MLB Player News

The Royals reinstated Lynch (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Sunday against the Nationals.

Lynch will be making his 2023 debut for the big club after he missed just under two months to begin the season while recovering from the left shoulder strain he suffered late in the Cactus League slate. The southpaw steadily built up his pitch count over five minor-league rehab outings and delivered his sharpest effort to date in his most recent start with Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday, when he struck out five over six scoreless frames. Lynch tossed 61 pitches in that outing, so he could have a light workload restriction in place as he slots back into the big-league rotation Sunday.

Valdez (5-4) picked up the win Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and three walks over six innings in a 6-3 victory over the A's. He struck out five.

The southpaw won his third straight decision while producing his ninth quality start in 11 trips to the mound this season -- not a surprising performance after he led the majors with 26 quality starts in 2022. Valdez was impressive in May, posting a 2.18 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 40:7 K:BB over 33 innings, and he'll look to stay sharp in his next outing, likely to come at home next week against the Angels.

Kremer (5-2) took the loss Saturday, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks over 6.1 innings as the Orioles fell 5-3 to the Rangers. He struck out five.

The right-hander came through with his fourth quality start of the season but got outdueled by Andrew Heaney. Kremer hasn't been tagged for more than three runs in a start in the entire month of May, posting a 2.45 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 23:8 K:BB through 29.1 innings over that five-start stretch. He'll try to keep up that level of performance to kick off June, with his next start likely coming next weekend in San Francisco.

Heaney (4-3) picked up the win Saturday in a 5-4 victory over the Orioles, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out three.

The veteran southpaw delivered his fourth straight quality start and sixth in his last seven outings in impressive fashion, as he completed seven innings for the first time in 2023. Heaney has posted a 3.40 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 39:14 K:BB through 42.1 innings over that seven-start stretch, and he'll look to keep rolling in his next trip to the mound, likely to come at home next weekend against the Mariners.

Civale (oblique) is slated to make his third rehab start for Triple-A Columbus on Sunday, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Even though Civale was able to get stretched out to 69 pitches in his latest rehab start Tuesday, the Guardians want to have him make one more tune-up outing in the minors before bringing him back from the 15-day injured list, where he's resided since April 10. With Triston McKenzie (shoulder) potentially making his final rehab start Tuesday, the Guardians will soon have some tough decisions to make with the rotation. Hunter Gaddis -- who is starting Sunday versus St. Louis -- will almost certainly lose his spot once either Civale or McKenzie is activated, but unless the Guardians move to a six-man rotation, one of the two high-performing rookie starters -- Tanner Bibee or Logan Allen -- could lose his spot to make room for the two veterans. Assuming Civale navigates his upcoming minor-league outing smoothly, he could be cleared to join the big-league rotation as soon as Friday in Minnesota.

Castillo (4-2) earned the win Saturday, allowing one hit and two walks over six scoreless innings during a 5-0 win over Pittsburgh. He struck out 10.

Castillo completed six scoreless innings for a second straight game and struck out a season-high 10 batters Saturday. Before his dominating two-game stretch, the Mariners' ace allowed 17 earned runs over his previous five starts, so fantasy managers can breathe a sigh of relief, as it appears Castillo has regained his elite form. Despite the tough stretch, the right-hander still sports strong season-long numbers (2.69 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 76:15 K:BB over 63.2 innings) and remains one of the best pitchers in MLB.

Singer did not factor into the decision Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks over five innings during a 4-2 loss to Washington. He struck out six.

Singer tossed five shutout frames but was pulled with no outs in the sixth after allowing back-to-back hits to lead off the inning. It was a solid bounce-back performance for the right-hander, who served up five runs over 3.2 innings his last time out, but he is still struggling with walks and has allowed multiple free passes in each of his past six starts. During that stretch, Singer sports 7.57 ERA, 1.87 WHIP and 25:17 K:BB over 27.1 innings. The Royals' ace issued 35 walks across 27 outings (153.1 innings) last year, but he already has 23 over 54.1 innings in 2023.

Whitlock (2-2) picked up the win against Arizona on Saturday, allowing one run on three hits while striking out four batters over five innings.

Whitlock made his first appearance in over a month after dealing with a right elbow injury and making two minor-league rehab starts. The 26-year-old took on what amounted to essentially a full workload, tossing 92 pitches (58 strikes) over five frames. Whitlock's pitch count was that high largely because Arizona fouled off 21 pitches against him, but he was in control after allowing a solo homer in the first inning, at one point retiring 12 straight batters. He should remain in the rotation moving forward with Corey Kluber recently being moved to the bullpen.

Bassitt (5-4) took the loss Saturday, allowing seven runs on nine hits and two walks over four innings against the Twins. He struck out five.

Bassitt was tagged for the second straight start -- he's allowed six or more runs in each appearance after failing to allow a run in his previous four starts. He had a nightmare fourth inning Saturday, allowing a leadoff single to Alex Kirilloff and then giving up back-to-back homers to Ariel Castro and Matt Wallner before being pulled. Though Bassitt appears to be going through a rough patch, fantasy managers should maintain faith considering he was one of MLB's top pitchers for a month-and-a-half stretch, boasting a 1.71 ERA and 8.2 K/9 over 52.2 innings from April 7 to May 17.

Bibee allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out nine batters over six innings in a no-decision against St. Louis on Saturday.

Bibee stifled the Cardinals' bats throughout the contest, but a second-inning solo home run by Brendan Donovan was enough to hold him to a no-decision. The right-hander racked up an impressive 19 swinging strikes en route to a career-high nine punchouts, and he picked up his third consecutive quality start. Bibee has had one bad outing this season -- a 3.2-inning, four-run effort against Detroit on May 8 -- but has otherwise been fantastic. Overall, he's posted a 2.88 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 34:9 K:BB across 35.1 frames.