MLB Player News

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.

Fry started at catcher and went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, an RBI and a run scored in Monday's 7-2 win over the Angels.

Fry made his fifth start of the season at catcher. The Guardians keep him around as a third catcher, but he's mostly been deployed in right field (nine starts) or designated hitter (six). Cleveland's recent acquisition of Patrick Bailey from San Francisco and optioning of Bo Naylor to Triple-A Columbus does nothing to change Fry's role.

Martin (biceps) is expected to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday or Wednesday, Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Martin, who has been in the 15-day injured list since April, made progress over the last week. He most recently threw a 25-pitch inning of live batting practice Saturday and is ready to rehab, likely at Triple-A Round Rock, which kicks off a series Tuesday against Sacramento. It's unclear how long Martin will need or if the Rangers will want him to throw on back-to-back days before activating the 39-year-old right-hander.

Duran started at second base and went 1-for-4 in Monday's 1-0 loss to Arizona.

Duran started for the 11th consecutive game, with eight of those coming at second base. He's making a strong case to retain a regular spot in the starting nine, having gone 12-for-38 (.316) with five extra-base hits (one home run), five RBI, one steal and six runs scored during that 11-game run. He'd already stolen playing time at the keystone before Josh Smith (glute) landed on the 10-day injured list and has been the primary fill-in since. Smith, who is eligible to come off the IL on Thursday, came down with a case of wrist inflammation in the midst of his ramp-up per Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News, and he will therefore see his return potentially delayed.

Gimenez went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and five RBI in a loss to the Rays on Monday.

Gimenez produced all five of Toronto's runs Monday, stroking a three-run homer in the second inning and a two-run shot in the seventh. The pair of long balls ended a 21-game homerless stretch for the veteran infielder, who produced a meager .511 OPS during that power drought. Gimenez has five homers through 38 games this season, and he hasn't reached double-digit long balls in a campaign since 2023, when he swatted 15 home runs over 153 regular-season contests with Cleveland.

Aranda went 2-for-3 with a home run, two total runs and three total RBI in an 8-5 win over Toronto on Monday.

Aranda got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly in the first inning, added a run-scoring single in the second and swatted a solo homer in the fifth. The 27-year-old had gone 11 games without a long ball coming into Monday, but he's otherwise been hot at the plate, slashing .469/.526/.594 with seven RBI through 10 games in May. Aranda has eight homers through 40 contests on the campaign, putting him well on pace to surpass the career-high 14 long balls he hit across 106 regular-season games in 2025.

Gausman (2-3) allowed seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits and no walks while striking out five batters over 4.2 innings in a loss to Tampa Bay on Monday.

Gausman got off to a poor start, allowing three runs on four hits in the first inning. He yielded another pair of runs in the second and had tossed 100 pitches by the time he exited with one out in the fifth frame. Gausman had completed at least five frames in all eight of his starts coming into Monday, and the six earned runs he allowed against the Rays marked a season high. As a result of the outing, the veteran hurler's ERA jumped from 3.09 to 3.86. He'll look to bounce back in his next start, which is slated to be a road tilt in Detroit.