Chris Bassitt, Aaron Brooks and Frankie Montas. While Haft notes that Forst rattled off five of those names before mentioning Luzardo, the 21-year-old lefty unquestionably has the highest fantasy upside of the lot. Across stops at three minor-league levels in 2018, Luzardo rode his big fastball to a 2.88 ERA and 129 strikeouts over 109.1 frames. Now almost three years removed from March 2016 Tommy John surgery, Luzardo could push for over 150 innings, with a decent chunk -- if not all -- likely to come at Oakland if the organization determines he's sufficiently battle tested in the high minors.

Canning was invited to the Angels' major-league spring training camp Friday.

Despite the invitation, Canning isn't expected to open the year with the big-league club. He had an excellent 1.97 ERA in 10 starts for Double-A Mobile but sputtered to a 5.49 ERA in 13 starts following a promotion to Triple-A Salt Lake. Conquering that level should give him a shot to debut at some point later this season.

Bridwell was designated for assignment by the Athletics on Friday, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Bridwell was claimed off waivers by the A's on Tuesday but ends up with a potentially short stay in Oakland. The team signed Marco Estrada to a one-year deal, prompting the move to clear space on the 40-man roster. Bridwell could remain with the Athletics, but he would first have to clear waivers.

Boyd shed 15 pounds of fat this offseason as he changed his diet and workout routine, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Boyd had a solid season in 2018 with a 4.39 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 159:51 K:BB over 170.1 innings and reached a $2.6 million deal with the Tigers earlier in January to avoid arbitration. The left-hander -- who turns 28 in early February -- should begin the season as Detroit's top arm in the starting rotation, and it should be interesting to see what impact his leaner frame has on his production, if any.

Gibson is recovering from E. coli, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Gibson's illness originally came out due to his unavailability for TwinsFest, but now there's finally a name to the issue at hand. This doesn't seem like an issue that will keep him out of spring training much if at all, but more information on his status should come forth as he moves along in his recovery process at the team's facility in Fort Myers.

Dunn received an invitation to major-league spring training Thursday, TJ Cotterill of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Last season in the Mets' organization, Dunn split time between High-A and Double-A, compiling a 3.59 ERA and a 10.4 K/9 between the two stops. The right-hander will now get a chance to show the Mariners coaching staff what he brings to the table nice and early, though he'll likely see much of his time in 2019 spent at either Double-A or Triple-A, depending on how well he adjusts to upper-level hitters.

Gibson is dealing with an unspecified health issue, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.

The nature and severity of the issue are currently unknown, but it came to light when Gibson announced he wouldn't be able to attend TwinsFest this season as a result. He's currently back at the team's facility in Fort Myers working through the issue and getting back to full strength. It's unclear if this is something that will sideline him at all at the beginning of spring training or not, but more information should come forth if there is any reason for concern.

Bridwell was claimed off waivers by the A's on Tuesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bridwell is set to join his third team this offseason. The 27-year-old was hampered by an elbow injury in 2018, making just five appearances for the Angels and struggling to a 17.55 ERA and 2.40 WHIP during those outings. Bridwell owns a 4.16 ERA across 21 career big-league starts, so he could compete for a back-end rotation spot with the A's in spring training.

The Twins intend to deploy Perez as a starter this season, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The 27-year-old was previously a member of the Rangers' rotation for much of his career, but he was dreadful in that capacity the past two seasons, accruing a 5.37 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and 5.5 K/9 across 47 starts. After inking Perez to a one-year, $3.5 million deal this winter, the Twins probably won't hesitate to move the lefty to the bullpen if he struggles in spring training or early on during the season, but he'll at least get the chance to battle for a back-end rotation gig right away.