MLB Player News

Rodriguez (illness) arrived in Boston on Friday, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

The 27-year-old has been absent from camp after testing positive for COVID-19, but he appears to be nearing full clearance. Rodriguez has been throwing during his time away from the team, but manager Ron Roenicke cautioned against a specific return timeline until they see him throwing in person. The left-hander is unlikely to be prepared to pitch Opening Day, but reporting to camp is the first major step in his return to the mound.

Montas, whose three-inning stint in a simulated game Monday manager Bob Melvin described as 'borderline electric," is the favorite to draw an Opening Day start, Jerry McDonald of The Mercury News reports. "He's got all the talent in the world. His stuff is some of the best I've seen," rotation mate Mike Fiers said. "For him I think it's all mental, just throwing strikes and trusting his stuff in the zone. Before everything went down last year he was one of the best pitchers in the league. I'm excited to watch him."

Montas' chances of cutting the proverbial ribbon on the 2020 regular season for the Athletics have likely been improved by Fiers' slightly delayed arrival in summer camp, but the right-hander certainly has the stuff befitting a staff ace. The 27-year-old worked around an 80-game suspension last season to post a 9-2 record, 2.63 ERA and 103:23 K:BB in 16 starts, and he's remained on the right track with a perfect ERA in three Cactus League outings and impressive velocity in bullpen sessions and simulated games in summer camp. Notably, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier in the week that Montas wasn't designated to pitch in either of the Athletics' exhibition games against the Giants on Monday or Tuesday, furthering the notion he'll get the call Opening Night against the Angels next Friday.

Dunn, who recorded five strikeouts over three innings in Thursday's intrasquad game, focused on his breaking pitches with considerable success, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports. "It was shaky last week," Dunn said of his slider and curveball. "I wasn't too happy about that. It's something I take pride in being able to spin the ball when I want to. I was able to lock in the routine with Woody (pitching coach Pete Woodworth) and was able to work on both pitches and felt like I executed both pretty well today."

Both Dunn's curveball and slider paid dividends Thursday, as the right-hander threw the former for multiple first-pitch strikes and was able to retire a few teammates with the latter. Dunn's most impressive frame was the second, when he mowed down a side consisting of J.P. Crawford, Tim Lopes and Tom Murphy on swinging strikeouts. Dunn will have one more start before the regular season, which he's likely to enter as the No. 6 starter.

Luzardo (illness) has been cleared to rejoin his teammates and will report to camp Friday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Luzardo had been away from the team due to a positive COVID-19 test. He's been able to work out at home and was reportedly symptom-free, but he's likely still somewhat behind the rest of his teammates due to his lack of game action. Exactly what role he's able to handle at the beginning of the regular season remains to be seen.

Greinke threw 54 pitches before tiring in the fourth inning during Thursday's intrasquad game, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

It should be alarming that pitchers across the league are up to 70, 80, 90 pitches, but Greinke is stuck in the 50s. He'll have one more camp tuneup to build up his pitch count before the regular season, but the right-hander could be one of those pitchers not yet ready to get deep into a game. He admitted following the outing that he was not in midseason form. "Today, I really got tired in the last inning," Greinke said. "So next time we'll try for 75 [pitches] or so, but it's possible it will only be 60. Possible it will be 80. I don't know. I'm hoping for more than 50." This is why teams will carry up to 15 or 16 pitchers for the first two weeks of the season. Although Greinke's expected to serve as the Astros' No. 2 starter, the date of his first start has yet to be determined.

Rodon (elbow) allowed three home runs and struck out four over 3.2 innings during Thursday's intrasquad game, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

This was Rodon's second outing since having Tommy John surgery 14 months ago. Despite the home runs -- two by Edwin Encarnacion and one by Tim Anderson -- the left-hander was pleased with his slider. "Slider was sharp, fastball was decent, close to almost all the way," Rodon said. "A couple of missed pitches, things we can get better at, and good thing these don't count." It's unclear where Rodon stands when the season opens. He's almost certain to be part of the rotation at some point during the season, but that may not happen immediately.

Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said he'd like to have Mize in his rotation "right now" but acknowledged that the team would let him develop further, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Mize was likely to pitch in Triple-A this season, but with the minor-league season canceled, he finds himself in Detroit's 60-man roster pool for summer camp. The 23-year-old is an outstanding prospect, and it sounds like he could make his MLB debut later this summer. "He's moving really quick," Gardenhire said. "For me, it can't be quick enough. I like him a lot." Behind Matthew Boyd, the Tigers have the likes of Jordan Zimmermann and Ivan Nova serving as rotation placeholders, so there is certainly an opportunity for Mize to make his mark soon.

Gil was reassigned to the Yankees' alternate training site Thursday.

Although Gil is on the team's 40-man roster, he hasn't pitched above the High-A level, so he'll continue his development at the team's alternate training site this season. The right-hander posted a 2.72 ERA and 123:47 K:BB over 96 innings in the minors last year.

Medina was reassigned to New York's alternate camp site Thursday.

This move was expected, as Medina -- who has yet to pitch above High-A -- was never a candidate to pitch for the big-league squad in 2020. Across 20 starts with Low-A Charleston last season, the 21-year-old posted a 6.00 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 115:67 K:BB in 93 innings.

Carrasco is scheduled to start the third game of the regular season against the Royals, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Carrasco is set to follow Shane Bieber and Mike Clevinger. The right-hander is looking to get back on track in 2020 after a difficult 2019 season. Over the past three seasons, Carrasco owns a 3.66 ERA and 10.5 K/9 in 472 innings.