MLB Player News

Giolito allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five over five innings in Saturday's intrasquad game, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

This was Giolito's final appearance in summer camp before he's expected to start Opening Day, July 24, against the Twins. White Sox manager Rick Renteria has not made it official that Giolito will start the opener, but it would be a shock if he doesn't.

Heaney didn't pitch during Saturday's intrasquad game as scheduled after waking up with some back stiffness, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The left-hander still completed a bullpen session, so the issue doesn't appear to be overly concerning. Heaney is set to start Opening Day against the Athletics on Friday, and there's been no indication his availability for that contest is in jeopardy.

German (suspension) will not be retiring, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

German announced in a somewhat cryptic Instagram post Friday that he was stepping away from baseball. He's since deleted that post and provided another one, in which he apologized for the "unsettling post," explaining that he let his emotions get the best of him after being forced to watch his teammates get ready for the season from afar. German will miss the entirety of the season as well as the first three games of next year while serving a domestic-violence suspension.

Teheran (undisclosed) was cleared to work out Saturday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Teheran was placed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons in early July. While it's undoubtedly a positive that he's now able to join his teammates, his late arrival to camp could impact his ability to handle a starter's workload early in the season.

Luzardo won't start any of Oakland's first five games, John Hickey of SI.com reports.

Luzardo seemed to be trending towards opening in the pen for the past few days, as a positive COVID-19 test had prevented him from reporting to camp until Friday. He was able to throw 30 pitches in his first bullpen session, though that's still not close to a starter's workload, so he'll work in relief for now. The Athletics will almost certainly want him to start at some point this season, but it's not yet clear when he'll get the opportunity to do so.

Manager Bob Melvin said Saturday that Montas will be the Athletics' Opening Day starter, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com

Melvin raved about Montas' three-inning outing in a simulated game Monday, and the right-hander was officially named the starter for the team's season opener against the Angels on July 24. The 27-year-old was suspended for 80 games last season but posted a career-best 2.63 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over 96 innings across 16 starts and impressed in three Cactus League outings this spring.

The Yankees do not believe that German (suspension) is retiring, as his since-deleted Instagram post suggested he intended to do Friday, Bob Klapisch of The New York Times reports.

German still has 63 games remaining on his 81-game domestic violence suspension, meaning he'll miss the entirety of this year as well as the first three games of the 2021 season. Whether or not he remains a major-league player at that point remains to be seen.

Means was scratched from his scheduled start for Sunday's exhibition game with arm fatigue, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Manager Brandon Hyde said he chose to keep Means off the mound Sunday as a precautionary measure to give him extra rest after the southpaw was experiencing arm fatigue over the past few days. The 27-year-old was named the Orioles' Opening Day starter, but Hyde said that it's too early to tell whether the issue will impact his availability for the start of the season. Tom Eshelman will fill in as the starter for Sunday's exhibition game against the Phillies.

Eovaldi was named the Red Sox's Opening Day starter Saturday, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Eovaldi will be handed the relatively easy task of shutting down the Orioles' lineup next Friday and will line up to face the Mets in his next outing. He wouldn't have gotten the Opening Day nod in a typical season, but with Chris Sale recovering from Tommy John surgery and Eduardo Rodriguez only just reporting to camp Saturday after clearing COVID-19 protocols, he's the team's best available option. Eovaldi has been capable of ace-like stretches at times in his career, though his career 4.30 ERA over eight MLB seasons certainly doesn't meet that mark, and his 5.99 ERA in 67.2 innings last year was quite poor.

Rodriguez (illness) was cleared to join his teammates at Fenway Park on Saturday, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

A positive COVID-19 test had kept Rodriguez away from his teammates up to this point and will prevent him from making the Red Sox's Opening Day start (which will go to Nathan Eovaldi). He had been able to throw while away from the team, however, so it's possible he's not too far behind his teammates. When exactly Rodriguez is expected to make his season debut and how many pitches he'll be able to throw in his first few starts remain to be seen.