Hoos in the Pros: Baseball Alumni Set to Report

MLB teams are set to report to their training camps tomorrow across the country and former Cavaliers are going to take center stage at those camps. Since the MiLB is littered with Cavaliers, it should come as no surprise that 17 different players were named to the initial player pools for 12 different MLB teams.

Here is who will be reporting tomorrow to their camps:

Los Angeles Angels: Matt Thiass
Arizona Diamondbacks: John Hicks*, Artie Lewicki*, and Pavin Smith*
Baltimore Orioles: Branden Kline*
Chicago Cubs: Danny Hultzen*
Cleveland Indians: Ernie Clement*
Kansas City Royals: Daniel Lynch*
Los Angeles Dodgers: Josh Sborz and Chris Taylor
New York Mets: Jarrett Parker*
Philadelphia Phillies: Phil Gosselin* and Adam Haseley
San Francisco Giants: Joe McCarthy
Toronto Blue Jays: Derek Fisher
Washington Nationals: Sean Doolittle and Ryan Zimmerman(!)

(!) = will not play the 2020 season
* = not on the 40 man active roster

It remains to be seen how this season will play out with many of the former Cavaliers on the “taxi squad” that will be having more of a training camp near the MLB teams’ home stadiums. Many of these players could be called up if someone at the big league level tests positive or decides to sit out the 2020 season.

Former Cavalier great Ryan Zimmerman announced on Monday that he is one of those that will sit out the season. Zimmerman’s wife recently gave birth to the couple’s third daughter just three weeks ago and he does not want to endanger her health or go months without seeing his family. Another reason Zimmerman decided to sit out this season was his mother’s illness. Zimmerman’s mother suffers from multiple sclerosis and is a high-risk individual. Zimmerman has long been an MS advocate and has the ziMS Foundation which raises money annually for MS research.