MLB Player News

Manning had his contract selected by the Tigers on Friday.

The 22-year-old is the Tigers' top pitching prospect, so it's not much of a surprise the organization opted to protect him from the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Manning made 24 starts at Double-A Erie in 2019 and had a 2.56 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 148:38 K:BB over 133.2 innings and spent the 2020 campaign at the alternate training site before being shut down in late August with a forearm strain. The right-hander shouldn't have any issues being ready for spring training and could be competing for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Wentz (elbow) had his contract selected to the Tigers' 40-man roster Friday.

The 23-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in March, but Detroit still opted to protect him from the Rule 5 draft by adding him to the 40-man roster before Friday's deadline. Wentz is unlikely to be available before the second half of 2021, so he figures to be moved to the 60-day injured list at some point.

Bieber was announced as the 2020 winner of the American League Cy Young award Wednesday.

The right-hander received all 30 first-place votes after a dominating 2020 campaign. Bieber finished with a 1.63 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 122:21 K:BB over 77.1 innings with an 8-1 record in 12 starts. The 25-year-old has solidified himself as Cleveland's ace and one of the best pitchers in baseball heading into the 2021 season.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Wednesday that Rodriguez continues to ramp up his activities after missing the entire 2020 season while recovering from myocarditis, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Rodriguez first experienced the heart condition a few weeks after he tested positive for COVID-19 shortly before the start of the Red Sox's summer camp in late June. The lefty eventually reported to the team's facility near the end of camp, but he was shut down for good while he continued to battle heart-related complications when he attempted to increase the intensity of his workouts. After taking a few months off, Rodriguez was cleared to resume light cardio activity in late September, and he appears to have thus far avoided any setbacks in his recovery. Assuming his offseason continues to proceed normally, Rodriguez should face few restrictions, if any, when pitchers and catchers report for spring training in February.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Wednesday that Sale (elbow) continues to make progress from his Tommy John surgery and could be fully stretched out for starting duty by the middle of next summer, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Sale still has several more checkpoints to meet in his recovery from the elbow procedure, but the first seven-plus months of his rehab program appears to have gone according to plan. The southpaw should be ready to throw off flat ground -- if not a mound -- by the end of spring training, but he'll still be ticketed for the 60-day injured list to begin the 2021 campaign.

Ray signed a one-year, $8 million contract to remain with the Blue Jays on Saturday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The Blue Jays traded for half a season of Ray at the deadline for quite a cheap return after he opened the campaign with a 7.84 ERA in seven starts for Arizona. He was better with his new team but was still not close to his previous form, finishing the year with a 6.62 ERA. His strikeout rate fell by over four points to a still-strong 27.1 percent, while his walk rate ballooned to an unsustainably high 17.9 percent and his groundball rate collapsed to a similarly poor 24.3 percent. It's hard to call this year's version of Ray a major-league caliber arm, but he's still just 29 years old, so the Blue Jays evidently believe he can get back to being the guy who posted a 3.72 ERA from 2017 through 2019. If he does indeed bounce back, they will have gotten quite a bargain, as will fantasy players who pick him up for a good price in draft season.

Farrell cleared waivers and was outrighted to the minors Friday.

Farrell appeared in four games during 2020 and gave up five runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and five walks over 5.1 innings. The right-hander figures to be in big-league camp at spring training.

Snell recorded 5.1 innings of work Tuesday, allowing one run and two hits while striking out nine in a loss to the Dodgers in Game 6 of the World Series.

Snell fanned nine, yet he was unable to escape the sixth inning. Upon allowing a single to Austin Barnes, the southpaw was controversially pulled from the game by manager Kevin Cash. It is also worth noting that Snell never made it six innings all season. The 27-year-old threw 48 of his 73 pitches for strikes and recorded a first-pitch strike on nine of the 18 batters that he faced.

Manning said Tuesday that he feels 100 percent after recovering from a minor forearm issue over the summer, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Manning said that his forearm strain would have only cost him a few weeks of minor-league action during a normal season. It wound up costing him the chance to make his big-league debut but seems unlikely to be a long-term problem. He's been able to play catch and expects to be at full speed by spring training.

Glasnow was the pitcher of record Sunday in the Rays' 4-2 loss to the Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series after giving up four runs on six hits and three walks while striking out seven over five innings.

As per usual, the hard-throwing righty was able to miss bats at a decent clip with 16 swinging strikes among his 102 pitches, but command was once again an issue. That has been a recurring theme for Glasnow this postseason, as he's given up a home run in all but one of his six outings during the Rays' playoff run. Joc Pederson and Max Muncy took Glasnow deep Sunday, with the later long ball providing Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles bullpen all the cushion they would need. Should the Rays extend the series to a Game 7 on Wednesday, Glasnow could be available to pitch an inning or two out of the bullpen.