MLB Player News

Valdez was called up from Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Valdez cracked Houston's Opening Day roster but made only two appearances over the first two weeks of the season before being sent down. The 25-year-old has been a starter in the minors up until this season, and his transition to a reliever remains a bit of a work in progress.

Cobb (0-1) allowed nine runs on 10 hits and no walks while striking out two over 2.2 innings in a 16-7 loss to the Twins on Saturday.

Cobb wasn't fooling the Twins, as he generated just four swinging strikes while allowing three home runs. The 31-year-old was making his second start of the season but permitted three runs in the first, one in the second, and five more in the third. Cobb has a bloated 11.88 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP, and he'll look to rebound Friday in a rematch in Minnesota.

Perez (2-0) earned the victory after allowing four runs on six hits and one walk over six innings in a 16-7 win over the Orioles on Saturday. He struck out two.

Perez was provided 13 runs of support before he permitted the Orioles to score, on a fourth-inning two-run homer by Renato Nunez. The left-hander then was tagged for another two-run homer by Hanser Alberto in the sixth. Perez has a 5.31 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP and is not currently scheduled to make a start next week.

Kluber (2-2) struck out eight and picked up the win in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against Atlanta, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks over seven innings in an 8-4 victory.

For the second straight outing, Kluber served up two homers, but this time he got plenty of run support to compensate. The right-hander has a disappointing 5.88 ERA, but his 29:12 K:BB through 26 innings offers plenty of hope for a turnaround. Kluber will look to win his third straight decision Thursday in Houston in a showdown with Gerrit Cole.

Heaney (elbow) is likely to throw a bullpen session sometime next week, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Heaney advanced to throwing from 110 feet earlier this week and a return to mound work is the next step in his progression. The 27-year-old has been building up his arm strength after receiving a cortisone injection at the start of April and could seemingly return in mid-May if he can avoid any setbacks.

Eovaldi will visit a doctor Monday to determine whether he needs surgery on his right elbow, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Eovaldi has a loose body in his elbow that is reportedly in a bad place, preventing the pitcher from stretching his arm out. Eovaldi, while with Tampa Bay, missed two months due to arthroscopic surgery for the same issue last season, but a return this time could be quicker. Last season, Eovaldi was simultaneously recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery, which he believes prolonged his recovery and encouraged the Rays to be more cautious with him, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

Snell felt good Saturday during his first bullpen session since breaking his toe, Josh Tolentino of The Athletic reports.

Steve Carney of Sports Radio 620 WDAE reported that Snell threw between 18 and 20 pitches Saturday and could throw a more extended session Monday before his next step is decided. He's eligible to return from the IL on Wednesday and could be an option to start that day against the Royals if the Rays are satisfied with how he looks following the second session. The Rays haven't officially confirmed that he'll return in the minimum amount of time, but he appears to be trending in the correct direction.

Clevinger won't require surgery to address his upper-back strain, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

The news is certainly positive for Clevinger, but his timeline doesn't appear to have changed. He'll continue with his rest and rehab process and won't throw until late May at the earliest.

The Red Sox placed Eovaldi on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a loose body in his right elbow.

Eovaldi is eligible to return from the IL on April 28, but there's a good chance he'll be shut down for more than the minimum amount of time while dealing with the same elbow issue that required arthroscopic surgery and sidelined him for two months in 2018. The setback is especially disappointing after Eovaldi turned in what was by far his best outing of the season in his last turn Wednesday, when he limited the Yankees to one unearned run over six frames and struck out six. Boston will first require a replacement for Eovaldi in next week's series with the Tigers, with long reliever Hector Velazquez perhaps representing the top candidate to fill the opening in the rotation.

Stroman (1-3) allowed one run on six hits and two walks while striking out six over eight innings in a win over the A's on Friday.

This was a strong showing against an offense in the top 10 for wRC+. Stroman got 24 called strikes and 11 swinging strikes on 109 pitches. The right-hander is one of most prolific groundball starting pitchers in the game, and his strikeouts are way up early on this year (29 in 30.2 innings). There will be some tough divisional matchups down the line, but Stroman is looking like a high-end streamer in standard mixed leagues.