MLB Player News

Bassitt is slated to pitch in bulk relief behind opener Keegan Akin in Sunday's game against the Athletics, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The Orioles will deploy Bassitt in a bulk role for the first time all season, hoping the arrangement generates better results for the right-hander after he submitted 5.91 ERA and 1.91 WHIP over 32 innings through his first seven starts. The A's lineup features four left-handed batters among its first seven hitters, so Akin could work the first couple innings before Bassitt takes over.

Rogers (illness) said that he threw a "simulated bullpen" session Saturday and is optimistic that he'll be able to return from the 15-day injured list to make a start during the Orioles' three-game series versus the Yankees that begins Monday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Monday will mark the first day that Rogers is eligible to return from the IL after falling ill with the flu in late April. The southpaw indicated that he doesn't expect to require a minor-league rehab assignment prior to being activated, noting that he thinks the throwing session he completed Saturday will be sufficient. The Orioles' coaching staff is still finalizing rotation plans for the three-game set with the Yankees, but even if Rogers isn't deemed ready to pitch during that upcoming series, he'll have a good chance at making it back from the IL by the end of the week.

The Twins recalled Rojas from Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday.

Rojas will join the Minnesota bullpen as a replacement for fellow left-hander Kody Funderburk, who was optioned to St. Paul. Andrew Morris will make his first big-league start Sunday against the Guardians but will likely be limited from a workload standpoint, so the Twins could end up needing Rojas to cover multiple innings in relief during the series finale in Cleveland.

The Yankees reinstated Rodon (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday's game against the Brewers.

The veteran left-hander opened the season on the shelf while finishing up his rehab from offseason elbow surgery, but he's ready to step into New York's rotation. Rodon made three minor-league rehab appearances and built up to 6.1 innings and 83 pitches during his final outing with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, so any workload restrictions should be minimal in his season debut.

Castillo (0-4) was tagged with the loss Saturday against the White Sox, allowing four runs on five hits across four frames. He struck out six.

This loss against Chicago ballooned Castillo's woeful ERA to 6.57 across 38.1 innings in eight outings this year. He's lost his past three starts and has given up at least four runs in each of those games. Castillo has been confirmed to start Thursday against the Astros, but according to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, after that the Mariners plan to piggyback him with Bryce Miller in the rematch series against the White Sox that runs May 18-20.

Schlittler tossed six scoreless innings in a no-decision against Milwaukee on Saturday, allowing two hits and striking out six batters without issuing any walks.

Schlittler was hit in the back of his leg by a line drive in the first inning and was visited by a trainer. He remained in the game and promptly struck out the following batter to prove that he was fine. Schlittler proceeded to give up only one hit following the first frame and finished with his fourth scoreless outing of five-plus innings across his first nine starts. Schlittler has been especially dominant of late, giving up a meager two earned runs across 31.2 frames over his past five appearances. It's still early in the campaign, but Schlittler is looking like a viable AL Cy Young Award candidate. He leads qualified MLB pitchers with a 1.35 ERA, ranks second with a 0.81 WHIP and has the fifth-most strikeouts (59) while carrying a 5-1 record through 53.1 innings.

Ryan didn't factor into the decision Saturday against the Guardians, allowing one run on two hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out five.

After leaving his last start early with elbow soreness, the All-Star right-hander looked no worse for wear Saturday. Ryan threw a season-high 107 pitches (66 strikes), and, excluding his most recent injury-shortened outing, pitched at least six innings while yielding two runs or fewer for the third time in his past four appearances. He'll carry a strong 3.43 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 45:13 K:BB over 44.2 innings into a tough assignment against the Brewers in his next scheduled start.

Wacha (4-2) earned the win over Detroit on Saturday, tossing seven scoreless innings during which he gave up two hits and walked two batters while striking out six.

Wacha faced little resistance from the Tigers, who managed just two hits against him. The veteran righty tossed 54 of 89 pitches for strikes and tallied six punchouts despite inducing only four whiffs. Wacha registered his second straight quality start and sixth overall through eight outings on the season. As usual, he hasn't been racking up punchouts with a modest 42 through 51.1 frames overall, but Wacha has otherwise been a valuable fantasy asset given his 2.63 ERA and 0.99 WHIP, both of which rank within the top 20 among qualified pitchers.

Bibee didn't factor into the decision Saturday against the Twins, allowing one run on one hit and two walks in six innings. He struck out nine.

Byron Buxton led off the game Saturday with a homer off Bibee, but that was essentially all the Twins mustered against the hurler. Bibee was nearly flawless thereafter, issuing only a pair of free passes en route to registering a whopping 20 whiffs and fanning a season-high nine, though he was unable to pick up his first win of the season. He'll look to further improve on a 4.17 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 45:18 K:BB over 45.1 innings in his next start, which is slated to come versus the Reds.

Baz (1-4) took the loss Wednesday as the Orioles were downed 6-2 by the A's, coughing up five runs on five hits and three walks over 4.2 innings. He struck out five.

Three of the five hits off the right-hander went for extra bases, including a three-run blast by Brent Rooker in the third inning that effectively put the game out of reach. Baz has been tagged for at least four earned runs in four of his last five outings, a stretch in which he's stumbled to a 6.04 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 25:14 K:BB over 28.1 innings. He'll look to turn things around in his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come on the road next weekend against the Nationals.