MLB Player News

Smith (elbow) completed a simulated inning Thursday and will embark on a rehab assignment as the next step in his recovery process, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

It seems like everything from the session went as planned (including a small bout of expected shoulder soreness), so the Red Sox seem ready to take the next step in getting Smith back into the big-league bullpen. No word has come forth as to when he'll head out on his assignment, but if it happens soon, he could return before the end of the month.

Santiago (shoulder) will not start one of the games in Saturday's doubleheader with the Indians, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

A glimmer of hope emerged after the southpaw got through a throwing session Thursday unscathed, but the Twins opted to give him extra rest before inserting him back in the rotation. Instead, Minnesota will deploy Adam Wilk and Adalberto Mejia against Cleveland for the twin bill. No word has come forth as to how close Santiago is to returning following this development.

Santiago (shoulder) threw a bullpen session without issue Thursday and is still in the running to start Saturday, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Prior reports noted that manager Paul Molitor didn't expect the southpaw to be ready for action by the time the weekend rolled around, although Thursday's outing seems to have brought his name back into consideration. Adalberto Mejia is expected to take one game of Saturday's doubleheader, and if Santiago is unable to pitch, minor-leaguer Chris Heston is a candidate to fill in during this turn of the rotation. Santiago's status for this weekend should become known once he's checked over Friday and Saturday.

Johnson was placed on the 10-day disabled list Thursday with a left shoulder impingement.

Johnson felt discomfort while warming up prior to his Wednesday start and had to exit in the third inning. We'll have more on his absence as a clearer estimate is revealed, but the BoSox will probably slide Hector Velazquez into the rotation in his stead, at minimum for the Monday assignment at the Royals.

Littell was promoted to Double-A Trenton on Wednesday. He logged seven scoreless frames, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out 10 in his first start for the Thunder.

Littell has been great this season, showing the Yankees his potential with every outing. He came into the year projecting as a potential No. 4 or No. 5 starter, but that might need to be revisited, given his success. Thursday's strikeouts look like a major outlier, but his ability to prevent runs in the minors is hard to argue with at this point.

Barnes has struck out 32 and only walked four with a 2.60 ERA in 27.2 innings this season.

The big highlight for Barnes this season is his WHIP, which sits at 0.98. He's one of three relievers for Toronto who has a sub-1.00 WHIP, with closer Roberto Usana and Ryan Tepera being the others. The key for Barnes is to avoid the big mistakes and not let hitters go yard off of him. Only once this season has Barnes given up runs in a game where he didn't give up a home run, showing his potential when he avoids mistakes in the zone.

Hernandez pitched a scoreless ninth inning to collect his first save of the season during Wednesday's win over the Yankees.

Bud Norris had pitched each of the past three days, so Hernandez was leaned on in the save situation Wednesday. While it's encouraging to see Hernandez pitching in high-leverage situations, and particularly Wednesday's ninth inning, his role is murky going forward. Norris has been solid in the closer role, and Cam Bedrosian (groin) projects to return to the fold soon. Additionally, Huston Street (triceps) also began a rehab assignment Wednesday. Keep fantasy expectations in check for Hernandez.

Johnson, who left his start Wednesday with shoulder discomfort, is headed back to Boston on Thursday for evaluation, Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports.

Johnson said he felt some discomfort while warming up prior to the game, and when pitching coach Carl Willis visited the mound during the third inning, the left-hander admitted to the discomfort. The hope is that Johnson didn't pitch too long with the injury which could set him back. If Johnson is forced to miss his next scheduled start Monday, the Red Sox could use Hector Velazquez, who has started one game for Boston this season and picked up the win Wednesday after replacing Johnson in the third inning.

Diaz worked around a hit and a walk while striking out two for his 11th save in Wednesday's 6-4 win over Minnesota.

Since being handed his closing job back, Diaz has recorded four saves without a hitch. It looks like his patch of struggles in May was just a fluke, and it appears we're once again free to trust that Diaz will retain the ninth-inning role for the duration of the season.

Povse (hamstring) allowed three hits and three walks while striking out two during 3.1 innings with Double-A Arkansas on Wednesday.

This marks Povse's first appearance since landing on the disabled list in late May. Although he started Wednesday's contest, the Mariners are in the process of converting the 23-year-old to a bullpen role. If all goes well, Povse could be on a fast track to the majors as a reliever.