MLB Player News

Kopech (hamstring) is still feeling a bit of discomfort in his strained left hamstring, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Manager Tony La Russa said Kopech still "has a little pinch" in the hamstring when running, and he wants the young pitcher to run without limitations. That said, the hard-throwing righty has made considerable progress in his recovery and will likely be activated from the injured list in the near future.

Baz owns a 2.93 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 43:2 K:BB across the 27.2 innings covering his six starts for Double-A Montgomery thus far in 2021.

The right-hander has been a tough-luck loser on multiple occasions as evidenced by his 1-4 mark. However, his ability to consistently miss bats has led to Baz leading the Double-A South division in strikeouts, while his 1.9 percent walk rate checks in as the second best at the Double-A level and seventh in all of MiLB, Biscuits play-by-play announcer Chris Adams-Wall reports. Baz also impressed during spring training this year, effectively incorporating a changeup into an arsenal that already included a high-90s fastball and slider.

Wentz (elbow) has made three rehab starts for Low-A Lakeland, posting a 7.45 ERA, 1.96 WHIP and 13:5 K:BB in 9.2 innings.

Wentz was assigned to Triple-A Toledo coming out of spring training, but he has yet to debut for the affiliate while the Tigers continue to ease him back slowly from March 2020 Tommy John surgery. While his results with Lakeland haven't been particularly strong, Wentz at least looks to have avoided setbacks in the build-up process. He's covered four innings in each of his last two outings for Lakeland, so he could soon be ready to slot back into the Toledo rotation.

Bundy (1-6) earned the win Monday against the Royals after allowing two runs on six hits while fanning two across 5.2 innings.

Bundy ended just one out away from posting a quality start, but he delivered his best outing of the campaign by a wide margin. He was coming off four straight appearances in which he allowed at least four earned runs, but he bounced back in a big way here. His next start is tentatively scheduled for June 14 on the road against the Athletics.

Maeda (arm/groin) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.

Maeda threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session Sunday, and he'll return to game action during his rehab start Wednesday. The right-hander still doesn't have a clear timetable to return to the major-league rotation, but he could be reinstated from the injured list as early as next week if all goes well.

Bradish has posted a 2.02 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 17:8 K:BB in 13.1 innings in his three starts for Triple-A Norfolk since being promoted from Double-A Bowie on May 22.

Bradish's control has been a bit shaky in his first three starts for Norfolk, but he's continued to miss bats a steady clip much like he did at Bowie during his first three outings of 2020. One of the prospects the Orioles received from the Angels in the December 2019 trade that sent Dylan Bundy to Anaheim, Bradish should have a chance to make his MLB debut later this summer if he remains on his current trajectory.

Sale (elbow) is scheduled to throw another bullpen session this week, and he could be ready to face hitters soon after, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports. "Things are trending up," manager Alex Cora said, regarding Sale's recovery from Tommy John surgery.

Sale checked out fine after tossing a 20-pitch bullpen session last Wednesday, so he'll presumably be able to take a step forward in terms of both intensity and volume of pitches when he repeats the activity this week. The veteran southpaw still has several hurdles to clear in the recovery process from surgery before the Red Sox prepare him for a return from the 60-day injured list, but Sale at least appears to have avoided any majors since undergoing the elbow procedure March 30, 2020.

Sandoval (0-2) allowed three earned runs on five hits and one walk while striking out 10 across six innings, taking the loss Sunday to the Mariners.

Sandoval surrendered a home run by Donovan Walton to lead off the third inning. Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com, he induced 32 swinging strikes in the contest -- the most by any Angels pitcher in a single game since the pitch-tracking era began in 2008. Prior to his 10-strikeout performance, Sandoval totaled four punchouts only twice. The 24-year-old has a 3.95 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP with 27 strikeouts in 27.1 innings. He has posted a quality start in his last three outings. The Angels have rocked a six-man rotation at times and Sandoval has been in and out of the rotation.

Gilbert (1-2) allowed one earned run on two hits and four walks while striking out seven across five innings, earning the win over the Angels on Sunday.

Gilbert allowed a first-inning home run to Justin Upton, who was the first batter he faced. However, Gilbert fired four scoreless frames through five innings of work. Despite walking four batters, he struck out a career-high seven en route to his first win. The 24-year-old has a 4.98 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP with 23 strikeouts and 21.2 innings.

German took the no-decision in Sunday's 6-5 loss to Boston, pitching 5.2 innings and allowing one run on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Despite not missing many bats with only three strikeouts, German held a capable Boston offense in check aside from an Alex Verdugo solo home run. The righty has now allowed three runs or less in all 10 of his starts and sports a solid 3.12 ERA and 1.02 WHIP.