MLB Player News

Barria was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday.

Barria's chances of breaking camp in the big-league rotation got a boost when it was announced Griffin Canning's start to the season would be delayed by an elbow injury, but it turns out Barria will not come away with either a spot in the rotation or a spot on the Angels' Opening Day roster. The right-hander made 39 starts at the MLB level over the past two seasons, so he should garner consideration if a time comes when the Angels need to bring up a starter from the minors.

Palumbo was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Sunday, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Palumbo was able to work back into a normal routine after battling a heel injury this spring, but he struggled with a 12.79 ERA and 2.37 WHIP over three appearances (two starts). The 25-year-old should be good to go once baseball resumes, but he'll need to spend some more time developing in the minors prior to a potential return to the Rangers.

Colome has allowed seven runs on nine hits (three home runs) and one walk while striking out two over three spring appearances.

Colome has allowed runs in all three of his appearances, but it doesn't mean a thing. He will open the season as the White Sox's closer after a successful first season in Chicago. He was 30-for-33 in save opportunities in 2019 and is one of the more stable closers entering 2020.

Honeywell (elbow) will continue to throw two bullpen sessions per week as long as the Rays are allowed to keep their spring training facility open, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports. "Honeywell is obviously a unique case because he's coming back from an injury," manager Kevin Cash said. "I think the best thing we can do is keep his arm in shape."

The rehabbing right-hander is one of the players that could stand to particularly benefit from the Rays keeping their facility accessible during the suspension of Grapefruit League play, as the consistent work is key to building the strength back up in his previously fractured elbow. Honeywell had been optioned to Triple-A Durham on Monday in a procedural move, but he was already due to physically remain in Florida until the start of the minor-league season.

Mayers has a strong chance of making the Opening Day roster in a relief role, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Angels claimed Mayers off waivers in November despite his career 7.03 ERA over 80.2 innings. Per Torres, the right-hander has added a cutter to his arsenal and is focusing on being more aggressive in throwing strikes. The results have been mixed thus far in spring training as Mayers has allowed three earned runs in 5.2 innings but has posted an 11:3 K:BB.

Johnson has a 3.86 ERA over five spring appearances, including two starts.

Johnson was dropped from the 40-man roster during the offseason despite being a hybrid starter/reliever for Boston the last two seasons. A best-case scenario for the left-hander, who is being stretched out in camp, is as a temporary fill-in starter for Chris Sale (elbow). The Red Sox are also kicking around the notion of using an opener as their fifth starter, in which case there may not be room for Johnson.

Taylor is projected to be part of the Opening Day bullpen, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. He's allowed one run on four hits and one walk while striking out seven over five spring innings.

Taylor made a successful transition from starter to reliever in 2018 and pitched well in that role for Boston in 2019, when he posted a 3.04 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. The move to the bullpen improved his strikeout rate, which makes sense when considering a pitcher can let it fly when being asked to pitch one inning instead of six.

Loaisiga pitched three innings in a Grapefruit League contest against Washington on Thursday, allowing one run on one hit and one walk while striking out three.

Loaisiga was touched for a home run off the bat of Victor Robles in the third inning but was otherwise dominant in New York's final game before MLB suspended spring training. The right-hander has a 2.70 ERA along with a sparking 0.40 WHIP and 14 strikeouts in 10 innings. Though the Yankees have yet to determine how they will deploy Loaisiga once the regular season begins, his impressive spring could help him win the competition for the No. 5 starter spot once play resumes.

Puk (shoulder) was able to play catch Wednesday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The towering southpaw continues to progress from his shoulder strain, and he should be able to carry out the throwing program team trainers developed for him despite the cancellation of the remainder of spring training Thursday due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Puk was already likely to miss the remainder of Cactus League play and slated to start the season in the bullpen; however, with Opening Day now delayed by at least two weeks past its original March 26 date, it remains to be seen if the 24-year-old will have a chance of stretching out sufficiently through catch sessions and potential sim games he might be able to participate in if teams are allowed use of their facilities.

Fairbanks worked one inning in a simulated game Tuesday, throwing 21 pitches, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Fairbanks got 14 of his offerings into the strike zone while facing Nate Lowe, Kevan Smith and Daniel Robertson and working with Mike Zunino as his battery mate. The 26-year-old right-hander had a rough go of it in 2019 with both the Rangers (9.35 ERA across eight appearances) and Rays (5.11 ERA in 13 outings), but he'd made a strong case this spring for an Opening Day roster spot with five scoreless, four-hit innings across five appearances and a 10:3 K:BB. With the remainder of Grapefruit League play cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns, it remains to be seen if he built a strong enough case to stick on the Opening Day roster.