MLB Player News

Heim is not in the lineup for Thursday's game in Minnesota.

Heim went 2-for-3 with a run scored while catching eight innings of Wednesday night's 6-2 loss, so he will receive a breather for Thursday's matinee. Kyle Higashioka will be behind the dish and bat ninth for the Rangers.

Kremer won't start Thursday's game against the Tigers but could work in bulk relief behind opening pitcher Keegan Akin, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The Orioles haven't officially confirmed that Kremer is on track to pitch Thursday, but he was previously listed as the team's scheduled starter and hasn't been reported to be dealing with an injury, so the belief is that he'll enter the contest after Akin covers the first inning or two. Kremer has made all but one of his 108 career MLB appearances as a starter, but the Orioles may be looking to see if working in bulk relief helps enhance his performance. The right-hander is coming off a rough start Friday against the Athletics in which he gave up five earned runs on eight hits and one walk over 5.1 innings.

Akin will serve as the Orioles' opening pitcher in Thursday's game versus the Tigers, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Dean Kremer had been scheduled to start, but he now appears slated to serve as a bulk reliever. Akin has opened twice for the Orioles this season, tossing a combined 2.2 frames in those outings.

Stroman (knee) covered 3.1 innings and struck out four batters while allowing one earned run on one hit and two walks in his first rehab start Wednesday with Double-A Somerset.

Considering Stroman hadn't pitched in a game since April 11 after being shut down due to left knee inflammation, his performance in Wednesday's outing with Somerset was about as good as the Yankees could have expected following a lengthy layoff. The right-hander faced 13 batters in the start and pumped in 27 of his 46 pitches for strikes. The Yankees are letting Stroman build back up as a starter, but he'll likely need to continue to find success over his subsequent rehab outings in order to unseat Ryan Yarbrough in the rotation once he's activated from the 15-day injured list. Since stepping in as the Yankees' No. 5 starter May 3, Yarbrough owns a respectable 4.20 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 30 innings over his six starts.

Paredes went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored Wednesday against the White Sox.

Paredes has had an interesting start to June. He has hit only .235 with a relatively elevated 25 percent strikeout rate, yet he also has three home runs, nine RBI and five runs scored across nine games. Overall, Paredes has arguably been Houston's most consistent hitter this season and is on pace to match the production of his 2022 campaign -- the best of his career.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Cousins (forearm) appears to be dealing with a UCL injury, but the right-hander will receive further medical opinions before the diagnosis is confirmed, Jackson Stone of MLB.com reports.

Cousins was dealing with a right forearm strain upon reporting to spring training and opened the season on the injured list, and his rehab process was extended further in May, when he suffered a pectoral injury. He made enough progress with his throwing program to head out on a minor-league rehab assignment earlier this month, but he made just two appearances before experiencing his second setback of the season. If Cousins is in fact dealing with ligament damage in his elbow, his return would likely be pushed back until after the All-Star break if he elects to treat the injury with rest and rehab. Season-ending Tommy John surgery would also be a potential outcome.

Lowe went 0-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base Wednesday against the Red Sox.

Lowe has served as the Rays' primary leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching since May 28 and has struggled to reach base consistently. Across 13 games, he's gone 10-for-49 with a 29.1 percent strikeout rate, although he has also scored nine runs and stolen three bases. Given his .291 on-base percentage, the Rays could decide to shift Lowe down the order, but he's proven to be a strong fantasy contributor from the top spot despite a poor batting average.

Allard allowed an unearned run on three hits while striking out a batter in two innings out of the bullpen in Monday's 7-4 loss to the Reds.

Since making a four-inning spot start against the Dodgers on May 28, Allard has shifted back to the bullpen, where he's made his last three appearances for Cleveland. The veteran lefty owns an excellent 1.73 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over 26 innings this season, but he's been getting by on inducing weak contact and avoiding walks rather than making bats miss (10.5 K%).

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run Wednesday against the Red Sox.

Diaz tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth inning with his 10th home run of the season. He has gone deep three times in his last 10 contests while going 15-for-39 with eight RBI and eight runs scored in that span. This run has increased Diaz's ISO to .169 on the campaign, which would be good for the third-highest mark of his career.

Morris could be the top candidate to be called up if the Twins have another opening in the rotation, Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports.

Morris' numbers at Triple-A St. Paul aren't overly impressive (3.86 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 12.3 K-BB%), but the Twins lack a clear standout pitcher in the minors who would leapfrog the 23-year-old right-hander if a rotation spots open up. With recent injuries to Pablo Lopez (shoulder) and Zebby Matthews (shoulder), the Twins have already plugged David Festa and Simeon Woods Richardson into the rotation.