MLB Player News

Nicasio (back) is serving as the starting pitcher in the Rangers' intrasquad matchup Monday.

Nicasio was experiencing back tightness during spring training, but his status as the starting pitcher for Monday's intrasquad contest signals that he's recovered. Although he's on the team's 60-man roster, he's unlikely to play a big role in the majors this year. The 33-year-old made 47 appearances for the Phillies last season, logging a 4.75 ERA and 1.65 WHIP over 47.1 innings.

Manager Joe Maddon said Monday that it would be "hard to imagine" that Sandoval (illness) would be ready for Opening Day, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Sandoval was late to camp after testing positive for COVID-19, but he's since been able to begin throwing. Despite his presence with the team, he's slightly behind the other players and could need some extra time to build up strength. Maddon said Monday that the team would prefer to allow him to recover in a controlled environment rather than pitching out of the bullpen in game situations, so he could be held out of the start of the regular season. One or two of Matt Andriese, Felix Pena (knee) and Jaime Barria could open the year in the rotation if Sandoval is not ready.

Pitching coach Pete Walker said Monday that Anderson (oblique) is unlikely to be ready for the start of the regular season, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Anderson has been day-to-day while dealing with an oblique strain over the past several days, but he likely won't be able to return by July 24, when the Blue Jays are scheduled to open the season. How much of the regular season Anderson misses remains to be seen. The Blue Jays haven't named a replacement for Anderson's spot in the rotation, but Trent Thornton, Nate Pearson, Shun Yamaguchi and others are in the running for the team's final two rotation spots.

Sandoval revealed Monday that he tested positive for COVID-19 back on June 22, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The positive test explains why Sandoval was unable to report to camp until Thursday. Battling the virus has left him behind the rest of his teammates, so his workload will likely be limited early in the year.

Heaney completed five innings in an intrasquad game Sunday, allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out five. He threw 82 pitches.

Heaney was relatively solid in his second intrasquad start of summer camp. The most important takeaway from his performance is his inning and pitch count, both of which increased over his previous appearance. Heaney is slated to start one more intrasquad game before taking the mound for the Angels on Opening Day.

The Astros placed Urquidy on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to an unspecified issue.

Urquidy and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez were both moved to the IL with the two having yet to arrive at summer camp due to what manager Dusty Baker called " a condition that prevents them from reporting to the field," per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The vagueness of Baker's explanation makes it difficult to predict when Urquidy might be ready to join the Astros for workouts, but at this point, it appears safe to rule him out from making his first turn through the rotation when the season begins July 24. Once Urquidy is back with the team, he presumably won't settle immediately into the rotation, as he'll likely need a couple weeks to ramp up to a starter's workload.

Baz was impressive while facing Michael Perez, Hunter Renfroe, Mike Brosseau and Yandy Diaz in Sunday's simulated game, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The 21-year-old is getting an opportunity to test his mettle against big-league bats in camp after seeing his 2020 minor-league opportunity evaporate, and he didn't look out of place while facing four capable hitters. Baz threw 11 of his 17 pitches for strikes during his outing and struck Diaz out looking to wrap up his one inning. Baz's arsenal includes a powerful fastball and numerous breaking pitches, and he particularly made an impression on manager Kevin Cash with the quality of his location at what is still a relatively early stage of his professional development. "The biggest thing for me is their ability to throw strikes, their understanding of how to make a small adjustment to get them back in the zone if they miss," Cash said. "A lot of times, for younger players, that's what makes them spiral. These guys are extremely polished."

McClanahan was impressive in Sunday's simulated game while facing the foursome of Yandy Diaz, Hunter Renfroe, Mike Brosseau and Joey Wendle, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The hard-throwing southpaw fired 10 of his 15 pitches for strikes and recorded a swinging strikeout of Wendle while keeping the velocity on his four-seam fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s. McClanahan received ample praise from both catcher Mike Zunino and manager Kevin Cash, with the latter noting McClanahan's stuff "would play in any league and in any inning" when referencing the possibility of the 23-year-old's chances of working as either a starter or reliever at some point this coming regular season. The path to such an opportunity isn't completely clear at the moment, but there is apparently at least some chance McClanahan sees regular-season action in 2020 despite not yet having pitched above Double-A ball.

Manager Charlie Montoyo said Sunday that Anderson is considered day-to-day with an oblique strain, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Montoyo revealed Sunday that Anderson has been dealing with the injury for several days and that the team is taking it day-by-day. Whether the issue impacts the right-hander's availability for Opening Day remains to be seen, but he could require several weeks to build up strength before he's ready for live games. Montoyo declined to name a specific replacement for Anderson in the rotation if he's not ready by the start of the regular season.

Chiang could fill the Tigers' fifth rotation spot with Daniel Norris on the COVID-19 injured list and likely to miss the start of the season, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Detroit currently has Matthew Boyd, Spencer Turnbull, Jordan Zimmermann and Ivan Nova locked into rotation spots. Norris was likely to grab the fifth spot, but he'll now need to submit two negative test results before he's allowed to rejoin the team, so he could miss the start of the season. Michael Fulmer (elbow) is an option for the rotation, though the Tigers could put him in long relief initially after he missed all of last year following Tommy John surgery. Chiang is a starter by trade and made 26 starts for Triple-A Columbus in 2019, so he figures to be in the mix for a start or two, though either Norris or Fulmer could bump him to the bullpen at some point.