MLB Player News

Kelly threw four innings and 67 pitches in an intrasquad game Wednesday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

This was Kelly's second throwing session of summer camp as he works toward joining the rotation as a replacement for Mike Leake, who opted out of the season. He got knocked around, giving up three home runs during the session. The right-hander is competing with left-hander Alex Young as the main contenders for the No. 5 job.

Small was added to the Brewers' 60-man roster Thursday.

After serving as a non-roster invitee during spring training, Small will be able to develop among other top prospects within the organization at the team's alternate training site this year. The left-hander made two appearances in Cactus League play, allowing one earned run on one hit and three walks while striking out three over 1.2 innings.

Quantrill's swingman role will take on extra importance in the 60-game 2020 season, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Though Quantrill is not expected to open the season in the starting rotation, his ability to make spot starts could be critical given the uncertainty of the upcoming campaign. Even if he is used strictly out of the bullpen, the 25-year-old could find himself pitching multiple relief innings if a starter is pulled early, a scenario made more likely by the urgency of each game and the presence of a designated hitter in the National League. Quantrill was used primarily as a starter in his first big-league stint last season, compiling 5.16 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 103 total innings.

Hamels (shoulder) is not yet scheduled to begin throwing live batting practice, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Hamels -- who is slowly working his way back from an offseason shoulder issue -- has thrown multiple bullpen sessions since reporting to summer camp, though it remains to be seen when he'll be cleared to face live hitters. At this point, even if the veteran left-hander assumes a spot near the back of Atlanta's rotation and pitches two or three innings in his first outing, he's running out of time to get ready for the start of the season, which is just over two weeks away.

Martinez looked sharp in his first bullpen session of summer camp Tuesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. "Everybody was very pleased with how it came out, sharp, just very impressed by the whole way he went about it," manager Mike Shildt said. "Ball was coming out, secondary pitches, command -- very positive feedback."

Now that he's finally in summer camp after a delay of a few days, all eyes are on Martinez, whose role to start the season remains somewhat undefined for the moment. The veteran right-hander was seemingly on his way to securing a rotation spot at the time spring training was suspended, and he remained in excellent shape during the shutdown by throwing regularly. Martinez noted Tuesday he'd just thrown 95 pitches over the equivalent of seven innings in his last live batting practice in the Dominican Republic before flying to St. Louis, so his arm should be ready for a fairly healthy workload. However, the question remains whether his early season opportunities will come in the rotation or out of the bullpen, as there's a chance Martinez cedes the No. 5 starter role to Kwang-Hyun Kim and is temporarily deployed as the closer if Giovanny Gallegos continues to experience travel delays in Mexico for an extended period.

Liberatore was added to the Cardinals' 60-player roster pool Wednesday and was assigned to the alternate training site in Springfield, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The young southpaw is one of the organization's top prospects, so it's not surprise to see it prioritizing his development in the 60-man pool. Liberatore spent 2019 at Low-A Bowling Green and delivered a 3.10 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 76:31 K:BB across 78.1 innings.

Gonsolin is taking part in workouts at the Dodgers' facility Wednesday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

The 26-year-old missed the first few days of summer training for unspecified reasons, but he'll now begin ramping up for the start of the season. David Price opted out of the 2020 season over the weekend, which could provide Gonsolin a chance to push for a rotation spot, assuming he can get built up to a starter's workload by Opening Day.

Peterson is expected to be the Mets' first depth option in the rotation should one of the team's five starters miss time, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Not only would Peterson be the likely replacement this season if one of Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Rick Porcello, Steven Matz or Michael Wacha miss time, but he is also poised to be a part of the 2021 rotation, with Noah Sydergaard (elbow) expected to miss the first couple months and Stroman, Porcello and Wacha set to be free agents after this season. Peterson is often tabbed as a future back-end starter, but he has good command of a quality three-pitch mix and is excellent at generating groundballs, so he could outperform expectations. He has never pitched above Double-A, however, so it would be unwise to expect him to have success right away if he is forced into action this season.

Manager Bud Black "strongly hinted" Wednesday that Marquez will start the Rockies' Opening Day game July 24 in Texas versus the Rangers, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Colorado never formally announced an Opening Day starter before MLB went on hiatus in mid-March, but Marquez was always viewed as the odds-on favorite for the nod after leading all Rockies starters in innings (174), strikeout rate (24.3 percent) and xFIP (3.54) in 2019. Marquez's overall numbers were marred by pitching at altitude at Coors Field (6.26 ERA in 73.1 innings at home), but he'll at least benefit from making his first 2020 start on the road in the inaugural game at Globe Life Field, which is expected to play more pitcher-friendly than its predecessor, Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Mahle will either be used in a piggyback role or as a long reliever this season, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

There's little difference between the two roles for fantasy purposes, but the important bit here is that Mahle won't be in the rotation, at least to start the year. His role should still allow him to throw a fair amount of innings, however, and could set him up to steal a win or two early in the year if the Reds' other starters can't initially throw five innings. He'll also presumably be the first option if one of the team's top five starters gets injured.