MLB Player News

Baz (elbow) is expected to throw live BP in early May, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Baz resumed throwing in mid-April, and he'll take a significant step in his recovery process once he's cleared to face hitters. The right-hander isn't eligible to rejoin the major-league club until at least June 6, but it's possible that he'll be able to begin a rehab assignment at some point in May.

Means (elbow) underwent successful Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Means will be forced to miss the remainder of 2022 following his procedure, but general manager Mike Elias is confident that the southpaw will be available for a "good portion of the 2023 season," Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports. The Orioles haven't yet established their rotation for this weekend with several starters hurt.

Williams has pitched 13.2 innings across his first three pro starts for High-A Lake County, posting a 2.63 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 24:6 K:BB along the way.

You certainly love to see all those strikeouts. The No. 23 pick in last year's draft, Williams has prototypical size at 6-foot-6 and 238 pounds, and his high-90s fastball and strong offspeed stuff have him set up for long-term success if he can stay healthy. A college arm, the 22-year-old is just now making his pro debut, and he'll probably stay at High-A for a good portion of this season while he refines his command and control.

Kluber is scheduled to make his next start Friday against the Twins in Tampa rather than Thursday against the Mariners as originally planned, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

After he was roughed up four runs on 11 hits and a walk over five innings in his most recent start April 22 against the Red Sox, Kluber will get five days' rest rather than the typical four. The Rays haven't named a fill-in starter for Thursday's game and will presumably treat the contest as a bullpen day.

Winn struck out seven without a walk Tuesday for Triple-A Round Rock, but he only lasted 3.1 innings while allowing two runs on four hits.

You'd like to see Winn pitching a bit deeper into games now that he's established in Triple-A, but he's only hit the five-inning mark once so far in four starts. Still, he's posted strong numbers across his 16.1 innings to this point -- a 2.20 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with a 15:5 K:BB. Last year's results -- a 2.41, 0.86 WHIP and 11.2 K/9 -- certainly earned the 2018 first-rounder plenty of attention, but he threw only 86 innings, so you have to imagine that the Rangers will watch his workload carefully. Based on the way he's been used so far, if he does reach the majors, he'll likely have trouble accumulating quality starts or wins in the near term, but he looks on pace to be a promising young arm for fantasy rosters in 2023.

Gausman didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 6-5 extra-inning win over the Red Sox, allowing one unearned run on four hits over six innings. He struck out nine without walking a batter.

The veteran right-hander dazzled once again, tossing 62 of 88 pitches for strikes while generating 19 swinging strikes, and Gausman exited the game in line for his second win of the season before the Toronto bullpen made things interesting. Incredibly, Gausman hasn't walked a batter or served up a homer through his first four starts as a Blue Jay, amassing a 31:0 K:BB through 24.2 innings to fuel his 2.19 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.

Singer allowed a hit and struck out two in two scoreless innings in Tuesday's 6-0 win over the White Sox.

Singer gave up four runs in three innings in his first appearance of the year, but he's cover 2.2 scoreless frames in his last two outings. The right-hander has added a 6:1 K:BB this season in a small sample. For now, he's expected to remain in a multi-inning relief role, but he will be near the top of the list of candidates for spot starts whenever the Royals need one.

Kaprielian (shoulder) allowed five earned runs on three hits and four walks over four innings to take the loss in Triple-A Las Vegas' defeat at the hands of Tacoma on Tuesday. He also hit a batter and struck out two.

It was about as rough an outing for Kaprielian as the numbers imply, with the right-hander only getting 46 of his 84 pitches into the strike zone during his labor-intensive outing. Kaprielian's previously ailing shoulder is at least being put to stringent tests in his last two outings, but his results in his two starts with the Aviators have left plenty to be desired. Given the uneven performances, the Athletics may determine Kaprielian needs at least one more turn in the minors before being activated.

McKenzie (0-2) took the loss during Tuesday's 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Angels, allowing four runs on seven hits with six strikeouts in 5.2 innings.

McKenzie pitched okay against a potent Angels lineup, allowing a single run in the second and fifth innings with a two-run Mike Trout home run in the third accounting for half the damage. The 24-year-old showed improvement despite the four earned runs, as he worked his most innings of the season while recording a high pitch count of 90. In addition, McKenzie threw 75.6 percent of his pitches for strikes and didn't issue any free passes after marks of 50 percent and four in his previous outing. He'll go for his first win of the season against Oakland on Sunday.

Severino (2-0) earned the win after striking out five in six innings while allowing four runs on three hits and two walks in a 12-8 victory Tuesday over Baltimore.

Severino efficiently retired the first 14 batters he faced and didn't allow a hit through the first five innings, needing just 62 pitches. After retiring the first batter in the sixth, he allowed a single, a walk and a three-run homer to cut the Yankees' lead in half. Following a leadoff double in the seventh, he was replaced. It was the first time since 2018 that he pitched six innings in a game. The Yankees have won all four of Severino's starts this year as he's compiled a 3.32 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 19 innings.