MLB Player News

The Orioles will select Watkins' contract from Triple-A Norfolk prior to Wednesday's game against the Astros, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Baltimore is in need of a fresh arm out of the bullpen for the series finale in Houston after starter Travis Lakins recorded just five outs in Tuesday's win before exiting with an elbow injury, so Watkins will move up to the big leagues to provide some reinforcement. The 28-year-old right-hander, who had considered retirement this offseason before signing a minor-league deal with Baltimore, will reach the majors for the first time in his career. He had been serving in a starting role for Norfolk, posting a 3.58 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 27:11 K:BB across 32.2 innings.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Sale (elbow) looked "really good" while throwing a live batting-practice session Wednesday, Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald reports.

Sale faced hitters for the second time in less than a week, and based on Cora's observations, the veteran southpaw was sharper Wednesday than he was over the weekend. Per Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe, Cora said the most "eye-opening" aspect of Sale's throwing session was his improved command, an area pitchers returning from Tommy John surgery often struggle to regain in their initial throwing sessions. Sale, who sported a fastball that sat around 94 to 95 miles per hour, is scheduled to throw another live batting practice next week in Florida before the Red Sox send him out on a rehab assignment. He'll likely make four or five rehab outings before returning from the 60-day injured list, with a late-July or early August season debut looking like a real possibility for the 32-year-old.

Rodriguez has posted a 1.82 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 36:7 K:BB through five starts with Double-A Bowie.

The 21-year-old righty dominated across five starts in High-A before being promoted, and he hasn't missed a beat with the move to a higher level of competition. All in all, he's surrendered just nine runs in 10 minor-league starts this year with a 76:12 K:BB in 48.0 innings. Rodriguez's future looks extremely bright, though he probably won't make his MLB debut until next year.

Bieber (shoulder) isn't expected to resume throwing for a week or two, Tom Withers of the Associated Press reports.

Bieber underwent medical exams recently, and the team has been pleased with the results. However, he'll continue to rest in the near future in order to prevent a more serious issue. A better timetable for the right-hander's return could be revealed once he's cleared to begin a throwing program.

The Mariners reinstated Gonzales (personal) from the paternity list Wednesday.

Gonzales was away from the team for three days while he and his wife welcomed a baby into the world. The Mariners have yet to announce when Gonzales will make his next appearance, but he'll presumably slot into the rotation at some point during this weekend's series with the Rangers.

Kaprielian (4-2) was tagged with the loss Tuesday against the Rangers after allowing three runs on six hits across six innings while striking out six.

The right-hander was tagged with his second loss of the season, but he delivered another strong performance on the mound. He allowed homers to Joey Gallo in the fourth and sixth innings, but he was quite composed otherwise and finished with his third quality start of the month. He owns a 3.14 ERA across five June starts and is slated to pitch again during the weekend series against the Red Sox at home.

Wacha is scheduled to serve as the Rays' primary pitcher Wednesday against the Nationals, entering the game after opener Drew Rasmussen, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Wacha has started in each of his last four outings, posting a 4.73 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 10:6 K:BB in 13.1 innings over that stretch. The Rays will hope to coax better results out of Wacha by having him follow Rasmussen, and the setup should also increase Wacha's chances of factoring into any decision. Wacha's record sits at 1-2 on the season despite the fact that he's made 13 appearances.

Rasmussen is listed as the Rays' probable starting pitcher Wednesday against the Nationals and is expected to work as an opener.

Since being acquired in the May trade that sent Willy Adames to Milwaukee, Rasmussen has made three appearances out of the Tampa Bay bullpen, tossing 3.2 scoreless frames and striking out seven. He'll receive his first career big-league start Wednesday, but the Rays likely won't ask him to record more than six outs before turning the game over to primary pitcher Michael Wacha.

Keller allowed six runs on 10 hits and five walks and failed to strike out a batter over five innings Tuesday against the Red Sox. He did not factor into the decision.

Keller allowed a season-high 10 hits and five walks and managed to not strike out a batter for the first time since the Royals' season-opener. The Red Sox got to him for runs in the first, third, fourth and sixth. He was actually in line to pick up a win upon exiting in the sixth, but the Red Sox wound up re-taking the lead that inning. Keller has given up the most hits (110) and third-most walks (42) while posting the highest ERA (6.67) and WHIP (1.88) among all qualified pitchers in baseball. The 25-year-old next lines up for a meeting against Minnesota over the weekend.

Giolito (6-5) picked up the win in Tuesday's 7-6 victory over the Twins, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out one.

It wasn't a dominant performance, and Giolito looked like he might be in for a rough night after Josh Donaldson took him deep in the first inning, but the right-hander settled down and delivered his fourth straight quality start and eighth of the year. Giolito will take a 3.84 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 111:30 K:BB through 93.2 innings into his next outing.