MLB Player News

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde confirmed Monday that Kremer would open the season as a member of the rotation, Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com reports.

Kremer is scheduled to take the ball for the Orioles' fifth game of the season April 6 in New York against the Yankees. The 25-year-old righty showed the ability to make bats miss (22 strikeouts in 18.2 innings) in his first taste of the big leagues last September, but control (12 walks) was a concern. With that in mind, Kremer is best viewed as a late-round flier in AL-only leagues or as a streaming option when the Orioles are opposing a weak offense.

Javier threw 70 pitches over 5.1 innings in a "B" game against the Marlins on Sunday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Javier, who missed a week of preparation during spring training due to health and safety protocols, is preparing to start the second game of the regular season. He's behind other starters, but Sunday's outing puts Javier in range to throw five-plus innings against the Athletics on Friday, which potentially qualifies him for a win.

Paxton recorded nine strikeouts and allowed two hits and two walks while also hitting a batter over four scoreless innings in a Cactus League win over the Giants on Saturday.

Paxton finishes Cactus League play with 17 strikeouts over 8.1 innings, proving the velocity drop he experienced as a result of numerous injuries last season is no longer an issue. The veteran left-hander lines up to take the ball against the Giants in the Mariners' second game of the season Friday night.

Berrios gave up three runs on two home runs over 4.1 innings in his final spring start. He finished spring with a 3.50 ERA. "He's at the top of his game right now," manager Rocco Baldelli said, per Megan Ryan of Minneapolis Star Tribune. "... He is ready to take the mound and go out there and win a ballgame in his first start."

Berrios threw 65 pitches, which was his goal to be ready for his first start. He'll make his regular season debut Saturday at Milwaukee.

Glasnow compiled 10 strikeouts while allowing three hits and two walks and uncorking a wild pitch over five innings in a Grapefruit League win over the Twins on Saturday.

Glasnow worked up to 79 pitches in his final spring start before taking the ball Opening Day against the Marlins on Thursday and put forth what may have been his most dominant of his four spring outings. The right-hander finished Grapefruit League play with a stellar 27:7 K:BB across just 14.2 innings and has added a slider to an already highly effective fastball and curveball, laying the foundation for what might be his best season yet.

McKenzie will be included in Cleveland's Opening Day rotation, Tom Withers of the Associated Press reports.

McKenzie and Logan Allen secured the final two rotation spots after Cleveland moved Cal Quantrill to the bullpen to begin the season, while Adam Plutko was traded to the Orioles. The 23-year-old righty had an impressive debut season in the majors in 2020, posting a 3.24 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 42:9 K:BB in 33.1 innings across eight outings (six starts).

Quantrill will open the season in a relief role, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

The writing was on the wall when the 26-year-old threw one frame in relief Friday after Logan Allen started and covered five innings, and Cleveland has now confirmed its rotation plans to begin 2021. Quantrill primarily operated out of the bullpen last season and pitched well with a 2.25 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 31:8 K:BB over 32 innings between Cleveland and San Diego. The right-hander could be called upon to start later in the season, but for now he'll work as a reliever.

Athletics manager Bob Melvin confirmed that Luzardo would start the team's second game of the season Friday against the Astros, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Luzardo was left off the Athletics' Cactus League pitching schedule this weekend, instead making his final start of the spring in a simulated game Saturday. With Melvin indicating that Luzardo came out of the outing without incident, the lefty should be ready to handle a fairly normal workload in his 2021 debut. Over his three official spring starts, Luzardo gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits and four walks while striking out 11 in 10.2 innings.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Sunday that he expects Turnbull (COVID-19 injured list) to miss the team's "first few series" of the season, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

While Detroit hasn't explicitly said that Turnbull's placement on the COVID-19 IL a few days ago was the result of a positive test, his projected multi-series absence to begin the season suggests that's indeed the case. Assuming Turnbull doesn't experience any major symptoms during his recovery, he seems unlikely to be ready to go until around mid-April, and he could need additional time beyond that to build up his pitch count after the lengthy break in his throwing progression. Turnbull's absence will clear the way for Matthew Boyd to enter 2021 as the Tigers' No. 1 pitcher.

Manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Taillon won't start until the Yankees' sixth game of the season April 7 against the Orioles, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Taillon will head into Opening Day as the team's nominal fifth starter, with Boone noting that he wants to "slow play" the right-hander as he returns from his second career Tommy John procedure, which he underwent in August 2019. Expect the Yankees to monitor Taillon's workload carefully to begin the season, while also building in extra days of rest for the 29-year-old whenever possible. Taillon has allowed only one run while striking out 14 over 8.1 innings this spring, but he's also walked four while yielding a .257 batting average against.