MLB Player News

The Orioles traded Watkins to the Astros on Friday in exchange for cash considerations, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The Orioles designated Watkins for assignment Tuesday, and now the 30-year-old righty will add to the Astros' starter depth -- presumably with Triple-A Sugar Land. Watkins has spent all season in Triple-A, accumulating a 7.27 ERA and 1.92 WHIP through 26 innings across eight appearances (six starts).

Manoah threw 74 pitches in his latest simulated game and will make at least one start in the minor leagues before returning to the big-league rotation, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Manager John Schneider said Manoah is trending in the right direction but that there is no target date for his return to the big leagues. The big righty was up to 94 mph with his fastball in his sim game and will throw a bullpen session this weekend.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Friday that Cortes (shoulder) is roughly a week away from throwing off a mound, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Cortes landed on the injured list June 8 with a left rotator cuff strain and just began throwing Sunday. He'll presumably throw multiple bullpen sessions before facing live hitters and potentially beginning a rehab assignment, making a return to the Yankees' rotation still a few weeks away.

Skubal (elbow) will make another rehab start in the middle of next week for Triple-A Toledo, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

He tossed 52 pitches (32 strikes, eight swinging strikes) this week in his fourth rehab start, so it's possible his next rehab outing could be his final tuneup before joining the big-league rotation. Given the Mud Hens' schedule, Skubal's next rehab start will likely come Wednesday, which could set him up to come off the injured list July 4 at home against Oakland.

Maeda (triceps) was activated from the 15-day injured list prior to his start Friday against the Tigers.

Maeda logged a 2.03 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 17:5 K:BB in 13.1 innings across four rehab appearances after missing a little over a month with a triceps strain. He takes Louie Varland's spot in the Twins rotation.

Manning (foot) threw 73 pitches across four scoreless innings Thursday in a rehab start for Triple-A Toledo, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

He only allowed one hit but walked five while striking out six. Manning built up his pitch count to the point where his next start is likely to come in the big-league rotation, per McCosky. Assuming Manning's next start is for Detroit, he would pitch early next week in Texas.

German (4-5) took the loss against Seattle on Thursday, allowing 10 runs (eight earned) on eight hits and two walks while striking out four batters over 3.1 innings.

German was pounded almost immediately by the Mariners, who put up four runs on four hits against him in the first inning. Things didn't get better for the right-hander from there, as Seattle went on to put up six more runs against him -- four via solo homers -- before he was mercifully pulled with one out in the fourth. This was the second consecutive disastrous performance for German, who has yielded 17 runs (15 earned) over 5.1 frames across his past two starts. The rough stretch has inflated his ERA from 3.49 to 5.10, and German may need to turn things around soon to hold onto a rotation spot with Carlos Rodon (back/forearm) nearing his season debut, Clarke Schmidt pitching well and Nestor Cortes (shoulder) resuming a throwing program.

Woo (1-1) earned the win over the Yankees on Thursday, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out five batters over 5.1 scoreless innings.

Seattle set Woo up for success with four runs in the top of the first inning, and the rookie right-hander cruised to his first big-league victory with 5.1 scoreless frames. His three walks were a career high and certainly more than the Mariners wanted to see given the big lead they gave him, but none of the free passes came back to hurt him. Woo struggled in his first big-league start, giving up six runs over two frames against Texas on June 3, but he's been much better since, allowing just four runs over his subsequent 15.2 frames and posting a standout 21:4 K:BB over that stretch.

Manager Kevin Cash said he hopes McClanahan will be "okay" after receiving treatment on his back Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

McClanahan was pulled in the fourth inning of Thursday's game against the Royals with mid-back tightness. After the contest, Cash noted that the issue lingered from McClanahan's prior outing but didn't provide any additional detail as to whether he may require a stint on the injured list.

Ryan (8-4) earned the win Thursday, allowing three hits over nine scoreless innings against the Red Sox while striking out nine.

Ryan dominated the Red Sox, retiring the first 10 batters he faced before surrendering a one-out single to Justin Turner in the top of the fourth. He made short work of the next two hitters before striking out the side in the fifth, all swinging, and allowed only two more baserunners for the rest of the contest. It was a huge bounceback performance for Ryan after he allowed a season-high six runs in his previous start, while it also marked the first complete-game shutout for a Twins pitcher in more than five years.