MLB Player News

Contreras (hand) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Phillies, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Contreras had medical imaging come back negative after being hit by a pitch on the right hand Sunday against the Rays, and he'll be held out of Tuesday's starting nine after Monday's team off day. Mickey Gasper is stepping in at first base Tuesday for the Red Sox.

Moran will serve as the Red Sox' opening pitcher in Tuesday's game versus the Phillies, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Moran working as an opener ahead of bulk reliever Brayan Bello last week against the Tigers worked out well, so the Red Sox will try that setup again. The left-handed Moran has managed a 2.91 ERA in 12 appearances for Boston this season, but he's been wild in walking 14 over 21.2 innings.

Bloss (elbow) struck out four over 2.1 scoreless innings Tuesday in his first rehab start with the Blue Jays' Florida Complex League affiliate, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

It's the first game action for Bloss since he underwent UCL surgery last May. Acquired from the Astros in the Yusei Kikuchi trade in July 2024, Bloss will continue to be brought along slowly as he ramps things back up. The right-hander could become an option for the Toronto rotation sometime around midseason.

The Orioles optioned Espada to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday.

The right-hander was called up by Baltimore on Sunday and will return to Norfolk without appearing in a big-league game. Espada fired a scoreless frame in his lone MLB appearance this year and has struggled to a 5.68 ERA across 10 relief outings at Triple-A.

The Orioles activated Rogers (illness) from the 15-day injured list to start Tuesday's game against the Yankees.

The left-hander will end up spending just one day beyond the 15-day minimum on the injured list after recovering from the flu. After delivering quality starts in each of his first three outings of the campaign, Rogers labored to a 9.53 ERA and 2.12 WHIP in his last three starts before landing on the shelf. The 28-year-old threw a simulated bullpen session Saturday and is rejoining Baltimore's rotation with a rehab assignment, so the club could be cognizant of his workload Tuesday.

Cason (elbow) is hitting .267 with two home runs and a 3:1 K:BB in four games in the Florida Complex League.

The two-way prospect is on his way back from August 2025 Tommy John surgery, and while he isn't ready to pitch in games, he is healthy enough play in complex-league games as the designated hitter. Cason is still just 19 and has significant upside as a hitter and as a right-handed pitcher, but the young shortstop will likely be limited to DH duty for most or all of 2026.

Kolek is slated to start Tuesday's game against the White Sox in Chicago, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

After returning from the injured list and delivering a quality start against the Guardians in his 2026 MLB debut last Tuesday, Kolek was demoted to Triple-A Omaha a day later. However, with Cole Ragans (elbow) landing on the IL on Friday, the Royals opted to recall Kolek and will now plug him into Ragans' vacated spot in the rotation. Kolek tentatively lines up for a two-start week, with his second turn likely to come Sunday in St. Louis.

McCullers (finger) is slated to start Wednesday's game against the Mariners in Houston, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

McCullers appeared to be dealing with a blister on his pitching hand toward the tail end of his most recent start Wednesday against the Dodgers, but the righty was able to complete his most recent bullpen session without issue and will be ready to return to action on six days' rest. Though the historically injury prone McCullers has thus far been able to avoid any major setbacks on the health front this season, he's seen his effectiveness wane since submitting a seven-inning, nine-strikeout effort in his 2026 debut against the Red Sox back on March 30. Over his ensuing six starts, McCullers has posted a 9.00 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 28:19 K:BB in 27 innings. Barring a turnaround in form, McCullers could be in danger of a demotion to the bullpen or even being designated for assignment once the Houston pitching staff gets some of its injured starters back from the shelf.

Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said Monday that Joyce (shoulder) was scratched from a scheduled rehab appearance Sunday because "he wasn't recovering as fast as we wanted," Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Suzuki said he's "not concerned at all" about Joyce, who the team believes just "needed a couple days." Joyce has permitted two runs (one earned) with a 5:3 K:BB over four innings in his first four rehab outings with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. The pause in Joyce's rehab assignment could push back his timetable a bit, but he should still be back before the end of May as long as he's able to get back on the bump this week. The hard-throwing reliever is working his way back from labrum surgery on his right shoulder.

Rocchio went 1-for-4 with a stolen base and two RBI in Monday's 7-0 win over the Angels.

Rocchio didn't let a bases-loaded opportunity pass by when he delivered a two-out, two-run single in the second inning. He's been money with runners in scoring position, slashing .382/.475/.529 with 18 RBI in those situations. He also stole his seventh base (caught three times) in 41 games. With the Guardians calling up Travis Bazzana to be the primary second baseman, shortstop will have to be Rocchio's home. It's unclear what Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt's plan is for shortstop when Gabriel Arias (hamstring) is read to return, but Rocchio's bat could put him atop the depth chart.