MLB Player News

Lopez underwent an MRI on his sore right shoulder Monday which revealed inflammation, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

The White Sox still haven't provided a timeline for Lopez's return, but "inflammation" is certainly a more concerning diagnosis than the "tightness" Lopez was originally diagnosed with. Gio Gonzalez will step into his spot in the rotation.

Richards worked three frames of long relief Sunday in the Rays' 6-5 win over the Blue Jays in 10 innings. He was charged with four earned runs on six hits while striking out two.

Early on in summer camp, Richards looked like he might have been in line to open the season as a member of the rotation, but those plans were dashed when Yonny Chirinos (undisclosed) was deemed ready to take the hill when a fifth starter is first needed Tuesday versus the Braves. Richards still took on a sizable workload in his first outing of 2020, tossing 40 pitches in relief of Blake Snell, who was deliberately capped at two innings as a precaution. Richards kept the Rays off the board for his first two innings, but he melted down in the top of the sixth, giving up four consecutive hits before being pulled in favor of Andrew Kittredge. Richards had been in line for the loss before the Rays rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extras.

Kay covered 2.2 frames in relief Sunday in the Blue Jays' 6-5 loss to the Rays in 10 innings. He gave up one run on three hits and struck out two in the 43-pitch appearance.

After breaking summer camp as a member of the 30-man Opening Day roster, Kay looked like he may have clinched a spot in the Toronto rotation, but manager Charlie Montoyo instead elected to treat the fifth starter's role as a bullpen day. Thomas Hatch served as the opener for the game, with he and Kay combining to cover the first five innings of the contest. Jamie Campbell of Sportsnet reports that the Blue Jays intend to call up top pitching prospect Nate Pearson to start Wednesday's game against the Nationals, so he'll presumably bump both Kay and Hatch to the bullpen on a more permanent basis.

Hamilton was called up by the White Sox on Monday.

Hamilton will take Reynaldo Lopez's (shoulder) place on the roster, though he's been strictly a reliever throughout his professional career, so he won't be taking Lopez's place in the rotation. Hamilton allowed four runs in eight innings in his big-league debut but did not make a major-league appearance in 2019, missing most of the year after requiring surgery to repair multiple facial fractures after he was struck in the face by a line drive during a Triple-A game.

Pearson will be called up to start Wednesday against the Nationals, Jamie Campbell of Sportsnet reports.

Pearson was evidently not considered big-league ready on Opening Day but is suddenly ready less than a week later, which happens to be the first day on which the Blue Jays can call him up while denying him a full year of service time. The highly-touted prospect has appeared in just three Triple-A games, but his overall 2.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 30.7 percent strikeout rate in 25 starts across the three highest levels of the minors last season certainly suggest he'll have a good shot to hit the ground running in his major-league debut. While the Blue Jays are technically the "home" team, the game will take place in Washington.

Bass will be the Blue Jays' closer in the absence of Ken Giles (elbow), Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Just how long Bass will hold the role remains to be seen, as the results of Giles' MRI are not yet known. Bass saved five games for the Mariners last season but is hardly a prototypical closer, as his decent 3.56 ERA in 48 innings came with a modest 22.8 percent strikeout rate.

Lopez was placed on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder soreness Monday.

Lopez left his start Sunday against the Twins before completing the first inning due to the injury. His return timeline is not yet clear, but he'll miss at least one turn in the rotation. Reliever Ian Hamilton was recalled in a corresponding move.

Giles is still awaiting the results of his elbow MRI but will head to the injured list Monday, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

Giles left his appearance Sunday against the Rays with what was originally called elbow soreness. While his exact return timeline remains unclear, the act that he's already been placed on the injured list even before his MRI results are available certainly doesn't seem to be a good sign. Anthony Bass will be the closer in his absence.

Lovelady was optioned by the Royals on Monday.

Lovelady made one appearance in the Royals' first three games, allowing a run on a solo homer in his lone inning Sunday. He'll make way on the roster for Ryan O'Hearn, who was activated from the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move.

Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said Sunday that he expects Alexander to fill a more traditional bullpen role this season, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

During summer camp, Gardenhire floated the possibility of using Alexander and Michael Fulmer as part of a piggyback tandem for the fourth spot in the rotation while the latter eases back from March 2019 Tommy John surgery, but that plan has seemingly been scrapped. Alexander worked 1.2 innings (22 pitches) in Saturday's 6-4 win over the Reds, and while he should be available Monday when Fulmer serves as the Tigers' opening pitcher against the Royals, the lefty likely won't be tasked with the bulk-relief role. Instead, Beau Burrows and Kyle Funkhouser may be better candidates to handle the majority of the innings behind Fulmer.