MLB Player News

Lynn (5-7) lasted just 1.2 innings Sunday, yielding seven runs on three walks and five hits (one home run) while striking out one in an 11-10 loss to the Cubs.

Lynn worked a scoreless first inning before imploding in the second, all kicked off by a three-run shot from Cubs starter Jon Lester. His ERA shot from 4.81 to 5.49 after the horrendous outing, all but erasing the 2.83 ERA Lynn spun during June. He'll look to bounce back against Baltimore on Friday.

Bieber is expected to retain a spot in the Cleveland rotation after fellow starting pitcher Adam Plutko was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Sunday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Plutko's demotion came after manager Terry Francona announced that Carlos Carrasco (forearm) would come off the 10-day disabled list to start Friday in Oakland, leaving the Tribe with an overcrowded rotation. Bieber earned his spot over Plutko on the heels of back-to-back impressive outings against the Tigers and Cardinals, during which he covered 13 innings and allowed one run while posting a 14:2 K:BB. The right-hander is able to get by with a lack of overpowering stuff thanks to his pinpoint command and control, skills that could translate to continued success in his subsequent starts. His next turn is set to come Tuesday in Kansas City.

Carrasco (forearm) is expected to be activated from the 10-day disabled list and start Friday against the Athletics, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Cleveland manager Terry Francona confirmed the righty will be reinstated just a few days past his eligibility date after he submitted a dominant performance in a rehab start Saturday at Double-A Akron. The right-hander covered four scoreless frames and struck out four hitters in the 58-pitch outing, with Francona relaying that Carrasco's fastball was clocked as high as 97 mph, according to Bastian. Carrasco went on to throw more in the bullpen following his departure from the start, so he's not expected to face strict limitations with his pitch count when he rejoins the Cleveland rotation next weekend.

Kopech allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits and four walks while striking out eight for Triple-A Charlotte on Saturday.

Getting deep into games has been problematic for Kopech, so seeing him throw six innings for the second straight game is an encouraging sign. However, the right-hander continued to wrestle with command, throwing just 54 of his 97 pitches for strikes while hitting a batter. He leads the International League with 105 strikeouts while also topping the circuit in walks (52) and hit batsmen (10) over 79.1 innings.

Perez (elbow) declared himself ready to return to the Rangers' rotation following his second rehabilitation start Saturday, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. The left-hander allowed two hits and three walks while striking out four over six scoreless innings for Double-A Frisco on Saturday.

Perez moved up a couple levels from his first rehab start at Low-A Hickory and, predictably, met more resistance at the higher level, but the results are encouraging. After authoring two scoreless starts while on rehab, the pitcher may feel ready for Texas, but the organization has not yet made that decision. Perez passed the fielding test Saturday when he cleanly fielded a bunt and completed the play without issues, but since he threw only 73 pitches, the organization may want to see another start in order to build the pitch count into the 80s.

Hammel (2-10) allowed six earned runs on 13 hits and no walks while striking out four across six innings to take the loss Saturday against the Mariners.

Hammel was roughed up for his second consecutive start as he allowed the Mariners to record all six of their runs in his first three innings of work. Across his last three starts, Hammel has allowed 37 baserunners in just 15.2 innings and his WHIP for the season sits at an unsightly 1.54 as a result. There's not much redeemable about Hammel at the moment as he has just 66 strikeouts in 100.1 innings and has low win upside as a member of the Royals.

Rodon (1-3) allowed five earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three across 5.1 innings to take the loss Saturday against the Rangers.

Rodon didn't help himself in this start, as he allowed two solo home runs and also walked two batters in the fourth inning, both of which came around to score. While his results weren't horrible prior to Saturday's start, several troubling trends have emerged through five starts for him, most notable of which is his 1.8 HR/9 mark. He has also uncharacteristically struggled to record strikeouts, as 6.7 K/9 is over two strikeouts fewer than his career baseline.

Gonzales, who's already tossed 100.1 frames across 17 starts this season, may have his innings managed in the second half of the season, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

While manager Scott Servais wouldn't commit to any type of innings limit on Gonzales, he did acknowledge that there's a possibility the team will deploy a six-man rotation in August. That would allow Gonzales -- as well as veterans such as Felix Hernandez and Mike Leake -- to go longer between starts during the season's stretch run. The main reason for discussions concerning limiting Gonzales' workload is due to the fact that he's in the midst of his first full season following 2016 Tommy John surgery, and because he's already close to exceeding the 126.1 frames he worked between the minors and the Mariners in 2017. Christian Bergman, who's currently in Triple-A Tacoma, and long reliever Roenis Elias are two candidates to fill in at the back end of the rotation later this summer if necessary.

Gray (5-6) took the loss Saturday against Boston, lasting only 2.1 innings and giving up six runs on seven hits and two walks. He didn't record a strikeout.

A Rafael Devers first-inning grand slam accounted for most of the damage, and Gray labored with 68 pitches in the abbreviated appearance. Gray now owns the dubious record of the worst home ERA (7.10) of any Yankees starter (minimum 13 starts), per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch via Baseball Reference. Safe to say in his rough season (5.44 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 in 82.2 frames) that he should be avoided for his Bronx assignments whenever possible. At least he's on the road for his scheduled Friday turn against the Blue Jays, but he remains a boom-or-bust fantasy asset.

Sale (8-4) struck out 11 and earned the win against the Yankees on Saturday with seven scoreless innings, during which he allowed just one hit and one walk.

The southpaw hit Aaron Hicks and allowed a single to Giancarlo Stanton in the first inning -- and that was all New York could scrape together against him. Sale has notched double-digit strikeouts in four of his last five starts and fell just one short in the fifth, and the Cy Young candidate has walked just one in five of his past six. The fantasy ace's 2018 line was already absurd before this gem took him to a 2.41 ERA, 12.7 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 across 116 frames. He'll take this show to its next stop in Kansas City on Friday.