MLB Player News

Erceg (back) threw live batting practice Friday and is set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Sunday, MLB.com reports.

Erceg was placed on the injured list May 30, retroactive to May 27, making him eligible to return June 12 against the Yankees. Prior to hitting the shelf, the 30-year-old was in the midst of a strong season, recording a 1.96 ERA and 0.74 WHIP with 13 holds over 23 innings. Barring any setbacks during his rehab assignment, the right-hander should return to his setup role with the Royals in the near future.

Palacios is not in the White Sox's starting lineup against the Royals on Saturday.

Palacios has reached base safely in his last two starts, but he has gone 3-for-24 over his last 11 games. He'll be in the dugout for the start of Saturday's game while Andrew Benintendi, Luis Robert and Mike Tauchman man the outfield for the South Siders.

Coulombe (forearm) tossed one scoreless inning in his first rehab outing with Triple-A St. Paul on Friday.

Coulombe landed on the 15-day injured list May 18 due to an extensor strain in his left forearm. He was cleared to embark on a rehab assignment Friday, but the veteran southpaw may not need more work in Triple-A and could rejoin the Twins' bullpen in the coming days, per Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic. Coulombe hasn't given up a run across 16.2 major-league innings this season while posting a 0.60 WHIP, two saves and a 19:2 K:BB.

Kirby (jaw) is listed as the Mariners' probable starter for Sunday's game against the Angels in Anaheim.

In his most recent start Tuesday against the Orioles, Kirby covered five innings but was struck in his hand and then his jaw while knocking down a line drive off the bat of Ramon Urias. Though Kirby didn't return to the contest after retiring Urias on the play, the right-hander's exit likely had more to do with the fact that he had already tossed 95 pitches. Mariners manager Dan Wilson confirmed after the game that he expected Kirby to be fine, and the 27-year-old seems to have made it through his between-starts bullpen session without incident. Kirby will head into Sunday's contest with an 0-3 record, 8.56 ERA, 1.83 WHIP and 11:4 K:BB in three starts since making his return from the injured list May 22.

Cobb (hip) allowed one unearned run and two walks while striking out two across 2.1 innings in Thursday's rehab start with High-A West Michigan.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters Friday that Cobb is feeling "incrementally better -- and by that, I think [Cobb] means no worse," per Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. Cobb has been on the 15-day injured list since the start of the season due to right hip inflammation. He'll throw another bullpen session in a couple of days before his next rehab start, and he'll need to build up his pitch count through multiple outings before being reinstated from the IL.

Yesavage struck out nine while giving up up one run on two hits and a walk over five innings Friday for High-A Vancouver.

The 21-year-old right-hander has remained dominant following a promotion from Single-A Dunedin, and over four starts and 17.1 innings for Vancouver, Yesavage has delivered a 1.56 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 33:11 K:BB. His 88 strikeouts combined between the two affiliates leads the entire minor leagues, and the first-round pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft may not be long for the Northwest League if he continues to overmatch hitters with his mid-90s fastball, splitter and slider.

Kirk is not in the Blue Jays' starting lineup against the Twins on Saturday.

Kirk will get a breather while Tyler Heineman starts behind home plate and bats ninth. Kirk has been hot at the plate and has gone 16-for-40 (.400) with eight RBI over his last 13 games.

Little gave up a run on two hits and a walk in the eighth inning Friday to record his 11th hold of the season in a win over the Twins. He struck out one.

The 28-year-old left-hander entered the game to protect a 6-3 lead, and after he put the first two runners aboard, a Royce Lewis single brought home the first earned run off Little since April 25. Little sported a 1.00 WHIP and 20:8 K:BB in 16 innings over that stretch with a 0.00 ERA, and as the top southpaw in the Toronto bullpen, he's become one of the key setup men in front of closer Jeff Hoffman.

Fluharty struck out two in 1.1 perfect innings of relief Friday to record his fourth hold of the season in a win over the Twins.

Entering the game with one out in the fifth inning and the Blue Jays ahead 4-3, the rookie southpaw closed out the frame before fanning Matt Wallner and Brooks Lee to begin the sixth. Fluharty isn't seeing consistent high-leverage work as the second lefty in the bullpen behind Brendon Little, but he's pitched well enough to get a more prominent spot in the pecking order. Through 26.2 innings this season, he's delivered a 3.04 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 29:8 K:BB.

Springer went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's win over the Twins.

The veteran outfielder took Bailey Ober deep in the sixth inning, a no-doubter to left-center field that traveled 435 feet. Springer has started four straight games since Andres Gimenez returned from the IL, three at DH and one in right field, but his playing time figures to take a slight hit at some point as manager John Schneider also tries to find room for the red-hot Addison Barger and Ernie Clement in a suddenly crowded Blue Jays lineup. Springer's recent power binge should help keep him in the lineup -- over his last eight games, he's batting .276 (8-for-29) with four of his nine homers on the season.