MLB Player News

Twins right-hander Ricky Nolasco will start Sunday's game, WCCO's Dan Cook reports.

He will face the Royals in the Twins' final game of 2015 after they were eliminated from the playoff picture Saturday. To say Nolasco has been a disappointment since signing with the Twins would be putting it lightly. He posted a 5.38 ERA in 159 innings in 2014 and has posted a 5.97 ERA in 34 2/3 innings in an injury-plagued 2015 campaign.

Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson will not start Sunday, as the Twins were eliminated from the postseason picture Saturday.

Ricky Nolasco will instead take the ball in the Twins' final game of the season.

Twins starting pitcher Kyle Gibson won't start Sunday if the Twins are eliminated Saturday, the Star Tribune's Phil Miller reports.

If the Twins lose Saturday their playoff hopes will be dashed, but the team has not yet revealed who would start in place of Gibson in that scenario. Owners in single season leagues with daily roster moves should be prepared to ditch Gibson for another option if the Twins are eliminated Saturday.

Rangers starting pitcher Martin Perez did not factor into the decision in Friday's loss to the Angels, allowing a single run on four hits and a walk while striking out four over seven innings.

Perez had struggled to find his form since returning to the mound in July following Tommy John surgery. He has since shaken off the rust a bit in his last four outings, logging a 2.25 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, albeit with a mediocre 6.00 K/9. Given the 1.42 ERA and 0.92 WHIP he posted in his first five starts of last season, Perez may be a young arm to keep an eye on in 2016.

White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (13-11) gave up one run on five hits and a walk over seven innings while striking out seven in Friday's win over Detroit.

It speaks to how remarkable Sale has been that a season in which he ranks second in the league in strikeouts can be considered an off year. Sale posted the highest ERA of his career in 2015 and his highest WHIP since 2012. Sale's 2015 was three dazzling months sandwiched by three months of performances below his standard. From May through July, Sale posted a 7-5 record with a 2.80 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. In April, August and September Sale was 6-6 with a 4.16 ERA and 1.23 WHIP.

Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino will start Friday against the Orioles, ESPN NY reports.

Adam Warren was initially slated to get the start, but after giving three innings of relief work Thursday, the Yankees will turn to Severino. The rookie has worked to an impressive 2.77 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 55.1 innings through his first 10 career starts.

Angels starter Andrew Heaney (6-4) closed out his regular season with a dud Thursday, walking a season-high five and allowing five hits and four runs in 4 1/3 innings against Texas.

Frankly, Heaney was fortunate to navigate his way out of a far uglier final line. All in all, this was a solid season for the young lefty, who wraps things up with a decent 3.49 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 18 starts for the Angels.

However, it's not as pretty when you break it down -- in his first 10 starts, Heaney won five games and delivered a 2.43 ERA with a 44:10 K:BB in 63 innings, but in the final eight, he won just once while putting up a 5.06 ERA and 34:18 K:BB in 42 2/3 innings. Still, the Angels are just a game out of a wild-card spot, and if they earn their way into postseason play, Heaney is a likely candidate for the playoff rotation.

Rays starter Jake Odorizzi outdueled the Marlins' Jose Fernandez and evened his record at 9-9 in Thursday's win over the Marlins, giving up just an unearned run on four hits over seven innings. He struck out seven and walked two.

An oblique injury kind of derailed this season for Odorizzi, as he was less effective in the second half after returning from the DL, but the righty still showed a lot overall and finished the season on a high note. He wasn't expensive in this year's drafts, and he probably won't be terribly high-priced next year either; buy in while the buying's good, as there's legitimate 200-strikeout upside here.

Red Sox starting pitcher Rich Hill (2-1) was effective Thursday against the Yankees, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts in six innings, but he was stuck with the loss.

Boston's season may be over, but Hill was startlingly good in his four-start sample after five years away from an MLB rotation. He finishes the season having allowed just five runs on 14 hits and five walks while striking out 36 in 29 innings. That leaves Hill with a 1.55 ERA and 0.66 WHIP, numbers that will give him some sleeper luster deep into next year's drafts if he can secure a rotation spot.

White Sox pitcher Frankie Montas is listed as the probable starter for Sunday's game against the Tigers, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Rather than turn to Jeff Samardzija for the season finale, the White Sox have decided to give Montas another look in a starting role to close the year. The 22-year-old was knocked around for six runs in three innings against the Tigers last week in his first career start, but Montas will look to achieve better results this time around with his fastball-slider combination. Nothing's definite, but it would make sense if the White Sox sent Montas back to the minors to begin 2016 to work on a third offering.