MLB Player News

Gray will be the Reds' Opening Day starter Friday, July 24 against the Tigers, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Gray gets a nice matchup to begin the season against the Tigers and then will be followed by Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, Wade Miley and Anthony DeSclafani.

Webb is the leading candidate to be the Giants' de facto fifth starter, although the team is using the term "bulk-innings role," Mark W. Sanchez of KNBR.com reports. "We see him in a role for us to take multiple innings," manager Gabe Kapler said. "We'll try to build him up as much as possible to be able to lengthen him out. ... We're stressing to all our pitchers, not just Logan, the mindset of being flexible and getting built up as much as possible."

Buster Posey, who caught Webb's live batting practice session over the weekend, said the righty's stuff was "electric" and that he was "a tick or two up from the spring." Webb has improved his arsenal and will no longer face an innings limit in a shortened season. However, manager Gabe Kapler was hesitant to use the word "starter" as the Giants stress flexible roles for their pitchers and don't expect any starter to go beyond four innings to start the season. Trevor Cahill, Tyler Anderson and Andrew Suarez are also competing for bulk innings behind the Giants' top four starters.

Mikolas threw his first live batting practice session of summer camp Tuesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander further corroborated he's over the forearm flexor strain that had sidelined him in the spring, throwing two innings to the majority of the Cardinals lineup and getting it done under the 40-pitch threshold. Mikolas' next action is set to come during an intrasquad game later in the week, a stint that's scheduled to consist of three innings and 50 pitches in duration.

Paddack hurled four scoreless innings against a lineup primarily made up of prospects in an intrasquad game Monday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Though most of the batters Paddack faced are unlikely to make the big-league roster, it is nonetheless a good sign that he was able to make it through four innings unscathed. Paddack has previously indicated that he hopes to be built up to six innings by Opening Day, and his workload Monday seems to indicate that such a scenario is within reason.

Kershaw was officially named the Dodgers' Opening Day starter Tuesday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

The announcement comes as little surprise as Kershaw had previously been announced as the club's Opening Day starter in spring training. The southpaw has received the honor on eight previous occasions, compiling a 1.05 ERA and leading the team to a 7-1 record in those appearances. Los Angeles is slated to open the 2020 campaign against San Francisco on July 23.

Gore gave up three runs in three innings in an intrasquad game Monday night, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Gore's performance wasn't a disaster -- he struck out Fernando Tatis and used his pickoff move to trap two players in rundowns -- but, per Acee, the 21-year-old worked from behind throughout the outing and struggled with his command after his first inning. Of course, it's unwise to read too much into the stud prospect's performance in his first intrasquad outing of summer camp, and there remains a tangible possibility that Gore could factor into the team's MLB plans at some point in 2020.

Kaminsky was added to the Cardinals' 60-player roster pool and will report to camp at Busch Stadium, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The 25-year-old signed with the Cardinals in December and was likely headed to Triple-A Memphis before the hiatus and ultimate shutdown of the minor-league season. Kaminsky had a 5.11 ERA and 1.65 WHIP over 24.2 innings at the Triple-A level in 2019.

Martinez has officially been cleared of COVID-19 and is reporting to summer camp Tuesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The 28-year-old was absent for the initial stages of workouts while awaiting his COVID-19 test results, but he joined his teammates Tuesday and threw a bullpen session. Martinez is likely destined to operate as the Cardinals' fifth starter, but depending how things progress in camp the team could also elect to shift him back to the bullpen, especially if Giovanny Gallegos' travel delay puts the closer's availability for Opening Day in question.

Martinez, who's still awaiting medical clearance to participate in summer camp workouts, could potentially end up in the bullpen again to start the 2020 season, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch opines.

Hummel's speculation on Martinez's early season prospects was prompted by a reader question regarding the possible ramifications of manager Mike Shildt's recent comment that the right-hander is losing ground by not being on the field. Shildt seems to be alluding to the No. 5 starter role, which Martinez has been ticketed for but hasn't necessarily locked down. Hummel points out that offseason acquisition Kwang-Hyun Kim is a viable candidate for the back-end rotation job as well, and that Martinez could once again open the season as the closer if Giovanny Gallegos' ongoing travel delay that currently sees him grounded in Mexico extends much longer.

Keller used his own Rapsodo device during the shutdown period to improve the spin efficiency on his fastball, Alex Stumpf of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.

It sounds like Keller was very self-motivated to improve as a pitcher during the shutdown period, using the Rapsodo (a pitch design tool) to up his spin efficiency from the low 90s to the 95th percentile. He has a reputation for having the velocity but not the ideal movement on his fastball, which is sometimes referred to as "straight", so if Keller's fastball can miss more bats he could be primed for a breakout 2020 season. Keller said Monday that he feels "really good" so he appears primed to open the season in Pittsburgh's rotation.