MLB Player News

Forcucci (elbow/back) has started twice for Single-A Fayetteville since being cleared to make his professional debut April 10, covering 1.2 innings while striking out three and allowing two earned runs on one hit and five walks.

A third-round selection in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, Forcucci didn't pitch at all that season or in 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery shortly before being selected by the Astros. The 23-year-old righty had also been managing a back injury in spring training, but he finally received the green light to pitch in games shortly after the Carolina League season got underway. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Forcucci has struggled mightily with his control coming off major elbow surgery. In addition to walking five of the 12 batters he's faced, Forcucci has also hit a batter and uncorked three wild pitches.

Scholtens will be the Rays' starting pitcher in Monday's contest against the Reds, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Scholtens had been expected to take the ball Monday in some form, and the Rays have decided to deploy him as a traditional starter rather than a bulk reliever. The right-hander's first two appearances this season came in bulk relief, and he's fared well in tossing a combined 9.2 shutout innings with a 7:3 K:BB.

Woods Richardson will move up a day to start Tuesday versus the Mets in place of the injured Mick Abel (elbow), Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

He will be on five days' rest Tuesday, so moving up a day in the rotation shouldn't be a big deal. The Twins are listing TBA in Woods Richardson's spot Wednesday, but it's likely to be either Kendry Rojas or Connor Prielipp making their major-league debut that day. Woods Richardson was rocked for seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits and three walks over five innings versus the Red Sox in his last outing and will carry a 6.10 ERA into Tuesday's start against the Mets.

The Twins placed Abel on the 15-day injured list Monday with right elbow inflammation.

Abel is coming off the best start of his young career, having struck out a career-high 10 batters across seven shutout innings against the Red Sox. He had been slated for a two-start week but instead will be shelved for at least the next two weeks, and given the nature of the injury, probably longer. The Twins are expected to call up Kendry Rojas from Triple-A St. Paul, and Connor Prielipp will be part of the taxi squad in New York and could also be formally called up. One of those two lefties will likely slide into the rotation in Abel's place.

Mikolas didn't factor into the decision in Sunday's win over the Giants, allowing four hits and a walk over four scoreless innings of relief. He struck out four.

The veteran right-hander worked as a bulk reliever, taking the mound after PJ Poulin recorded the first two outs for the Nationals, and Mikolas just missed collecting his first win of the season -- Washington scored all three of its runs right after he was lifted after 61 pitches (40 strikes) for Andrew Alvarez, who completed a combined shutout. Mikolas still has an ugly 9.15 ERA, 1.98 WHIP and 15:10 K:BB through 19.2 innings over five appearances (three starts) this season, but Sunday's effort was at least encouraging. Mikolas lines up for another favorable matchup, either as a starter or a primary pitcher, next weekend on the road against the White Sox.

Johnson signed a minor-league contract with Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday and was assigned to Triple-A Sugar Land.

Sugar Land immediately inserted Johnson into its lineup, with the 30-year-old starting in center field and going 1-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run in a 7-4 extra-inning win over Salt Lake in Sunday's series finale. The addition of Johnson provides Houston with extra organizational depth in the outfield after the big-league roster recently lost Jake Meyers (oblique) and Joey Loperfido (quadriceps) to the injured list. Johnson previously saw MLB action last season between stops with the Giants and Orioles, slashing just .189/.246/.302 with one home run and two stolen bases across 57 plate appearances.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Monday that Sandoval isn't expected to require further imaging on his left biceps and will likely resume throwing after a few days of rest, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Shortly before he was scheduled to make his third rehab start with Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, Sandoval was pulled off his minor-league assignment and reported to Boston to receive further evaluation after experiencing biceps tightness following his previous outing. Fortunately for Sandoval -- who is working his way back from a June 2024 internal brace surgery on his left elbow -- he appears to have avoided any sort of major setback and could soon be ready to link back up with Worcester to continue his rehab assignment. Even so, the 29-year-old left-hander still isn't expected to be ready to return from the 15-day injured list until at least early May, and the Red Sox may not have a rotation spot available for him once he's activated.

The Twins are expected to place Funderburk on the paternity list ahead of Tuesday's game against the Mets, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

With Funderburk's wife due to deliver the couple's first child Monday, the lefty reliever will most likely remain away from the team for its entire upcoming three-game road series in Queens before linking back up with the Twins for their weekend series in Tampa. Minnesota plans to call up left-hander Kendry Rojas from Triple-A St. Paul to take Funderburk's spot on the active roster and in the bullpen. One of five different Twins to record a save this season, Funderburk has also collected four holds while pitching to a 2.00 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 8:7 K:BB in nine innings.

Lukes met with a Phoenix-area specialist Friday to establish a treatment plan for the vertigo symptoms that he's been experiencing for the past month, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Though the Toronto medical staff cleared Lukes to continue playing while he contends with bouts of intermittent dizziness and nausea, his performance over the first three weeks of the season has clearly been affected. He went just 2-for-31 over his first 13 games and was in the midst of an 0-for-23 stretch to begin April before delivering a pinch-hit single Friday. Lukes then proceeded to turn in a pair of three-hit performances to close out the weekend series in Arizona, noting that he's had some of his "better days" with his vision. Per the recommendation of the specialist, the 31-year-old outfielder will likely continue to take part in head-movement exercises to combat the vertigo symptoms, and the weekend surge offers hope that he's turned a corner in his recovery.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker confirmed Sunday that Garcia underwent an MRI on his sore left shoulder, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

The Rangers are confident that the results of the testing will show no structural damage, but Garcia is likely to receive an anti-inflammatory injection Monday. The left-hander has not pitched since last Thursday, when he first experienced the issue after throwing a third of an inning. A best-case scenario is having Garcia available for Tuesday or Wednesday against the Pirates.