MLB Player News

The Royals signed Lamet to a minor-league contract Friday.

Lamet had remained a free agent since opting out of his minor-league contract with the Dodgers back in early June, but he's finally latched on with another organization. The veteran right-hander had been pitching mostly as a starter with Triple-A Oklahoma City, but it's not clear whether the Royals are planning on a starting or relief role for Lamet at Triple-A Omaha.

The Royals released Anderson on Thursday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Anderson cleared waivers after being removed from the Royals' 40-man roster, and he declined an outright assignment to Triple-A Omaha. The veteran reliever holds a 4.04 ERA and 29:15 K:BB over 35.2 innings this season at the major-league level.

Simpson (elbow) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session July 9, MLB.com reports.

Simpson opened the season on the injured list after being diagnosed with left elbow neuritis, but he appeared to be tracking toward a brief stay on the shelf. However, after making a rehab appearance April 6, Simpson incurred a setback and ultimately underwent surgery later that month. Nearly three months later, Simpson is finally starting to make some real progress in the recovery process as he conducts his rehab at the Marlins' facility in Jupiter, Fla. He could be cleared to start facing hitters in live batting practice shortly after the All-Star break.

The Rays selected Zuber's contract Thursday and optioned him to Triple-A Durham.

The transaction would seem to be related to the Rays wanting to prevent Zuber from exercising an opt-out clause in his minor-league contract. The 29-year-old reliever holds a 2.49 ERA and 29:6 K:BB over 21.2 innings this season at Durham. He hasn't appeared in the majors since 2021.

The Dodgers outrighted Hernandez to the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Wednesday.

Hernandez was acquired via trade from the Pirates just over a month ago and had thrown two scoreless innings with the Dodgers' rookie-level club. He's now off the 40-man roster but will remain in the organization. Look for him to eventually settle in at Triple-A Oklahoma City as a bullpen arm.

Uribe underwent surgery on his right knee Wednesday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Uribe's return timeline had been uncertain heading into the operation, though he's now been ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 campaign and hopes to be ready for the start of spring training. The 24-year-old reliever will finish the year with a 6.91 ERA and 1.88 WHIP across 14.1 innings in the majors.

Kilian (shoulder) made the fifth appearance of his rehab assignment Sunday for Triple-A Iowa, retiring the lone batter he faced on six pitches.

Prior to this season, Kilian had made all but three of his professional appearances as a starter, but the Cubs look to be preparing him for a relief role as he makes his way back from a teres major strain on his right shoulder, which has kept him on the shelf since spring training. He's worked out of the bullpen in all five of his rehab appearances to date, tossing no more than two innings and 32 pitches in any of those outings.

The Twins activated Weiss (shoulder) from the 60-day injured list Wednesday and outrighted him to Triple-A St. Paul, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Weiss has been out all season with a teres major strain in his right shoulder. He's healthy now, after having allowed six runs with an 8:3 K:BB over eight innings during his rehab assignment, which included stops at three affiliates. The Twins didn't have room on Weiss from the 40-man roster, but he'll remain in the organization as bullpen depth at St. Paul.

Dubin has made his last three appearances out of the Houston bullpen, striking out three while allowing one earned run on four hits and one walk across 2.2 innings.

Dubin made 3.1- and 2.2-inning starts on June 30 and July 5, respectively, but he was moved back to the bullpen after the Astros got Jake Bloss back from the injured list shortly before the All-Star break to fill out the final spot in their rotation. Though he notched a three-inning save May 16, Dubin has otherwise operated in a low-leverage role out of the bullpen this season, as he hasn't recorded any holds over his 17 relief appearances.

McLean will focus on pitching going forward, SNY Mets reports.

He cited the physical toll that doing both hitting and pitching was taking on his body, but his 52.2-percent strikeout rate in 69 plate appearances as a hitter at Double-A likely also factored into the decision. McLean is a very exciting pitching prospect, sporting one of the best high-spin sliders in the minors and a mid-90s fastball with good movement. There's perhaps another level of upside with McLean on the mound now, considering he had been trying to be a two-way player up until this point and can just focus on pitching going forward. The 6-foot-2 righty has been unlucky at Double-A (.358 BABIP, 21.1 HR/FB), leading to a 5.35 ERA and 1.55 WHIP, but his 3.86 xFIP hints that better days are ahead.