MLB Player News

Armstrong was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday.

A spot on the active roster was needed for recently acquired Joe Smith and Armstrong was chosen as the roster casualty. He owns a 4.22 ERA and 1.36 WHIP through 21.1 innings with the Indians this year. Expect him to return to the big club sometime later in the year when another bullpen arm is needed.

Manager Terry Francona said the acquisition of Joe Smith will allow the skipper to take away some outings from Shaw in hopes of keeping the latter fresh, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Francona may be happy to lighten the load on Shaw, who's on pace to log a career high for innings pitched, but the news certainly isn't great for fantasy owners. The 29-year-old's high-leverage role has him in line to approach 20 holds while nabbing a handful of wins this year.

May (elbow) said he is scheduled to resume throwing on Thursday.

This will mark the first time May has thrown since undergoing Tommy John surgery back in March. The 27-year-old still has a long road of recovery ahead of him as he'll work to build up his arm strength, but he's hoping to be ready for the start of the 2018 season.

Covey (oblique) began a rehab assignment with the White Sox's rookie-level Arizona League affiliate Monday, tossing a scoreless inning.

It marked Covey's first game action since May 23, with his oblique injury sidelining him longer than the White Sox initially projected. After a number of the White Sox's starting pitchers were sidelined due to injury coming out of spring training, Covey was able to win a rotation spot, but the Rule 5 pick didn't show much promise in his eight outings, compiling an 8.12 ERA and 1.81 WHIP. Unless the injuries pile up again by the time he's ready to return from the disbaled list, Covey will likely find himself in a bullpen role with the White Sox.

Coulombe was credited with his eighth hold in Monday's 8-5 win over the Giants, allowing two hits over one-third of an inning while recording a strikeout.

The lefty had a rough time after coming in with runners at the corners in the seventh, with the pair of singles he allowed both plating runs that went on starter Paul Blackburn's ledger. Nevertheless, Coulombe was able to escape with his second hold in the last four outings, a stretch in which he's also notched his second win of the season. After giving up four runs over his first three appearances of July, the 27-year-old wrapped up the month with 10 consecutive scoreless outings.

Scott, who has made major strides in the Orioles' organization this season, was placed on the disabled list at Double-A Bowie with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

The 6-foot-2 southpaw has been dominant for the Baysox this season, posting a minuscule 1.83 ERA while notching 74 strikeouts over 20 games and 59 innings. There's no ignoring Scott's 40 free passes on the season, but he's been effectively wild as opponents have hit just .174 off him. The 22-year-old was eyeing a big-league debut after making the Futures Game earlier this month, but he'll unfortunately have to put those plans on hold for now.

Treinen picked up his first save for the Athletics with a scoreless inning in Monday's win over San Francisco.

Treinen gave up a hit but recorded a strikeout to finish out the inning without issue. His numbers have been solid in Oakland -- 10 strikeouts in 9.1 innings, just one earned run allowed -- but Treinen blew two saves before managing to pick up his first one as an American Leaguer. Santiago Casilla may still pick up some save opportunities this season, but Treinen looks to be the future for Oakland.

Stanek was called up to Tampa Bay following Monday night's game.

Stanek has been fantastic in Triple-A Durham's bullpen, as he now owns a 1.26 ERA and 47 strikeouts over 35.2 innings of work there. His stay in the majors may not be long, as this call-up is the result of a rough game for Tampa Bay's bullpen on Monday night, but he's more than earned another shot at the majors. Stanek posted a disappointing 5.59 ERA and 1.97 WHIP over 9.2 innings in his first crack at the show earlier this season.

Martinez has been confirmed as the starter for Tuesday's game against the Mariners.

It was assumed when Martinez was called up that he would be taking the spot vacated in the Rangers' rotation by the Yu Darvish trade, and that's now set in stone. Martinez last appeared in the majors on June 4 and has only managed five quality starts in his 11 outings for the Rangers this season, making him a desperation fantasy play. Moreover, it's likely that Tuesday's outing will only be a spot start; A.J. Griffin's (oblique) is ready to return from the 60-day disabled list and could be called upon to replace Martinez in the rotation as soon as Sunday.

Diaz recorded two strikeouts during a scoreless ninth inning to collect his 20th save of the season during Monday's win over Texas.

Diaz has endured some growing pains through his first full season in the majors, but he's maintained a stranglehold on the closer job and continues to pile up strikeouts in bunches. The flamethrowing righty is turning in rock-solid fantasy numbers with a 3.22 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 12.5 K/9 for the campaign.