MLB Player News

Watkins is listed as the Orioles' scheduled starting pitcher for Friday's game in Minnesota, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Unsurprisingly, Watkins will draw a second straight turn through the rotation after he allowed an unearned run while striking out four over five innings in his start over the White Sox last weekend. The right-hander should hold down a starting role for the Orioles until Kyle Bradish (shoulder) is ready to come off the 15-day injured list.

Bradish (shoulder) is throwing on the field ahead of Wednesday's game against the Mariners, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

Bradish landed on the 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation Friday but has been able to throw on the field over the last several days. Manager Brandon Hyde still hopes that the right-hander will return from the injured list around when he's first eligible.

German (shoulder) pitched 3.1 scoreless innings for Double-A Somerset on Tuesday, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out three batters.

After throwing 39 pitches in his first rehab outing with Single-A Tampa last week, German upped that count slightly to 43 pitches Tuesday. Twenty-nine of his offerings were strikes, and he has now racked up 6.1 scoreless frames over two rehab starts. It's uncertain how long German will be rehabbing in the minors, and there isn't a clear path to a rotation spot waiting for him in the majors. However, he's pitched well enough so far to be worth consideration in deep fantasy leagues in case a big-league starting slot does open up.

The Guardians promoted Allen from Double-A Akron to Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old southpaw is scheduled to make his Triple-A debut Thursday after he overwhelmed Double-A hitters during his second tour of the league to begin 2022. In his 13 starts with Akron covering 73 innings, Allen generated a 3.33 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 104:22 K:BB. If Allen can continue to make bats miss at a prolific clip as he makes the jump to Triple-A, a late-season promotion to the big leagues can't be discounted, especially if the Guardians remain in playoff contention and are in need of another impact left-handed arm.

Odorizzi (lower leg) is scheduled to make his second rehab start Wednesday with Double-A Corpus Christi, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Odorizzi will drop down to the Double-A level after he made his first rehab start last week at Triple-A Sugar Land. He worked three innings for Sugar Land in his first game action since suffering the left leg injury during his May 16 start with Houston, striking out four while allowing two earned runs on two hits and two walks. Depending how deep into Wednesday's start Odorizzi goes and how well he performs, he could be cleared to return from the 15-day injured list next week. It's unclear if the Astros plan on immediately reinserting Odorizzi into the rotation upon his activation, but Jose Urquidy would likely be most at risk of moving to the bullpen or heading to the minors if Odorizzi is brought back as a starter.

Springs won't start Wednesday's series finale with the Brewers, as lefty Jalen Beeks is listed as the Rays' opening pitcher in what could be a bullpen day, Bally Sports Sun reports.

Though Springs is available to pitch on his standard four days' rest, the Rays have opted to go a different route Wednesday. Springs could still be deployed as a bulk reliever behind Beeks, who hasn't covered more than 2.1 innings in any of his 19 appearances on the season and likely won't be asked to work deep into Wednesday's contest. If Springs isn't used Wednesday, Tampa Bay would likely plan on having him make a start at some point during their four-game series in Toronto that begins Thursday.

Gray (4-3) gave up one earned run on five hits and two walks while striking out eight over seven innings to pick up his fourth win of the year in an 8-3 victory over the Royals on Tuesday.

Gray was very sharp in this outing, giving up only one earned run on a single off the bat of Bobby Witt Jr. The 30-year-old veteran now has an ERA of 2.64 in June and lowered his season-long number to 3.89 with the performance. Gray took advantage of the struggling Royals lineup that is depleted from the loss of Salvador Perez (thumb) to move to 4-3 on the season. His next start is expected to be Sunday against the Mets, where he will be defending his newly achieved winning record.

Cueto (2-4) allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts in six innings, earning the win Tuesday over the Angels.

Cueto was plagued by the long ball in the third inning, allowing solo home runs to Andrew Velazquez, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. The White Sox's offense came to life in the fifth, and Cueto was able to avoid any further damage to pick up his second win of the year. Both of his victories have come in his last three starts. The veteran right-hander has a 3.33 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 45:13 K:BB in 54 innings across nine appearances (eight starts) overall. Cueto is projected for a home start versus the Twins next week.

Skubal (5-6) allowed three runs on four hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 4.2 innings, taking the loss Tuesday versus the Giants.

The Giants struck early with a two-run single by Evan Longoria in the first inning. Skubal put another runner aboard in the fifth, and reliever Wily Peralta couldn't pitch his way out of trouble, allowing a two-run single to Mike Yastrzemski that tacked a third run onto Skubal's line. The four walks were a season high for the southpaw, who has walked multiple batters in four straight starts. He's taken the loss in each of those outings, and his ratios continue to trend in the wrong direction with a 3.75 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 89:21 K:BB through 84 innings overall. He'll look to end the skid next week at home versus the Guardians.

Kremer allowed four hits and two walks while striking out five over seven scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Mariners on Tuesday.

Despite a third straight start with no runs allowed, Kremer was slightly outdueled by Mariners starter Robbie Ray in the low-scoring contest. Neither starter factored in the decision, with the Mariners tallying the only two runs in the eighth off a pair of Orioles relievers. Kremer has gone 18.2 innings since he last allowed a run, but he has just one win in three starts in that span. He's now at a 1.29 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 19:7 K:BB in 28 innings across five starts. The 26-year-old is projected for a home start versus the Rangers next week.