MLB Player News

Lange will be competing for a bullpen spot with the Tigers this spring, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Lange is one of several young Detroit arms who will be vying for one of the final bullpen spots. The 25-year-old, who came to the Tigers in the Nicholas Castellanos trade, has yet to appear above the Double-A level. He will likely begin the 2021 campaign with Triple-A Toledo and could get a shot in the majors at some point during the season.

Alzolay is vying for an open rotation spot with the Cubs this spring, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Yu Darvish, Jon Lester, Jose Quintana and Tyler Chatwood are all gone, and Zach Davies and Jake Arrieta have been added to the mix. Behind those two additions and returning starters Kyle Hendricks and Alec Mills, the Cubs seem to have a wide open fifth spot, and Alzolay may emerge as the favorite. He looked good in limited opportunities last season, posting a 2.95 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across six appearances (four starts). The 25-year-old had some decent prospect buzz as he moved up in Chicago's system, so the organization could be inclined to give him a shot.

Underwood is one of several players who will vie for an open rotation spot with the Cubs this spring, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

The Cubs have parted ways with Yu Darvish, Jon Lester, Jose Quintana and Tyler Chatwood this offseason. The team did acquire Zach Davies in the Darvish trade and decided to bring back Jake Arrieta, but there are still innings to fill behind staff ace Kyle Hendricks. Underwood has made 30 appearances for the Cubs the past three seasons but only one of them was a start, so he's likely more of a longshot rotation option at this point, but his status will likely become clearer during spring training.

Wilson signed with the Yankees on Monday, Sweeny Murti of Sports Radio 66 WFAN reports.

The financial terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed. The 33-year-old has 18 career saves, though he's unlikely to pick up many more this season in a bullpen where he'll be the third southpaw behind two of the best left-handed relievers of this generation in Aroldis Chapman and Zack Britton. Still, Wilson should certainly be able to help the Yankees, as he recorded a 3.66 ERA in 19.2 innings for the Mets last season and owns a 3.26 ERA across the last four campaigns.

The Twins announced Monday that Canterino will receive an invitation to big-league spring training as a non-roster invitee.

Canterino, Trevor Larnach, Royce Lewis and Aaron Sabato are among the Twins' higher-rated prospects who will get a look with the big club this spring. A 2019 second-round draft pick, Canterino hasn't pitched above the Low-A level, so he won't be a serious candidate to break camp with the Twins. Since the 23-year-old had high-level college experience at Rice before being drafted, the Twins could still choose to move him through their system more aggressively than most of their other recently-drafted pitchers. Look for the Twins to assign him to High-A Cedar Rapids or Double-A Wichita to begin the 2021 campaign after he lost out on development time in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor-league season.

Boxberger signed a minor-league contract with the Brewers on Sunday as a non-roster invitee, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN reports.

Boxberger made 23 relief appearances for the Marlins in 2020, posting a 3.00 ERA and 1.39 WHIP over 18.0 innings. He'll now join his fifth team in as many seasons and will compete for a major-league roster spot with the Brewers during spring training.

Jax will attend major-league camp this spring training and has completed his two required years of active duty in the Air Force, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Jax, a 2016 third-round draft pick, pitched in just 40 minor league games from 2016 to 2019 as his ability to play minor league baseball was severely limited by Air Force obligations. He'll now be able to play a full season and likely will begin at Triple-A. While he's a bit old for a prospect (26 this season), he's shown promise at higher levels with a 2.67 ERA and 1.94 BB/9 at Double-A in 2019. He hasn't had great strikeout rates (6.7 K/9 in 2019), however. He's still a bit of an unknown given his sparse minor-league career. Minnesota should get a better picture with a full season in 2020. He could add rotation depth at Triple-A if all goes well.

Yarbrough has lost his arbitration case against the Rays and will earn $2.3 million in 2021, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Yarbrough had filed at $3.1 million during his arbitration case, but he'll have to settle for $800,000 less. The southpaw should take on a more prominent role in the Rays' rotation this year after Blake Snell was traded to the Padres during the offseason. Yarbrough made 11 appearances (nine starts) in 2020, posting a 3.56 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 55.2 innings.

Crochet (forearm) has been throwing in Arizona and looks good, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

While it's not the most detailed report, it's still certainly good to hear that Crochet seems fine after suffering a flexor strain in the playoffs last season. He's also reportedly added muscle over the offseason. The young lefty has yet to pitch in the minors after being selected 11th-overall in last year's draft but has already made six major-league relief appearances. If he looks healthy and effective this spring, it's entirely possible he heads straight to the big-league bullpen again, as assistant general manager Chris Getz suggested in early February, though he could also head to the minors to build up as a starter, the role he's eventually expected to fill in Chicago.

McHugh signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract with the Rays on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

McHugh opted out of the 2020 season while recovering from an elbow injury, but he'll land a one-year deal with Tampa Bay after throwing for multiple teams in January. The right-hander made 35 appearances (eight starts) with the Astros in 2019, posting a 4.70 ERA and 82:30 K:BB over 74.2 innings. He'll likely take on a bullpen role for his new team in 2021.