Kyle Lobstein lands on 15-day DL with sore shoulder

By Drew SilvaMay 24, 2015, 1:25 PM EDT
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Kyle Lobstein made the Tigers’ starting rotation out of spring training with Justin Verlander (triceps) ticketed for the disabled list. But that spot will now go to right-hander Buck Farmer because Lobstein needs a disabled list stint of his own. Via the official Twitter account of the Detroit Tigers …

Lobstein will undergo tests on the shoulder this week in Detroit. He has been bothered by discomfort for a couple of weeks, and there’s at least a hint of concern that it might be something serious.

The 25-year-old southpaw had registered a 4.34 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and 20/16 K/BB ratio through 47 2/3 innings (eight starts) this season. His best start was May 7 in Chicago, when he held the White Sox to one unearned run on five hits over 7 2/3 frames. Farmer will start in his place on Thursday night in Anaheim.

Verlander’s rehabilitation from a triceps strain, meanwhile, has advanced to simulated action.

Japanese Baseball to begin June 19

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By Craig CalcaterraMay 25, 2020, 10:31 AM EDT
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Japanese League commissioner Atsushi Saito announced that Japan’s professional baseball season will open on June 19. Teams can being practice games on June 2. There will be no fans. Indeed, the league has not yet even begun to seriously discuss a plan for fans to begin attending games, though that may happen eventually.

The season will begin three months after its originally scheduled opening day of March 20. It will be 120 games long. Teams in each six-team league — the Central League and Pacific League — will play 24 games against each league opponent. There will be no interleague play and no all-star game.

The announcement came in the wake of a national state of emergency being lifted for both Tokyo and the island of Hokkaido. The rest of the country emerged from the state of emergency earlier this month. This will allow the Japanese leagues to follow leagues in South Korea and Taiwan which have been playing for several weeks.

In the United States, Major League Baseball is hoping to resume spring training in mid June before launching a shortened regular season in early July. That plan is contingent on the league and the players’ union coming to an agreement on both financial arrangements and safety protocols for a 2020 season. Negotiations on both are ongoing. Major League Baseball will, reportedly, make a formal proposal about player compensation tomorrow.