MLB Player News

The Twins selected McCaughan's contract from Triple-A St. Paul on Monday, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

McCaughan will provide length in the bullpen for Minnesota. He's replacing Randy Dobnak, who was needed for 5.1 innings out of the bullpen Sunday in St. Louis.

Strider (elbow) struck out six batters and allowed one earned run on two hits and one walk over three innings in his first rehab start Saturday with Triple-A Gwinnett.

Since he resumed pitching in games March 17, Strider has dazzled in all three of his outings while he bounces back from an internal brace procedure on his right elbow, which he underwent April 5, 2024. Over his two spring training appearances, Strider posted a 10:1 K:BB while allowing just two hits and one walk across four innings, and he continued to mow down hitters with Gwinnett on Saturday while upping his pitch count to 60. Atlanta will presumably want to see Strider get his count into the 75-to-85 range before activating him from the 15-day injured list, so he may be just one or two rehab starts away from making his 2025 big-league debut.

McCullers (forearm) struck out three and allowed two earned runs on two hits and one walk across two innings Sunday in a rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land.

After tossing a scoreless, 13-pitch inning in his lone Grapefruit League appearance March 18 before opening the season on the 15-day injured list, McCullers increased his workload in his first rehab outing, covering an additional frame and tossing 35 pitches (20 strikes). Since he missed the last two seasons while recovering from June 2023 surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon, McCullers will build up slowly in the minors, but a late April or early May return from the IL could be in the cards if all goes smoothly during his subsequent rehab starts.

Lowder (forearm) is throwing off a mound in Arizona, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

After missing all of spring training with a forearm strain, Lowder has taken the next steps in his recovery. He was scheduled to throw again Sunday and will continue to ramp up. The right-hander may eventually pitch in the majors this season, but Lowder is expected to begin 2025 at Triple-A Louisville.

Fitts (0-1) allowed three runs on six hits over six innings Sunday, striking out four and taking a loss against the Rangers.

Fitts looked impressive through five innings of one-run ball. He coughed up three straight singles in the second inning but went on to retire 12 consecutive batters. However, he gave up solo homers to Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia in the sixth, his third time through the order. Fitts was efficient with just 71 pitches (53 strikes) but still took the loss during his quality start. He's projected for a home matchup against the Cardinals this weekend. Beyond that, Fitts' role is unclear with both Brayan Bello (shoulder) and Lucas Giolito (hamstring) expected to begin rehab assignments this week.

DeGrom allowed two hits and two walks over five scoreless frames in a no-decision against Boston on Sunday. He struck out six batters in the Rangers' win.

DeGrom looked sharp in his season debut; he generated 16 whiffs, including 10 with his slider, and coughed up just one extra-base hit. His fastball averaged 96.7 mph and touched 98.1 mph. DeGrom went into the start with a limit of around 75 pitches or five innings, which he nearly matched with his 73 pitches (49 strikes) across five frames. The veteran righty should progressively see his workload expand, starting with his next projected outing this weekend at home against the Rays.

Kochanowicz did not factor into the decision in Sunday's 3-2 win over the White Sox, pitching six innings while allowing two runs on four hits and no walks. He struck out four.

The 24-year-old required only 64 pitches, 47 of which were strikes, to secure his ninth career quality start, incredibly achieved in just 12 games started. Kochanowicz allowed both runs in a shaky first inning that saw him yield a leadoff homer to Nick Maton and run-scoring single to Matt Thaiss. However, after Thaiss's hit, Kochanowicz retired 14 of the next 16 batters faced while inducing four punchouts. The Angels right-hander is currently slated to make his next start against the Guardians at home next weekend.

Martin took a no-decision Sunday against the Angels. He struck out two over six innings while allowing two unearned runs on four hits and two walks.

The Chicago right-hander scattered four hits -- three singles and a double -- in this solid outing, notching his fifth career quality start out of 20 total games started. Despite generating just two punchouts, Martin was sharp and kept the Angels lineup in check with a 55.6 percent groundball rate. The 28-year-old should continue to be a mainstay in the White Sox rotation with performances like this one. Martin currently lines up to make his next start at Detroit next weekend.

Pallante (1-0) allowed two runs on four hits and two walks over five innings against the Twins on Sunday. He struck out three and earned the win.

Pallante gave up one run through three frames before serving up a solo shot to Willi Castro in the fourth inning. By that point, the Cardinals had already given Pallante a heavy cushion by scoring eight runs in the first three innings. He tossed 46 of 78 pitches for strikes and forced 13 whiffs, including seven with his fastball, which averaged 95.2 mph. Pallante is currently in line to start in Boston next weekend.

Ober (0-1) coughed up eight runs on eight hits and three walks over 2.2 innings Sunday, striking out two and taking a loss against St. Louis. He was pitching despite coming down with a virus that had him in bed Friday and getting IV fluids Saturday, Phil Miller of the Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

Ober danced out of a two-on, one-out situation in the first inning, but things quickly unraveled from there. He served up a three-run shot to Victor Scott in the second and gave up five runs in the third, including another three-run jack by Pedro Pages. Ober looked impressive during spring training, posting a 1.77 ERA across 20.1 frames. The 6-foot-9 righty has posted a sub-4.00 ERA in each of his last three seasons. Ober's next outing is currently projected to be at home against the Astros.