MLB Player News

Patino will serve as the team's opener Sunday against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

It's unclear exactly how long Patino will pitch. Josh Fleming will handle the majority of the workload. Patino made his major-league debut in 2020 with the Padres and posted a 5.19 ERA with a 21:14 K:BB across 17.1 innings.

Honeywell was optioned to the Rays' alternate site after pitching in Saturday's game against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Honeywell allowed three runs on three hits and a walk across one inning in the game. Though he was ineffective, the Rays were able to come back to win the game, sparing him the loss. Honeywell was optioned to make a spot on the roster for Luis Patino, who is expected to pitch in Sunday's series finale.

Smeltzer was optioned to the Twins' alternate training site following Saturday's loss to the Pirates, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Smeltzer made his season debut Saturday and saved the Twins' bullpen by tossing 4.2 relief innings. He allowed one run (zero earned) on one hit and one walk while striking out three. Smeltzer will head back to the alternate training site after he spent a week on the major-league roster, and the Twins reportedly plan to call up a fresh arm ahead of Sunday's matchup.

Garcia will likely start Monday's game against the Orioles, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports.

Manager Aaron Boone confirmed Saturday that the Yankees plan to start Garcia on Monday since the team is likely to utilize a six-man rotation in the near future. Boone said that it's possible that the plan could change ahead of Monday's game, but Garcia is currently penciled in as the starter. The right-hander made six starts for the Yankees last year and posted a 4.98 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 34.1 innings.

Akin recently received stitches on his left index finger after he cut himself with a knife at home, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Akin was in consideration to start Saturday's matchup against Oakland, but he was unable to do so following his finger injury. Wade LeBlanc will instead take the mound for Baltimore to begin Saturday's game. Akin has been working at the Orioles' alternate training site to begin the season, and it's not yet clear when he'll be able to resume throwing.

Romano (elbow) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Saturday.

Romano will return to the Blue Jays' bullpen after he spent the minimum of 10 days on the injured list due to right elbow neuritis. The right-hander should now be in the mix for closing duties for Toronto since manager Charlie Montoyo hasn't yet settled on a clear ninth-inning option. Prior to his injury, Romano posted a 2.70 ERA and 2.10 WHIP in 3.1 innings.

Heuer (2-1) earned the win Friday against the Rangers, allowing two hits and striking out one across 1.1 scoreless innings.

After back-to-back ugly outings, Heuer put together a solid performance Friday, successfully setting down the Rangers' batters in the seventh inning. After allowing two singles in the eighth inning, Heuer was pulled in favor of closer Liam Hendricks. The 24-year-old has only walked one batter across 11 innings this year and owns a 4.91 ERA, inflated by two poor recent outings.

Garcia is in consideration for a start Monday against the Orioles, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

The Yankees have yet to confirm their starting-pitcher plans for the upcoming series at Baltimore, and manager Aaron Boone recently hinted that New York is likely to go to a six-man rotation soon. That leaves Garcia squarely in the mix for an opportunity to start, though he is not currently on the 26-man roster. The right-hander is traveling with the team as part of the taxi squad, however, so he would be available on short notice if the decision were made to insert him in the rotation.

Patino was added to the Rays' taxi squad Saturday and is expected to be active for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Patino was sent down by the Rays in mid-March, but he could be in line to make his team debut in Sunday's series finale. The right-hander made his major-league debut with the Padres last year and posted a 5.19 ERA and 21:14 K:BB in 17.1 innings across 11 appearances (one start). Patino will likely join the bullpen once he's added to the Rays' big-league roster, but he could be an option to serve as a starter at some point this year.

Burke (shoulder) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to the Rangers' alternate training site Saturday.

Burke began the season on the injured list while he recovered from shoulder surgery that he underwent in February of 2020. While the left-hander is now healthy, he'll work at the team's alternate training site going forward.