MLB Player News

Liberatore was added to the Cardinals' 60-player roster pool Wednesday and was assigned to the alternate training site in Springfield, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The young southpaw is one of the organization's top prospects, so it's not surprise to see it prioritizing his development in the 60-man pool. Liberatore spent 2019 at Low-A Bowling Green and delivered a 3.10 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 76:31 K:BB across 78.1 innings.

Gonsolin is taking part in workouts at the Dodgers' facility Wednesday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

The 26-year-old missed the first few days of summer training for unspecified reasons, but he'll now begin ramping up for the start of the season. David Price opted out of the 2020 season over the weekend, which could provide Gonsolin a chance to push for a rotation spot, assuming he can get built up to a starter's workload by Opening Day.

Peterson is expected to be the Mets' first depth option in the rotation should one of the team's five starters miss time, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Not only would Peterson be the likely replacement this season if one of Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Rick Porcello, Steven Matz or Michael Wacha miss time, but he is also poised to be a part of the 2021 rotation, with Noah Sydergaard (elbow) expected to miss the first couple months and Stroman, Porcello and Wacha set to be free agents after this season. Peterson is often tabbed as a future back-end starter, but he has good command of a quality three-pitch mix and is excellent at generating groundballs, so he could outperform expectations. He has never pitched above Double-A, however, so it would be unwise to expect him to have success right away if he is forced into action this season.

Manager Bud Black "strongly hinted" Wednesday that Marquez will start the Rockies' Opening Day game July 24 in Texas versus the Rangers, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Colorado never formally announced an Opening Day starter before MLB went on hiatus in mid-March, but Marquez was always viewed as the odds-on favorite for the nod after leading all Rockies starters in innings (174), strikeout rate (24.3 percent) and xFIP (3.54) in 2019. Marquez's overall numbers were marred by pitching at altitude at Coors Field (6.26 ERA in 73.1 innings at home), but he'll at least benefit from making his first 2020 start on the road in the inaugural game at Globe Life Field, which is expected to play more pitcher-friendly than its predecessor, Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Mahle will either be used in a piggyback role or as a long reliever this season, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

There's little difference between the two roles for fantasy purposes, but the important bit here is that Mahle won't be in the rotation, at least to start the year. His role should still allow him to throw a fair amount of innings, however, and could set him up to steal a win or two early in the year if the Reds' other starters can't initially throw five innings. He'll also presumably be the first option if one of the team's top five starters gets injured.

Gray will be the Reds' Opening Day starter Friday, July 24 against the Tigers, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Gray gets a nice matchup to begin the season against the Tigers and then will be followed by Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, Wade Miley and Anthony DeSclafani.

Webb is the leading candidate to be the Giants' de facto fifth starter, although the team is using the term "bulk-innings role," Mark W. Sanchez of KNBR.com reports. "We see him in a role for us to take multiple innings," manager Gabe Kapler said. "We'll try to build him up as much as possible to be able to lengthen him out. ... We're stressing to all our pitchers, not just Logan, the mindset of being flexible and getting built up as much as possible."

Buster Posey, who caught Webb's live batting practice session over the weekend, said the righty's stuff was "electric" and that he was "a tick or two up from the spring." Webb has improved his arsenal and will no longer face an innings limit in a shortened season. However, manager Gabe Kapler was hesitant to use the word "starter" as the Giants stress flexible roles for their pitchers and don't expect any starter to go beyond four innings to start the season. Trevor Cahill, Tyler Anderson and Andrew Suarez are also competing for bulk innings behind the Giants' top four starters.

Mikolas threw his first live batting practice session of summer camp Tuesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander further corroborated he's over the forearm flexor strain that had sidelined him in the spring, throwing two innings to the majority of the Cardinals lineup and getting it done under the 40-pitch threshold. Mikolas' next action is set to come during an intrasquad game later in the week, a stint that's scheduled to consist of three innings and 50 pitches in duration.

Paddack hurled four scoreless innings against a lineup primarily made up of prospects in an intrasquad game Monday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Though most of the batters Paddack faced are unlikely to make the big-league roster, it is nonetheless a good sign that he was able to make it through four innings unscathed. Paddack has previously indicated that he hopes to be built up to six innings by Opening Day, and his workload Monday seems to indicate that such a scenario is within reason.

Kershaw was officially named the Dodgers' Opening Day starter Tuesday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

The announcement comes as little surprise as Kershaw had previously been announced as the club's Opening Day starter in spring training. The southpaw has received the honor on eight previous occasions, compiling a 1.05 ERA and leading the team to a 7-1 record in those appearances. Los Angeles is slated to open the 2020 campaign against San Francisco on July 23.