MLB Player News

Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman has gained 12 pounds this offseason, according to MASN.

Gausman will come into the year hoping to compete for a rotation spot with the club. He was considered one of the team's strongest prospects in the past, and got a taste of the majors in 2013. Gausman says this is the best he's ever felt physically. He had a 5.66 ERA in 47 2/3 innings last year.

White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale, who threw a career-high 214 1/3 innings in 2013, has been throwing 4-5 days per week since the start of January, according to MLB.com. He's expected to throw 4-6 bullpen sessions before arriving for spring training.

"I talked to Coop [White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper], and he was adamant on me not going full bore and not spinning breaking balls before Arizona," Sale said. "I feel better about that. In the past, I've shown up to spring training not totally ready [for the season], but close to it. I'm going to come into [Arizona] this year and build up more than maintain."

Although he had a rough MLB debut in 2013, Twins starting pitcher Kyle Gibson will be in the mix for a rotation spot this spring, according to the Pioneer Press. Though, he will have to pitch better than he did in 10 starts for the Twins last season, when he went 2-4 with a 6.53 ERA and 1.75 WHIP.

"Last year, coming off Tommy John (surgery), we were worried so much about innings with him, and justifiably so," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said about shutting Gibson down after throwing 152 2/3 innings last season. "This year he's got an opportunity to make this club and the rotation. It will be a competitive situation with him and a number of other guys.

"He's in good standing. He's healthy. He got through the year 100 percent healthy for the most part. Innings shouldn't be that big of an issue this year. I don't think we have diminished our faith that he's going to be a good pitcher for us for years to come. We have high hopes for Kyle. Hopefully he'll respond and (justify) many of those things we have thought about his potential."

Indians starter Justin Masterson will discuss a multi-year deal with the club during the arbitration process.

Masterson is entering the final year of his contract. He's coming off a bounce-back season, in which he posted a 3.45 ERA in 193 innings. He'll be highly coveted on the market if he's capable of putting up those numbers again this season.

Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman is a longshot to make the team's opening day roster, according to sportsnet.ca.

Manager John Gibbons said it's possible, but not likely Stroman would open with the club. Stroman was drafted in 2012, but was considered close to major-league ready compared to other players in the draft. He was suspended 50 games for tested positive for a banned stimulant, but performed well in 2013. He'll likely make his major-league debut at some point in 2014.

The Tigers announced starting pitcher Justin Verlander underwent successful core muscle repair surgery Thursday morning. The right-hander is expected to rehab for six weeks and will be re-evaluated at the end of that time.

Verlander suffered the injury while working out in late December, according to MLive.com.

"We fully anticipate Justin to participate in spring training and be in a position to compete at the beginning of the 2014 season," general manager Dave Dombrowski said. 

If the Orioles don't sign another starting pitcher, left-hander Zach Britton is the likely favorite to win the fifth spot in the rotation because he's out of options, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.

If needed, the Orioles could send starting pitcher candidates Kevin Gausman, Steve Johnson and T.J. McFarland to the minors and bring them up later in the season. Though, McFarland could be a candidate for the bullpen while Troy Patton serves a 25-game suspension at the outset of the season.

However, Kubatko expects the Orioles will sign another starter. Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez and Bud Norris are expected to fill the first four spots in the team's rotation.

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said he sees promise in some of the organization's young pitchers, according to the Toronto Star. Anthopoulos singled out Drew Hutchison and Marcus Stroman after both players had strong showings in the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League.

Hutchison was 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA in six starts for Salt River. He struck out 20 batters and posted a .217 opponents' batting average in 21 2/3 innings.

Stroman was 1-2 with a 3.09 ERA in nine relief appearances for Salt River. He struck out 13 and had a .186 opponents' batting average in 11 2/3 innings.

"Seeing how good they looked and the command they had was encouraging," Anthopoulos said.

The Braves were unwilling to meet the Rays' asking price of pitcher Alex Wood, catcher Christian Bethancourt and at least two other top prospects to acquire David Price, nor were they willing to trade outfielders Justin Upton or Jason Heyward in a package for Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija, MLB.com reports.

The Braves instead signed Gavin Floyd to a one-year deal rather than trade multiple significant pieces to acquire a proven ace. It appears to be a seller's market with regards to starting pitching that could potentially be traded this offseason.

The Cubs have offered to trade pitcher Jeff Samardzija to the Blue Jays for prospect pitchers Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman as well as a third player, the Toronto Sun reports. However, the Blue Jays aren't willing to meet that asking price.

"I don’t know if I could quantify how far off that they might be," Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. "We continue to have dialogue, so if you want to look at that as encouraging, I don’t know. It’s not so far out of the realm that we won’t continue to have talks."

Sanchez, 21, went 4-5 with a 3.34 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 75:40 K:BB ratio in 86 1/3 innings with high Class A Dunedin last season. Stroman, 22, went 9-5 with a 3.30 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 129:27 K:BB ratio in 111 2/3 innings with Double-A New Hampshire.