MLB Player News

Bundy (ankle) threw in the outfield Friday as part of his progression toward his scheduled return July 6 in Minnesota, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Everything appears to be on track with Bundy, who hit the disabled list earlier this week after not showing the desired improvement with his sprained left ankle. He has a 2.60 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 60 strikeouts in 55.1 innings over his last eight starts.

Jorge (triceps) was designated for release or assignment by Minnesota, removing him from the 40-man roster.

Jorge only started pitching again this season after missing the first two months with a triceps injury. He's thrown three innings in a rehab assignment for Minnesota's rookie Gulf Coast League team. Jorge will likely accept an assignment to Double-A Chattanooga.

Hamels could be traded prior to the All-Star break, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.

According to source, the Rangers have had discussions with the Mariners, Tyler Maher of MLB.com reports. It's not clear if other suitors are involved; however, the Mariners are a good landing spot for Hamels. They are not one of the teams to which he can block a trade, and they have salary cap space below the luxury-tax threshold. Hamels is 4-6 with a 3.61 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 16 starts this season. Presumably, his chances of winning games would improve while pitching for the Mariners or any other team with a better run differential than the Rangers' minus-58.

McCullers (9-3) allowed three hits and two walks while striking out seven across seven scoreless innings to earn the win Thursday against the Rays.

McCullers was dominant Thursday and completed seven innings of work for the third time in his past eight outings. Seventeen of his 21 swinging strikes came on his curveball, his third consecutive start in which he has induced double-digit whiffs with the pitch. That offering has been the key to his success this season as in the five starts that he has generated more than 10 swinging strikes with his curveball, he has struck out 42 batters and allowed only nine earned runs across 29.1 innings.

Nicasio picked up his first save of 2018, needing just seven pitches in a perfect 10th inning in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Orioles.

Edwin Diaz had picked up a save in each of the last three days, so he wasn't available for Thursday's contest. Nicasio is now 1-for-5 in save opportunities this season and they should continue coming few and far between with Diaz's dominance. The 31-year-old owns an ugly 6.19 ERA despite a very strong 40:3 K:BB in 32 innings.

Giolito took a no-decision Thursday, yielding one run on four walks and four hits in a 2-1 loss to the Twins. He struck out three batters and allowed a home run.

It wasn't the most impressive line, but it may have been Giolito's best start of the season. He held Minnesota off the scoreboard until Logan Morrison smacked a leadoff homer to start the seventh inning. After a 2.38 ERA in 45.1 innings last season, the former top prospect owns an atrocious 6.59 ERA with 51 strikeouts and 51 walks in 84.2 innings in 2018. Giolito will look to build on the solid outing Tuesday in Cincinnati.

Odorizzi threw six shutout innings Thursday, allowing just three hits and three walks in a 2-1 win over the White Sox. He struck out eight batters in the no-decision.

After not making it out of the second inning in his last outing, this was a much-needed turnaround for Odorizzi. Minnesota couldn't get the bats going, providing just one run before heading to extras. The 28-year-old right-hander lowered his season ERA to 4.62 in 85.2 innings with 88 strikeouts and 39 walks. He'll take the mound Tuesday in Milwaukee.

Javier tossed seven scoreless innings Wednesday for High-A Buies Creek in its 7-3 win over Myrtle Beach. He gave up four hits and a walk and struck out eight.

Javier swung between the bullpen and rotation for various low-level affiliates through his first three professional seasons, but the Astros have seemingly committed to developing him as a starter in 2018. That plan has paid major dividends thus far, with the 21-year-old running up a 1.47 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 94:28 K:BB in 67.1 innings while splitting time between Buies Creek and Low-A Quad Cities. Javier leans heavily on his slider as a put-away pitch, but the right-hander is still looking to find more consistency with his changeup. He'll likely need to diversify his arsenal a little more at the higher levels of the minors to find continued success and convince the organization he's capable of starting over the long haul.

Perez (elbow) threw a bullpen session Wednesday in preparation for his next rehabilitation start Saturday for Double-A Frisco, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Following the session, Perez sounded optimistic and feels he's close to returning. The left-hander made his first rehab start for Low-A Hickory on Monday and allowed only two hits while striking out nine over five scoreless innings. The Rangers will likely have him make a couple more rehab starts to build his pitch count up and face more advanced hitters.

Bieber (3-0) allowed one run on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts through six innings in a win Wednesday over the Cardinals.

That marks three wins in a row for Bieber, who has been brilliant in three starts for Cleveland. His offspeed pitches were utterly nasty Wednesday night, as he induced a combined 12 swinging strikes and eight outs in play on 21 sliders and 25 curveballs. His fastball velocity doesn't stand out -- he averaged 92.3 mph on his fastball Wednesday night -- but it plays much faster when he has the threats of those two offspeed pitches in his arsenal. Bieber will take a 2.22 ERA into his next start Tuesday against the Royals.