MLB Player News

Montas signed a one-year, $1.8 million deal with the Athletics on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Montas didn't seem to be pitching like his normal self last season, logging a 5.60 ERA and 1.51 WHIP. His splitter, which was a dominant pitch for him in 2019, was much more hittable in 2020 and his groundball rate plummeted. It's possible he wasn't right physically, or perhaps his excellent 2020 was fueled by the performance-enhancing substance Ostarine, which he received an 80-game suspension for that year. A 13-strikeout game in which he allowed zero earned runs against the Mariners on Sept. 27 provides some hope that he can still return to his peak form.

Glasnow signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Rays on Friday to avoid arbitration, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

The 27-year-old is now officially under contract for 2021 after posting a 4.08 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 91:22 K:BB over 57.1 innings last season. Glasnow is Tampa Bay's clear ace entering spring training following the departure of Blake Snell.

Stripling and the Blue Jays agreed to a one-year, $3 million contract Friday, avoiding arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Moving away from Los Angeles this past season was supposed to finally give Stripling the chance to thrive as a full-time starter. Instead, he remained a swingman, starting nine games and relieving in three more. His strikeout rate plummeted from 25.1 percent to 18.2 percent, while his ERA, which had never before come in above 4.00, sat at 5.84. Toronto will be hoping to see a bounceback season from the righty in his age-31 campaign.

Sale (elbow) is scheduled to throw off a mound in late January, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

The veteran left-hander remains without an official timeline for his return, but a return to mound work represents a significant step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Sale underwent the procedure in March 2020 and figures to be sidelined for much of the first half of the 2021 campaign, but a more concrete timeline should come into focus and he ramps up his rehab work.

Faedo is rehabbing in Lakeland after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Faedo suffered what was originally called a slight forearm strain at the Tigers' secondary site over the summer, but the injury wound up being serious enough to require major surgery. A typical recovery timeline would wipe out his entire 2021 season but give him a chance to be back on the mound by Opening Day in 2022.

Manning is likely to start the season in the minors, according to executive vice president of baseball operations Al Avila, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

The Tigers protected the right-hander from the Rule 5 draft in November by placing him on the 40-man roster. While a lot of plans can evolve leading up to and during spring training, Manning currently appears to be a long shot to break camp with the big club. With that being said, the 22-year-old figures to have a solid chance of making his major-league debut at some point in 2021.

Skubal will be competing for a spot in the Tigers' rotation during spring training, according to executive vice president of baseball operation Al Avila, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Skubal and Casey Mize will both enter camp looking to nab a spot on Detroit's staff. Avila noted that both hurlers could wind up in the rotation come April, but he also hinted at the notion that they could be competing against each other for a roster spot. Skubal posted a 5.63 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 37:11 K:BB across 32 innings in 2020.

Mize will be in competition for a rotation spot come spring training, according to executive vice president of baseball operations Al Avila, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

The highly touted right-hander's MLB career got off to a somewhat underwhelming start in 2020, as he allowed seven homers while posting a 6.99 ERA across 28.1 innings. While the Tigers are certainly hoping Mize does enough this spring to crack the Opening Day roster, Avila's comments indicate that he is far from guaranteed to break camp with the big club.

Wolf was traded from the Mets to the Indians along with Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez and Isaiah Greene in exchange for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco on Thursday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Wolf is a prospect, but not a particularly elite one. The 2019 second-round pick combines mid-90s heat with a promising curveball, but he's nowhere close to the majors at this point. He threw just eight professional innings at the rookie-ball level in his debut season and was unable to pitch last year due to the cancellation of the minor leagues.

Wilcox is set to be traded from the Padres to the Rays in exchange for left-hander Blake Snell, pending a review of medical records, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Wilcox signed a record $3.3 million deal with the Padres after he was selected with the 80th overall pick in the 2020 first-year player draft, and he spent the entire season at the team's alternate training site. The right-hander should get his first chance to play in the minors in 2021 as part of the Rays organization, where he'll work to develop his plus slider and plus changeup after a somewhat inconsistent performance at Georgia.