Dodgers option Lux to alternate-site roster

Gavin Lux was set to open the shortened 2020 season as the favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year. On Tuesday, he found out he won't even open the campaign in the National League.

The Dodgers have optioned MLB Pipeline's No. 2 overall prospect to the alternate-site roster, the club announced Tuesday.

Lux was the presumed favorite to be the club's Opening Day second baseman, but he reported late to Los Angeles' Summer Camp this month for undisclosed reasons. Because of the delay, he got off to a slow start in game action and was out of the lineup completely on both Sunday and Monday with Enrique Hernández and Chris Taylor manning second against the D-backs.

“There’s a lot of things with Gavin’s swing,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. “Need to get him more at-bats, live and simulated. [We were] getting there with his last at-bat last night, albeit a strikeout. Honestly, at second base, we have a lot of good options. Workload, matchups will certainly matter.”

The Dodgers' top prospect was first called up to the Major League club on Sept. 2 last season and played primarily at the keystone the rest of the way, including the club's brief turn in the playoffs. The left-handed slugger hit .240/.305/.400 with two homers over 23 games in the regular season and went 2-for-9 with six strikeouts in the NLDS loss to the Nationals. That performance came after Lux destroyed upper-level pitching in the Minor Leagues. He hit .347/.421/.607 with 26 homers over 113 games between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City and his 166 wRC+ was tied for third-best among the 686 Minor Leaguers with at least 400 plate appearances last year.

Lux's offensive talents and Major League readiness are what caused him to surge up prospect lists last offseason. Only Rays shortstop Wander Franco is ranked higher by MLB.com. Beyond his hit and power tools, the Wisconsin native is also considered an above-average runner and could play a solid shortstop if Corey Seager didn't occupy the position already in Chavez Ravine.

Instead of spending the season's first week on the 30-man roster, Lux will now report to the Dodgers' alternate site at the University of Southern California. Following last year's callup, he had accrued 28 days of Major League service time and was on track to become a free agent after the 2025 season. That timeline could be affected by how long he remains off the Major League roster in 2020.

Howard heading to Lehigh Valley

The Phillies assigned right-hander Spencer Howard, their top pitching prospect, to the team's alternate training site in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Ranked 34th overall, Howard earned a ringing endorsement from former National League MVP Bryce Harper after tossing three scoreless innings in a scrimmage last week.

"If Spencer Howard isn't starting in our rotation by Game 6 in New York against the New York Yankees, there's a problem. That’s all I’ll say,” Harper said on Twitch.

The 23-year-old was limited to 15 starts across three levels last season due to a shoulder injury. But when he was healthy, he was dominant, going 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and .173 opponents' batting average in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and for Class A Advanced Clearwater and Double-A Reading. Howard averaged just under 12 strikeouts per nine innings.

Detroit assigns Skubal to alternate site

The Tigers announced Tuesday night that left-hander Tarik Skubal was cleared to rejoin the team's 60-man player pool and assigned him to their alternate training site in Toledo. Coming off a breakout year, the fourth-ranked prospect had been on the Injured List with an undisclosed ailment.

Skubal split last season between Class A Advanced Lakeland and Double-A Erie, going 6-8 with a 2.42 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and .196 opponents' batting average in 24 starts. The 23-year-old ranked third among all Minor Leaguers with 179 strikeouts over 122 2/3 innings and was named an Organization All-Star.