MLB Player News

The Royals reinstated Lugo (concussion) from the 7-day injured list to start Friday's game against the Cardinals.

The 36-year-old has been on the shelf for the past week after being struck in the head by a comebacker, but he'll quickly re-enter Kansas City's rotation. Lugo has a 3.86 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 66:25 K:BB across 79.1 innings through 14 starts this season.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Friday that "all signs point towards" Bieber (elbow) making his season debut Monday against the Astros, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The Blue Jays are holding off making it official until Bieber throws a bullpen session Saturday, but as long as he doesn't have any hiccups with that throwing session he will take the ball in Monday's series opener at Rogers Centre. Bieber would also line up for a second start that weekend at home versus the Rangers. Coming back from right elbow inflammation, Bieber has collected a 6.88 ERA and 14:5 K:BB over 17 innings covering five rehab starts. He threw 80 pitches in his last outing, so he's close to being fully stretched out.

Perez (thigh) gave up one run on three hits over 3.2 innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Jacksonville on Thursday. He struck out five without walking a batter.

The right-hander fired 51 pitches (37 strikes) in his first rehab outing since landing on the IL on May 29 after straining his right gracilis muscle. The initial estimate for Perez's recovery suggested he might be on the shelf until late July, but Thursday's performance was encouraging enough that a return before the All-Star break looks plausible. Perez was sitting 96-98 mph with his fastballs Thursday and topped out at 99.4 mph on a four-seamer.

Greene (elbow) struck out six over four scoreless frames Thursday in his first rehab start with the Reds' Arizona Complex League affiliate.

Greene yielded two hits, walked one and topped out at 101.1 mph on the radar gun, per Lance McAlister of 700 WLW Sports Talk. He got his pitch count up to 54, throwing 39 pitches for strikes. It's an encouraging first rehab outing for Greene, who is coming back from mid-March surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow. It's unclear when or where Greene's next rehab start will take place, but the Reds expect the right-hander to rejoin the rotation before the All-Star break.

Jump (3-1) earned the win over the Angels on Thursday, allowing one hit and issuing three walks while striking out seven batters over seven scoreless innings.

The Angels simply couldn't get to Jump, managing just one hit -- an Oswald Peraza double -- against him. The rookie left-hander established a career-best mark with seven punchouts and tossed his second scoreless start over his past three outings. Jump has yet to give up a homer through five appearances this season, and he's completed at least six innings in three of those starts. The 24-year-old appears to be in the big-league rotation to stay, as he's registered an excellent 2.37 ERA and 0.99 WHIP along with a 26:9 K:BB through his first 30.1 major-league frames.

Liberatore (3-4) allowed seven runs (five earned) on seven hits and no walks while striking out two batters over 1.2 innings to take the loss against Kansas City on Thursday.

Liberatore got an early lead when St. Louis scored twice in the top of the first inning, but he gave one run back in the bottom of the frame on a Bobby Witt (knee) solo homer. Things got much worse for Liberatore in the second, as the Royals swarmed him for six hits -- five of which were doubles -- en route to six runs. The left-hander ultimately gave way to a reliever after retiring only two batters in that disastrous frame. It was the shortest outing of the season for Liberatore, and he hasn't been providing much depth of late, completing fewer than five frames in three straight outings. He's had a few promising starts this season, but it's mostly been a struggle for the veteran pitcher, who now has an ugly 5.23 ERA and 1.56 WHIP along with a 67:27 K:BB through 72.1 innings spanning 15 appearances.

Cameron (4-4) earned the win over St. Louis on Thursday, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks while striking out six batters over five innings.

Cameron had a rough first inning, when the Cardinals put up a pair of runs on a hit, two walks, a wild pitch and an error. However, the Royals offense had the lefty hurler's back, posting seven runs over the ensuing two frames to hand him a big lead. It wasn't exactly smooth sailing for Cameron from there, as he gave up two more runs and needed 108 pitches to labor through five innings, but KC's offensive explosion provided the support needed for him to emerge with the win. Cameron bounced back with six punchouts and 14 whiffs after notching just one strikeout in his previous start, and he kept the ball in the park after allowing two long balls in that prior outing. He'll carry a 4.20 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 70:19 K:BB through 75 frames into his next start, which lines up to be a road game in Tampa Bay.

Weathers did not factor into the decision Thursday against the White Sox, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out eight over 6.1 innings.

Weathers came out firing, striking out the side in the first inning before running into his lone mistake of the night when Colson Montgomery launched the first pitch of the second inning for a solo homer. The left-hander was excellent from that point forward, limiting Chicago to just two additional hits while recording his fifth outing of at least eight strikeouts. The performance was a much-needed rebound effort after a rough stretch in which he had allowed five or more runs in four of his previous five starts. Weathers now has a 4.13 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 89:22 K:BB across 80.2 innings.

Burke (4-4) earned the win Thursday against the Yankees, allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out eight over 7.1 innings.

After opener Bryan Hudson tossed 1.2 scoreless innings, Burke carried the bulk of the workload and finished the game, with the lone blemish on his line coming via a Ryan McMahon solo homer in the third inning. The right-hander was dominant Thursday, generating a whopping 20 whiffs and an elite 39.2 percent whiff rate. His eight strikeouts matched a season high and were especially encouraging given his recent inconsistency, as he entered Thursday with a 5.82 ERA over his previous seven appearances. Burke now owns a 3.89 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 81:29 K:BB across 81 innings this season and is scheduled to face Cleveland at home in his next outing.

Nola did not factor into the decision Thursday against the Mets, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out six over five innings.

The veteran right-hander generated 10 whiffs on 97 pitches, with most of the damage against him coming via a pair of solo homers from Juan Soto. Despite the solid strikeout total, Nola continues to search for consistency in what has been a difficult campaign. He's failed to cover more than five frames in any of his past five starts and has a 5.68 ERA during that span. Nola will carry a 5.71 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 77:25 K:BB into his next scheduled start on the road against Washington.