MLB Player News

Robertson (personal) was reinstated from the bereavement list and will be available for Sunday's game against the Orioles, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Robertson had missed the last three games while tending to a personal matter, which thrust Nate Jones and Matt Albers into more prominent late-inning roles. Now that he's back with the team, Robertson should immediately take back closing duties, so he's a safe activation for fantasy owners heading into the coming week. Tommy Kahnle was sent down to Triple-A Charlotte to make room for Robertson on the 25-man roster.

Loup (elbow) will throw off a mound Monday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports.

Loup said that if Monday's session goes well, he will head to extended spring training, where he'll likely begin facing hitters. The lefty, who struck out 46 batters in 42.1 innings last season, could be back with the Blue Jays by mid-May.

Duffey gave up four runs, but just one earned, over 6.1 innings with seven strikeouts and no walks in Saturday's loss to Detroit.

Duffey allowed a three-run home run in the first inning after an error put two runners on base, but otherwise had a strong outing. It's not clear if he'll remain in the rotation when Ervin Santana (back) returns from the DL, but this outing should put Duffey in a good position when the Twins decide whether to send either him, Jose Berrios, or Alex Meyer to the minors.

Smith (forearm) tossed a perfect inning during a rehabilitation outing for Double-A Portland on Saturday. He struck out one and threw six of his nine pitches for strikes.

The outing checks off another box for Smith, who made appearances on consecutive nights. He'll be evaluated Sunday and could be activated as early as Tuesday when the Red Sox begin a series in Chicago against the White Sox.

Harvey (groin) has been shut down for the time being and will visit with a specialist, Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com reports.

Harvey remains without a firm timetable, but it doesn't appear that he'll be back on the field anytime soon. More information will be available following Harvey's visit with the specialist, but manager Buck Showalter commented that he remains confident that Harvey will pitch at some point in 2016.

Duffey (shoulder) has been confirmed as Saturday's starter against the Tigers, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

He had a 1.72 ERA in three starts with Triple-A Rochester and is ready to pitch Saturday despite suffering a shoulder contusion earlier in the week. Duffey will stick in the Twins' rotation in the short term, but he may have to impress to hold a spot once Kyle Gibson and Ervin Santana return, likely sometime in May.

Santiago (2-1) surrendered eight hits, four earned runs and a walk over 5.2 innings in a 4-2 loss to the Rangers on Friday.

The 28-year-old had his shortest stint of his first five starts in 2016, and the four earned runs he surrendered equaled his highest tally to date. After notching 17 whiffs over the last 13 innings prior to Friday's start, Santiago also pitched a lot more to contact, inducing only four swings and misses and striking out just one. He'll try to get back in the win column in his next start, which comes Wednesday in Milwaukee.

Betances was responsible for the loss Friday, allowing two runs over 1.1 innings against Boston.

It was a rare slipup for Betances, as he allowed a two-run homer to break open a tie game in the eighth inning. After not allowing an earned run in his first nine appearances, Betances has given up a long ball in both of the last two, but he's continued racking up the strikeouts with 24 in 11.1 innings.

Johnson allowed one run on six hits and three walks while striking out six for Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday.

Johnson was slowed during training camp by a toe injury and had been on a pitch count, but has thrown 95 and 96 pitches, respectively, in his last two starts. The left-hander has allowed seven runs (five earned) on 19 hits and 11 walks in 20 innings over his first four starts. He typically exhibits better command than what he's shown early, but that will come. Johnson is a name to keep in mind as the Red Sox sort through injuries (Eduardo Rodriguez, Joe Kelly) and poor performances (Clay Buchholz, Henry Owens) in its starting staff.

Kimbrel picked up the save in Friday night's 4-2 come-from-behind win over the Yankees.

Kimbrel's had a couple of bad outings early on -- most recently a blown save last Sunday -- that has his season ERA at an un-Kimbrelian 4.50 after 11 games. He should be fine going forward and the ERA will tick down as the the saves pile up.