MLB Player News

Gonzales is back in his West Seattle home and is keeping his arm in shape on an offseason routine, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Johns reports the left-hander is throwing and playing long toss with teammate Patrick Wisdom on what normally would be his December routine, acting on the assumption that he'll still have about a three-to-four-week ramp-up period before the regular season begins. Gonzales does have a full basement gym at his disposal and feels confident he'll be able to get fully back on track mentally once MLB has a firm re-start date. "I think once we kind of have a date on the books, things will become clearer for us," he said. "It is an interesting thing for an athlete to go through to have a start of the season on the books, and then to have that scratched. And now we don't know when we're going to start or if we're going to start, so it is kind of a confusing time right now."

Schmidt gave up two earned runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out eight in seven innings during big-league spring training.

He gave up two unearned runs and allowed too many baserunners, but his strikeout total was impressive in this tiny sample. While Deivi Garcia and Michael King have already been optioned to the minors, Schmidt has not been jettisoned from major-league camp -- not that camp is still in progress. It seems possible that James Paxton (back) could be ready when the season begins, so the Yankees may not need to dig into the farm system to fill the No. 5 starter role after all.

Sale underwent Tommy John surgery Monday, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

The surgery should finally allow Sale to move past the elbow issues that bothered him dating back to the second half of last season. He'll miss all of this season, even if the schedule winds up considerably delayed, and should miss a fair portion of the 2021 season as well. According to chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, Sale's recovery is expected to take around 14-to-15 months, per Bill Koch of The Providence Journal. The southpaw will complete his rehab at his home in Florida.

Verlander (groin) is on schedule in his recovery from groin surgery, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Reporters had a conference call Friday with Astros general manager James Click. who relayed Verlander's recovering well and is "ready to get back out there as soon as he possibly can." Verlander underwent right groin surgery March 17 and was given a six-week recovery estimate. Under that schedule, Verlander could be ready to pitch by the time MLB resumes normal operations following the coronavirus pandemic.

Suarez was competing for a spot in the Opening Day rotation before spring training was suspended, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Suarez pitched well in Cactus League play, allowing only one earned run on three hits across eight innings while notching a 9:2 K:BB. However, the southpaw's bid for a big-league roster spot may be hurt by the delay to the start of the regular season as the extra time may give fellow hurlers Shohei Ohtani (elbow) and Griffin Canning (elbow) the opportunity to recover from their injuries in time for Opening Day. Another factor to keep in mind is that Suarez still has minor-league options remaining, providing the Angels with added incentive to keep him in the minors as long as the team does not have a pressing need in the rotation.

Sandoval is among a number of pitchers vying for a spot at the back end of the Angels' rotation, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Sandoval appeared to boost his chance of breaking camp with the Angels after a solid spring in which he posted a 3.60 ERA and 5:3 K:BB across five innings. However, the delay to the start of the regular season could mean less available rotation spots as both Shohei Ohtani (elbow) and Griffin Canning (elbow) could feasibly be ready in time for Opening Day. Sandoval's likelihood of making the big-league squad is also compromised by the fact that he still has minor-league options remaining.

Civale was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Civale threw only five innings during Cactus League action as he began the spring by battling a groin injury. However, he made a strong impression during his final outing, striking out six batters across three innings on March 9. Civale should remain a strong candidate for the rotation throughout the season, though it appears the team is currently content to see how Mike Clevinger (knee) and Carlos Carrasco (elbow) progress from their injuries before play resumes.

Springs was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

With Springs, Matt Hall and Chris Mazza all heading to the minors, and presuming Collin McHugh (elbow) his healthy, it appears either Ryan Weber or Brian Johnson will open the season as Boston's fifth starter. The 27-year-old Springs struggled across 25 relief appearances with the Rangers in 2019, posting a 6.40 ERA, 1.89 WHIP and 32:23 K:BB in 32.1 innings.

The White Sox optioned Kopech to Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Kopech is healthy again after missing the entire 2019 season following Tommy John surgery, but the White Sox likely want to see their top pitching prospect build up his pitch count and refine his command at Triple-A for at least a few starts before returning him into the big-league rotation. The hard-throwing righty made just one appearance in Cactus League play before the MLB suspended its season, striking out one over a perfect inning.

Paxton (back) has been throwing in his home state of Wisconsin, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Paxton had back surgery in early February and was initially expected to miss the early portion of the regular season. He has indicated that he could be ready to pitch in games as soon as mid-May, which is supported by the fact that he has resumed throwing. With the regular season postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it's well within reason to believe Paxton could occupy a spot in the rotation come Opening Day.