Orioles Announce Initial 60-Man Player Pool
Today marks the deadline for teams to submit to Major League Baseball their initial spring training player pools, which can comprise up to 60 players. Players are not eligible to participate in either a spring training or regular season game until they are included in the pool. Teams are free to change the makeup of the pools as they see fit. However, players removed from a team’s 60-man (for reasons unrelated to injury, suspension, etc.) must be exposed to other organizations via trade or waivers.
Not all players within a team’s pool are ticketed for MLB playing time, of course. Most teams will include well-regarded but still far-off prospects as a means of getting them training reps with no intention of running them onto a major league diamond this season. A comprehensive review of 2020’s unique set of rules can be found here.
The Orioles’ initial player pool consists of the following players.
Right-handed pitchers
- Shawn Armstrong
- Cody Carroll
- Miguel Castro
- Alex Cobb
- Thomas Eshelman
- Mychal Givens
- Eric Hanhold
- Hunter Harvey
- David Hess
- Branden Kline
- Travis Lakins
- Chandler Shepherd
- Kohl Stewart
- Cole Sulser
- Dillon Tate
- Cesar Valdez
- Hector Velazquez
- Asher Wojciechowski
Left-handed pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
- Hanser Alberto
- Chris Davis
- Dilson Herrera
- Jose Iglesias
- Richie Martin
- Renato Nunez
- Rio Ruiz
- Pat Valaika
- Andrew Velazquez
- Stevie Wilkerson
Outfielders
Indians Announce Initial 60-Man Player Pool
Today marks the deadline for teams to submit to Major League Baseball their initial spring training player pools, which can comprise up to 60 players. Players are not eligible to participate in either a spring training or regular season game until they are included in the pool. Teams are free to change the makeup of the pools as they see fit. However, players removed from a team’s 60-man (for reasons unrelated to injury, suspension, etc.) must be exposed to other organizations via trade or waivers.
Not all players within a team’s pool are ticketed for MLB playing time, of course. Most teams will include well-regarded but still far-off prospects as a means of getting them training reps with no intention of running them onto a major league diamond this season. A comprehensive review of 2020’s unique set of rules can be found here.
The Indians’ initial player pool consists of the following players.
Right-handed pitchers
- Shane Bieber
- Carlos Carrasco
- Adam Cimber
- Aaron Civale
- Mike Clevinger
- Daniel Espino
- Ethan Hankins
- Cam Hill
- James Hoyt
- James Karinchak
- Dominic Leone
- Phil Maton
- Triston McKenzie
- Jean Carlos Mejia
- Eli Morgan
- Kyle Nelson
- Zach Plesac
- Adam Plutko
- Jefry Rodriguez
- Nick Sandlin
- Nick Wittgren
- Hunter Wood
Left-handed pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
- Christian Arroyo
- Aaron Bracho
- Bobby Bradley
- Yu Chang
- Ernie Clement
- Mike Freeman
- Tyler Freeman
- Cesar Hernandez
- Nolan Jones
- Francisco Lindor
- Jose Ramirez
- Carlos Santana
Outfielders
Reds Announce Initial 60-Man Player Pool
Today marks the deadline for teams to submit to Major League Baseball their initial spring training player pools, which can comprise up to 60 players. Players are not eligible to participate in either a spring training or regular season game until they are included in the pool. Teams are free to change the makeup of the pools as they see fit. However, players removed from a team’s 60-man (for reasons unrelated to injury, suspension, etc.) must be exposed to other organizations via trade or waivers.
Not all players within a team’s pool are ticketed for MLB playing time, of course. Most teams will include well-regarded but still far-off prospects as a means of getting them training reps with no intention of running them onto a major league diamond this season. A comprehensive review of 2020’s unique set of rules can be found here.
The Reds’ initial player pool consists of the following players.
Right-handed pitchers
- R.J. Alaniz
- Tejay Antone
- Trevor Bauer
- David Carpenter
- Luis Castillo
- José de León
- Anthony deSclafani
- Sonny Gray
- Ryan Hendrix
- Raisel Iglesias
- Nate Jones
- Joel Kuhnel
- Michael Lorenzen
- Tyler Mahle
- Alex Powers
- Sal Romano
- Tony Santillan
- Justin Shafer
- Lucas Sims
- Robert Stephenson
- Pedro Strop
- Tyler Thornburg
Left-handed pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
- Alex Blandino
- Christian Colón
- Matt Davidson
- Freddy Galvis
- Jose Garcia
- Jonathan India
- Mike Moustakas
- Alfredo Rodriguez
- Eugenio Suárez
- Joey Votto
- Josh VanMeter
Outfielders
- Aristides Aquino
- Shogo Akiyama
- Nick Castellanos
- Phillip Ervin
- Stuart Fairchild
- Travis Jankowski
- Mark Payton
- Boog Powell
- Scott Schebler
- Nick Senzel
- Jesse Winker
The Reds elected to leave three spots open, naming 57 players to their pool. As C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic points out (via Twitter), the club elected not to bring back Derek Dietrich, Vladimir Gutierrez, Chris Okey and Blake Trahan from the first iteration of MLB spring training. Dietrich’s exclusion is particularly notable, since he hit 19 home runs in 306 plate appearances for the club last season, albeit with an odd .187/.328/.462 line (102 wRC+). He had re-upped on a minor-league deal in Februrary. Gutierrez, meanwhile, was one of four players suspended by Major League Baseball today for drug infractions.
MLB Suspends Four Minor League Players
MLB announced today that it has suspended four minor league players in violation of the league’s Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
- Reds right-handed pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The 24-year-old Gutierrez played all of the 2019 season at Triple-A, starting 27 games and notching a 6.04 ERA while striking out 117 batters in 137 innings. Gutierrez received a $4.75MM signing bonus from Cincinnati after defecting from Cuba during the 2016-2017 offseason.
- Two Dodgers pitchers have also been suspended: Juan Idrogo and Reza Aleaziz have received suspensions of 72 games and 50 games, respectively. Idrogo signed with the Dodgers during last summer’s international signing period, spending the summer in the Dominican Summer League. Aleaziz, 24, reached High-A ball last year after the Dodgers made him a 28th-round selection in 2018.
- Twins infielder Jose Rosario will also receive a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a drug of abuse. Rosario, 18, played last year, his pro debut, with the Twins affiliate in the Dominican Summer League. He posted a stellar .422 OBP in his first foray in affiliated ball.
Rays Announce Initial 60-Man Player Pool
Today marks the deadline for teams to submit to Major League Baseball their initial spring training player pools, which can comprise up to 60 players. Players are not eligible to participate in either a spring training or regular season game until they are included in the pool. Teams are free to change the makeup of the pools as they see fit. However, players removed from a team’s 60-man (for reasons unrelated to injury, suspension, etc.) must be exposed to other organizations via trade or waivers.
Not all players within a team’s pool are ticketed for MLB playing time, of course. Most teams will include well-regarded but still far-off prospects as a means of getting them training reps with no intention of running them onto a major league diamond this season. A comprehensive review of 2020’s unique set of rules can be found here.
The Rays’ initial player pool consists of the following players, per various reporters (including Juan Toribio of MLB.com and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).
Right-handed pitchers
- Nick Anderson
- Shane Baz
- Diego Castillo
- Yonny Chirinos
- Dylan Covey
- John Curtiss
- Oliver Drake
- Pete Fairbanks
- Tyler Glasnow
- Andrew Kittredge
- Sam McWilliams
- Charlie Morton
- Trevor Richards
- Chaz Roe
- Joe Ryan
- Aaron Slegers
- Ryan Thompson
Left-handed pitchers
- José Alvarado
- Anthony Banda
- Jalen Beeks
- Josh Fleming
- Sean Gilmartin
- Aaron Loup
- Shane McClanahan
- Brendan McKay
- Colin Poche
- Ryan Sherriff
- Blake Snell
- D.J. Snelten
- Ryan Yarbrough
Catchers
Infielders
- Willy Adames
- Mike Brosseau
- Vidal Bruján
- Ji-Man Choi
- Yandy Díaz
- Lucius Fox
- Wander Franco
- Brandon Lowe
- Nate Lowe
- José Martínez
- Kevin Padlo
- Esteban Quiroz
- Daniel Robertson
- Taylor Walls
- Joey Wendle
Outfielders
- Randy Arozarena
- Dylan Cozens
- Kevin Kiermaier
- Ryan LaMarre
- Josh Lowe
- Manuel Margot
- Austin Meadows
- Brian O’Grady
- Hunter Renfroe
- Yoshi Tsutsugo
The Rays are the first team to announce their 60-player pool, and they’ve opted to fill all 60 spots—30 pitchers and 30 position players. We’ll see how many teams choose to leave some slots open; clubs aren’t required to use all 60 roster spots. There aren’t many surprises for the Rays, who will essentially carry their 40-man roster alongside many of the same non-roster veterans and prospects who were relevant in the first iteration of Spring Training. Wander Franco, regarded as the top prospect in baseball, will train with the club thanks to his inclusion in the player pool, though that’s far from an indication that he’ll appear at the MLB level this year. The only 40-man player who isn’t included here is Brett Honeywell, who is still recovering from an ulnar nerve procedure.
Royals Outright Eric Skoglund
The Royals announced that left-hander Eric Skoglund has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Omaha. Skoglund has evidently spent the past three months in DFA limbo. He was designated for assignment on March 25 to create 40-man roster space for the addition of Trevor Rosenthal. Two days later, MLB instituted a league-wide transaction freeze that, until today, left Skoglund’s situation unresolved.
Skoglund has seen MLB action for Kansas City in each of the past three seasons. All told, he’s combined for 109 innings over 27 appearances (22 starts) with a cumulative 6.61 ERA and minuscule 13.8% strikeout rate. The 27-year-old will remain with the organization that selected him in the third round back in 2014.
Giants Release, Re-Sign Four Players
As a procedural move, the Giants have released Pablo Sandoval, Trevor Cahill, Yolmer Sanchez, and Billy Hamilton, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Not to worry, though: all four are expected to re-sign with the team on new minor league contracts and join the Giants for renewed Spring Training.
Evidently, these roster moves are simply technicalities and won’t affect the players’ standing with the club. The precise motivation for reworking the quartet’s contracts is unclear, but speculatively may be related to opt-out clauses in the minor league deals to which they were previously signed.
Phillies Release Drew Storen, Matt Szczur
The Phillies announced they have released right-handed reliever Drew Storen and outfielder Matt Szczur. Both were among a large group of veterans in camp on minor-league deals this spring.
Storen is most famous for his run with the Nationals, where he combined for a 3.02 ERA/3.09 FIP in 334 relief innings between 2010-15. He fell on tough times after leaving Washington and hasn’t seen big league action since suiting up with the 2017 Reds, partially due to Tommy John surgery.
Szczur, meanwhile, hit well in limited time with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate in 2019. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to earn him another shot in the majors, where he logged a bit of time every season from 2014-18. The 30-year-old has a career .231/.312/.355 slash (81 wRC+) in 667 plate appearances.
KBO Preparing Plan To Allow Fans In Ballparks
The Korea Baseball Organization is preparing guidelines to gradually admit fans back into parks, reports Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (via Twitter). The expectation is the league will admit fans at approximately 30 percent of stadium capacity to start out, perhaps as soon as next weekend. If all goes well, the league could incrementally increase admissions thereafter, Yoo reports.
Predictably, the in-stadium experience would look quite different than it would’ve in a normal year. Yoo notes that fans would be required to stay apart from one another and wear masks, while concession stands would mostly remain closed.
Restrictions notwithstanding, the plan’s finalization would be a welcome step for Korean baseball. The KBO began play without fans on May 5 and has proceeded without stoppage for the better part of two months. That obviously reflects South Korea’s broader success in limiting the spread of COVID-19.
It is unlikely, of course, MLB fans will enjoy entry into a ballpark at any time in 2020. The league has yet to officially rule out in-person attendance this season, but the massive uptick in coronavirus cases throughout the U.S. makes clear that will almost certainly not be feasible. Indeed, Dodgers president Stan Kasten told Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times this week he has no expectation of even a small number of fans attending Dodger Stadium any time soon.
Quick Hits: Schedule, Twins, A’s, Minor League Pay
The Nationals and Yankees are tentatively scheduled to play on July 23, according to Joel Sherman and Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, which would make for a big Max Scherzer vs. Gerrit Cole pitching matchup to highlight Opening Day. It might still be at least a week or two before the 2020 schedule is officially finalized, however, as the league is still considering a number of factors, chief among them coronavirus outbreaks around the United States. “Better, the league believes, to take its time, see how the [COVID-19] testing of personnel goes this week and the preferences expressed in feedback from clubs,” Sherman and Marchand write. “So the current schedule can change drastically and, if it does, the union will have to provide its blessing again.”
More from around baseball…
- Tomorrow is the deadline for teams to submit their initial 60-man player pool, and details are already beginning to emerge about which players may or may not be included. The Twins‘ taxi squad will include top prospects Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, and Brent Rooker, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson tweets. Caleb Thielbar, who rejoined Minnesota on a minors contract last winter, is also expected to be on taxi squad duty.
- The Athletics will initially split their player pool into two groups, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, with much of the big league roster training in Oakland and the taxi squad potentially training in nearby Stockton — the home of the Athletics’ Class-A affiliate — if a deal can be finalized with Stockton city officials. Offseason minor league signings Ryan Goins, Carlos Perez, Jordan Weems, and Lucas Luetge will all be in Oakland, while taxi squad players include such notable prospects as Tyler Soderstrom, Daulton Jefferies, Nick Allen, Dustin Fowler and (as per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez) Robert Puason.
- Slusser also provides updates on some Athletics players who were battling injuries during the spring but are now on track to be ready for Opening Day. A.J. Puk “has been throwing bullpen sessions for months” following a shoulder strain in the spring, and looks to be ready to begin the season in Oakland’s rotation. Right-hander Daniel Mengden is also ready to be part of the pitching mix after recovering from arthroscopic elbow surgery in February. After being sidelined with an intercostal strain during Spring Training, Stephen Piscotty said he is now “100 percent with no limitations.”
- The Rays and Rangers are the latest teams to commit to paying their minor leaguers through the end of July, as respectively reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Minor leaguers in each organization will continue to receive their $400 weekly stipends for at least another month.