MLB Player News

Gil has struggled since his promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, posting a 5.32 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 26:17 K:BB across five starts (22 innings).

The difference between the top two levels of the minors for Gil has been night and day; his control issues were easily overlooked with Double-A Somerset, but the more patient hitters of Triple-A have worked out more walks and driven the ball far more against him. After giving up just two homers in 30.2 Double-A innings, he's already served up six since his promotion. At the end of the day, Gil has a great fastball but fairly modest offspeed stuff, which means he's probably destined for the bullpen. The Yankees haven't made that move yet, but they probably will, particularly if he keeps scuffling through Triple-A starts.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said last week that he doesn't expect Kluber (shoulder) to return from the 60-day injured list until September, MLB.com reports.

Since being shut down in late May with a strained right shoulder, Kluber has progressed to throwing off flat ground from 75 feet. He'll likely need to come close to doubling that distance before the Yankees clear him for bullpen sessions, and he'll have several more checkpoints to hit in the rehab process before the organization hones in on a possible target date for his return. Any setbacks suffered along the way would seriously jeopardize Kluber's chances of pitching again in 2021.

Kirby struck out a season-high 11 over seven innings of one-run ball against Eugene on Saturday for High-A Everett. He now has a 2.56 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 50:8 K:BB across 38.2 innings spanning eight starts.

High-A hasn't proven to be much of a challenge for Kirby, a 2019 first-round pick whose development was slowed somewhat by last year's canceled minor-league season. The one knock on him coming into this year was that we didn't have a lot of data from game action, so it's great to see him on the field and dominating, even if he's a little on the older side for the level as a 23-year-old. The Mariners are sure to be cautious with him, as he doesn't have a whole lot of pro innings under his belt, but Kirby absolutely looks ready for a promotion to Double-A.

Rasmussen fired two scoreless innings during which he allowed a hit and recorded two strikeouts in a loss to the Blue Jays on Sunday.

The young right-hander had allowed six earned runs on seven hits and a walk over three innings in his previous two appearances, so Sunday's multi-inning blanking was certainly a welcome sight. Rasmussen had also generated scoreless efforts in each of his first three appearances for the Rays prior to the pair of stumbles and brings high-quality swing-and-miss stuff, so there's reason for optimism he can be an asset in Tampa's bullpen during the second half of the season.

The Mariners reinstated Kikuchi from the COVID-19 injured list Monday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

The transaction clears the way for Kikuchi to pitch for the American League squad in Tuesday's All-Star Game at Coors Field. Kikuchi earned his spot at the Midsummer Classic after supplying a 3.48 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 98:34 K:BB across 98.1 innings over his first 16 starts of the season. Assuming he's only needed for an inning out of the bullpen Tuesday, Kikuchi could be an option to start in the Mariners' first series of the second half this weekend against the Angels.

Suarez (4-2) allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out four over five innings as he picked up a win over the Mariners on Sunday.

The only run Suarez allowed came on a sacrifice fly from Ty France after the left-hander allowed back-to-back singles to open up the bottom half of the first. He settled in nicely afterward, not allowing another baserunner to reach second over the next four innings. Suarez threw a season-high 88 pitches after throwing 75 pitches his last time out as he continues to build up his arm strength and stamina. He now owns a 2.04 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 33:15 K:BB over 35.1 innings and should be on fantasy managers' radars.

Allard (2-6) allowed four runs on five hits while striking out three in a loss to the Athletics on Sunday.

Allard was taken deep four times in this one, with all four home runs going for solo blasts. The Athletics launched two off him in the second and then Matt Olson got to him twice, once in the fourth and again in the sixth. It marked the first time the 23-year-old left-hander has given up more than two homers in a game this season, and just the second time he's given up more than three runs in an outing. Allard's record on the year doesn't reflect his overall performance, as he owns a 3.69 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 61:13 K:BB over 63.1 innings.

Bassitt (10-2) earned the win Sunday over the Rangers after allowing just one run on four hits and a walk while striking out three over seven innings.

Bassitt was in a nice groove Sunday, only letting one batter reach scoring position over seven innings of work. The one time the Rangers got to him was in the fifth, when David Dahl led off the inning with a single and eventually scored from first on a double to deep right center by Nick Solak. It was an excellent bounce-back performance after the 32-year-old right-hander was pummeled for six runs in his last outing. Bassitt hasn't lost since April 6 and is tied for second heading into the All-Star break with 10 wins. He owns a 3.28 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 118:29 K:BB over 118 innings.

Berrios allowed four runs on three hits and four walks over seven innings in Sunday's win over the Tigers. He struck out eight and did not factor in the decision.

It was mostly a strong outing for Berrios aside from a brutal four-run fifth inning that included a pair of two-run singles by Akil Baddoo and Jonathan Schoop. It was his first start allowing more than three earned runs since June 5 and his season ERA rose slightly to 3.48. The 27-year-old righty owns a 114:31 K:BB through 108.2 innings entering the All-Star break.

Valdez allowed three runs (two earned) on six walks and six hits over four innings in Sunday's win over the Yankees. He struck out five and did not factor in the decision.

The Astros walked 14 Yankees on Sunday, including Valdez setting a new season high with six. He coughed up a solo homer to Tim Locastro in the fourth inning and gave up a run in the fifth after allowing the first three batters to reach base without recording an out. After a strong start to his season, the 27-year-old lefty has given up 14 earned runs with a 28:15 K:BB over his last five outings, raising his season ERA to 2.98. Valdez maintained his 5-1 record despite the shaky performance.