MLB Player News

Akin will serve as the opener ahead of Chris Bassitt for Friday's game against the Tigers, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Akin opened ahead of Bassitt on May 10 against the Athletics and pitched one inning, recording a pair of strikeouts. The left-hander has produced an unsightly 13.50 ERA, 1.96 WHIP and 8:2 K:BB across 8.2 innings with the big-league club this season.

The Astros selected Santa's contract from Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday.

To make room for the 23-year-old on the big-league roster, Jayden Murray was optioned to Triple-A. Santa will be looking to make his MLB debut during the Astros' weekend series at Wrigley Field. In 18 games with Sugar Land this season, he logged a 2.37 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 24:7 K:BB across 19 innings.

The Rangers signed Ross to a minor-league contract Friday, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.

Ross was released from his minor-league deal with the Diamondbacks earlier this week after he'd posted an ugly 19.64 ERA across three MLB games. In 12 games with Triple-A Reno, the veteran right-hander logged a 4.29 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 12:5 K:BB across 21 innings. Ross will provide organizational depth with Texas.

Kuhnel (1-1) earned the win in Thursday's 3-2 victory over the Angels. He allowed a hit and a walk with no strikeouts over a scoreless inning.

Kuhnel entered with the game tied in the ninth inning and allowed two Angels to reach base, but he was able to work out of the jam and send the contest to an extra inning, before the Athletics pushed across the winning run in the 10th. The right-hander has been solid this season and has put himself in the high-leverage mix, though he hasn't been given a save situation since April 20. Overall, Kuhnel owns a 2.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 10:5 K:BB with four saves and three holds across 18.2 innings.

Macko (1-0) gave up a hit and struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings of relief Thursday to record the win over the Yankees.

Braydon Fisher worked 1.1 scoreless frames as the opener before passing the torch to Macko in what ended up being a 2-0 combined shutout for the Blue Jays staff. It was the 25-year-old southpaw's first win in his third MLB appearance, and through three innings Macko has yet to give up a run while posting a 3:0 K:BB.

Miles is viewed as purely a short-term option for the rotation by the Blue Jays, and manager John Schneider said after Thursday's game that the organization has "off ramps" in mind to return the right-hander to the bullpen, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

Toronto appears to have found a gem in the Rule 5 pick, as Miles has a 2.17 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 29:8 K:BB over his first 29 MLB innings. That's already more than double his prior career innings total as a professional, however, as the 25-year-old has struggled to stay healthy since being a fourth-round pick of the Giants in 2022. Miles is plugging a hole in the rotation for now, but the organization doesn't want to over-extend him, and the projected June returns of Max Scherzer (forearm/thumb/ankle) and Shane Bieber (elbow) would provide those "off ramps" to get the rookie back to a sheltered long-relief role.

The Red Sox selected Guerrero's contract from Triple-A Worcester on Friday.

Guerrero earned the promotion by collecting a 0.92 ERA and 22:6 K:BB over 19.2 innings while notching three saves with Worcester. If the hard-throwing righty makes an appearance out of the Boston bullpen, it will be his first at the major-league level since 2019.

Coulombe (neck) allowed one run and recorded two outs for Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

The outing was Coulombe's second while on rehab with the WooSox, and the Red Sox haven't yet determined if he needs another appearance. His return could spell the end of Rule 5 pick Ryan Watson's time on Boston's roster.

Joyce (shoulder) is currently conducting his rehab program at the Angels' complex in Arizona, MLB.com reports.

Joyce had a minor-league rehab stint halted in mid-May after four appearances due to less-than-optimal recovery. He got an MRI, which came back clean, and was subsequently moved to the 60-day injured list. That transaction won't necessarily push back Joyce's return date dramatically, but he'll presumably need to resume a rehab assignment before he's ready to be activated. At this point, Joyce seems unlikely to rejoin the big-league club before June.

Pomeranz (elbow) tossed a bullpen session Thursday, per MLB.com.

The BP was Pomeranz's second since landing on the 15-day injured list May 13. Manager Kurt Suzuki depicted the move as caution on the Angels' part, and the veteran reliever has indicated that he's in line for a minimum IL stay. Given that he's already tossed multiple bullpens, it still seems very feasible that Pomeranz will be activated when first eligible May 28.