MLB Player News

Smith (elbow) won't pitch his simulated game until Wednesday, Tim Britton of The Providence Journal reports.

Smith is experiencing some residual lat stiffness, although the Red Sox still think he'll be able to begin a rehab assignment over the weekend despite the setback. If all goes as planned, it's reasonable to expect the reliever back before the end of the month, although a firmer timetable for his return should emerge once he gets a few rehab appearances under his belt.

Merritt will make a start in the big leagues Saturday as a part of the Indians' doubleheader with the Twins, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

The Indians transferred Merritt to Low-A Lake County seemingly in order to line him up for this start, so this announcement comes as little surprise. Merritt seems to be in line to take the nightcap against Minnesota. He holds a 3.96 ERA through 11 starts at Triple-A this season.

Honeywell, 22, has a 4.70 ERA and 64:11 K:BB through 53.2 innings for Triple-A Durham.

Honeywell has been bitten by the home run ball at this level, surrendering seven homers in 10 starts. Still, his control remains outstanding, and he continues to show swing-and-miss capabilities. The Rays are notoriously conservative with their pitchers, though, so do not expect to see Honeywell much in the big leagues this season, if at all.

Fulmer (shoulder) will make his next start Saturday against the Rays, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press also reports that there is no major injury to the right-hander (just shoulder bursitis, which is minor shoulder inflammation in its simplest form) and that this is just an opportunity for more rest following Fulmer's rough outing in his last start. Fulmer will now line up to face Tampa Bay ace Chris Archer.

Layne was outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday.

The southpaw was designated for assignment Saturday, and it seems he didn't garner any interest while he was exposed to waivers after serving up 11 earned runs in 13 innings out of the Yankees' bullpen. Layne has the looks of an organizational depth piece after this development.

Fulmer will not start Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks as anticipated, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Last season's AL Rookie of the Year was seen throwing in the outfield prior to Tuesday's contest, so it's unclear if an injury is in play or not. It's also unclear if Fulmer's start is getting skipped or if he's just getting an extra day to rest after he was roughed up for five runs in 4.1 innings in his previous start. Jordan Zimmermann will move up to make Tuesday's start in his place.

The Rangers acquired Rodriguez from the Phillies on Tuesday in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Rather than taking their chances with waiting for Rodriguez to hit waivers, the Rangers were proactive in bringing aboard the 25-year-old left-hander, who was designated for assignment last week. The Rangers will assign Rodriguez to Triple-A Round Rock initially, but it might not be long before he gets a look with the big club, which ranks 27th in the majors in bullpen WAR (-0.1), per FanGraphs. Rodriguez amassed a 6.33 ERA and 1.93 WHIP over 27 innings during his 26 appearances with the Phillies prior to being dropped from their 40-man roster.

Martinez will start Tuesday's game against the Astros, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

It will be the first start since May 30 for Martinez, who has made one lone appearance out of the bullpen over the last two weeks. Martinez will enter the rotation in place of Dillon Gee, who faltered in his first start of the season last week against the Mets, giving up four runs on eight hits and four walks over 3.1 innings. With Tyson Ross (shoulder) on track to come off the disabled list and rejoin the Rangers' rotation over the weekend, manager Jeff Banister will likely have to decide whether to go with Martinez or Austin Bibens-Dirkx as the team's fifth starter until either Cole Hamels (oblique) or A.J. Griffin (oblique) is ready for activation.

Barnes (5-2) allowed three hits and struck out five over two scoreless innings in Monday's 6-5 extra-inning win over the Phillies.

It initially didn't look like Barnes would pick up a career-high fifth win when the Phils had runners on second and third with one out in the 10th inning, but the right-hander avoided damage by striking out the final two batters. He later worked around a leadoff single in the 11th. There's some thought that Carson Smith (elbow) could see high-leverage work once he's back from Tommy John surgery, but until that time, Barnes will be manager John Farrell's go-to guy in tense situations.

Infante allowed four runs on four hits while striking out one over one-plus innings in Monday's 10-7 win over the Orioles.

Thankfully for the White Sox, they had a comfortable lead when Infante entered the game and could absorb the four-run body blow. He's been nothing but a low-leverage reliever since being called up in mid-May and will continue along in that vein until some of the team's injured pitchers make their way back to Chicago.