MLB Player News

Staumont did not allow a baserunner and struck out two to earn the save Saturday against Detroit.

Staumont entered the game with a one-run lead and pitched effectively to pick up his first save of the campaign. His usage only adds to the confusion of the Royals' bullpen situation, as six different relievers have now recorded at least one save for the club this season. However, both Wade Davis and Scott Barlow have scuffled a bit of late -- Barlow did throw a clean eighth inning in this contest to earn a hold -- which could give Staumont an opportunity to become a more prominent portion of the closer committee in Kansas City.

Lowther will be recalled from the alternate site Saturday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Lowther is among the organization's best left-handed pitching prospects and started 26 games at Double-A Bowie in 2019. While he has come through the organization as a starter, he's expected to begin his big-league career in the bullpen.

Fleming will serve as the primary pitcher in Sunday's game against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Fleming has served as a traditional starter in his two appearances this season, working 5.0 and 5.1 innings, respectively. He's been effective, maintaining 0.87 ERA with a 5:2 K:BB across 10.1 frames. While Fleming will lose the chance for a quality start, he could be in a strong position to earn his second win of the campaign.

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.