MLB Player News

Rodriguez will likely work as a reliever if he makes the big-league club, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Even with the injury to Tyler Beede (elbow), Rodriguez is not considered a favorite to land a rotation spot. Instead, he'll be battling to make the 26-man roster as a reliever, or else he'll likely head to the minors to remain stretched out as a starter. After a successful debut in 2018, Rodriguez was hit hard to the tune of a 5.64 ERA and 1.46 WHIP across 99 innings last season.

Reyes was optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.

This isn't overly surprising after Reyes struggled across four spring appearances, finishing with an 8.31 ERA, 2.54 WHIP and 9:3 K:BB across 4.1 innings. While the Cardinals have yet to clarify his role for 2020, the team figures to handle the oft-injured righty with caution after injuries plagued Reyes again in 2019, limiting him to just 40.1 innings across three levels.

Cabrera was optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.

Cabrera is on track to open the year in the minors with the delayed start to the regular season giving the Cardinals extra time to get healthy. It's unclear whether Cabrera will work as a starter or reliever with Memphis after being deployed in both roles last season.

Finnegan was optioned to Double-A Harrisburg on Thursday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Finnegan was in the mix for one of the team's final bullpen spots but failed to seize the opportunity, posting a 5.40 ERA and 3:3 K:BB through five innings before spring training was suspended. The right-hander figures to make his big-league debut in 2020 if he continues to impress in the upper minors.

Clarke was optioned to Triple-A Reno on Thursday, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports.

Clarke was never expected to open the season in Arizona's rotation, but the team's decision to send him to the minors to begin the season indicates he'll remain stretched out as starting depth. The righty made 23 appearances (15 starts) with the Diamondbacks in 2019, compiling a 5.31 ERA and 1.37 WHIP across 84.2 innings.

Sewald was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday.

Sewald pitched well during his five spring appearances, compiling a 1.69 ERA and 0.75 WHIP across 5.1 innings, though he'll still head to the minors to begin the season. He figures to join the big-league club in a middle-relief role at some point after posting a 4.58 ERA and 1.07 WHIP across 19.2 innings with the Mets in 2019.

Voth remains in the mix to win the No. 5 starter role when the regular season finally begins.

The right-hander put together a strong spring (1.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 6:1 K:BB in seven innings) before MLB was put on pause, but neither Joe Ross (2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 3:4 K:BB in 7.1 IP) nor Erick Fedde (2.45 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 7:4 K:BB in 7.1 IP) had taken themselves out of the running for the job either. Ross was considered the favorite coming into camp due to having more big-league experience, but Voth was arguably the most impressive of the trio. If the regular-season schedule ends up featuring fewer off days and more doubleheaders, however, all three pitchers could end up seeing significant workloads for the Nats, either in the rotation or in long relief.

Holmes (foot) is throwing from one knee out to 90 feet, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

A fractured left foot is expected to keep Holmes in a walking boot until mid-April, but it hasn't shut down his throwing program completely. With the expected date for the resumption of play still unclear, it's possible Holmes doesn't wind up missing any time.

A shortened MLB season could lead to Howard opening the year in the big-league rotation, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Lauber speculates that the Phillies may cap Howard at around 130 innings this season, so while he would have been managed carefully in a full season, a shortened campaign could allow him to be treated like any other young starter. With neither Vince Velasquez nor Nick Pivetta seizing the fifth starter's spot this spring, the Phillies could turn to Howard, who might already be their third-best starter from a stuff standpoint. He was up to 98-99 mph with his fastball in his March 10 outing and all three offspeed pitches were working, according to Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com.

Jackson posted a 0.00 ERA and 10:3 K:BB through five Grapefruit League innings before spring training was suspended.

Generating empty swings has never been Jackson's problem -- he struck out a career-high 106 batters in 72.2 relief innings last year. The 28-year-old opened 2019 as Atlanta's closer and delivered significant fantasy value with 18 saves, nine wins and nine holds, but he'll head into this season fourth at best in the pecking order for saves behind Mark Melancon, Will Smith and Shane Greene, putting a major damper on Jackson's upside.