MLB Player News

The Rays activated Mangum (groin) off the 10-day injured list Friday, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.

The 29-year-old has been sidelined by a groin strain for over a month, but he's ready to rejoin the Rays after going 9-for-21 with four walks and a double during a six-game rehab assignment. Mangum wasn't expected to be a factor for Tampa Bay to begin the season, but he took advantage of the club's outfield injuries and started his MLB career with a strong .338/.384/.397 slash line and eight steals in his first 21 games.

The Rays optioned Simpson to Triple-A Durham on Friday, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.

The 24-year-old speedster enjoyed a strong start to his big-league career with a .285 batting average, 19 steals, 11 RBI and 17 runs in his first 35 games, but he's being demoted Friday with Jake Mangum (groin) making his return from the injured list. It's likely only a matter of time before Simpson rejoins the Rays this season, but for now he'll return to Durham, where he may focus on improving his defense after posting minus-5 DRS and minus-3 OAA in 284 outfield innings.

Clase went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and a stolen base in Thursday's rout of the A's.

Getting the start in left field and batting eighth, Clase continued to flash impressive on-base skills while stealing his third bag in three attempts over 12 games in the majors this season. The 23-year-old outfielder has hit safely in each of his last six games dating back to May 18, batting .500 (8-for-16) with three RBI, four runs and a 5:3 BB:K.

Guerrero went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Thursday's rout of the A's.

The majestic second-inning blast over the left-field fence came off Jacob Lopez, and while it only traveled 399 feet, the ball reached a height of 136 feet after leaving Guerrero's bat with an eye-popping launch angle of 37 degrees. It was Guerrero's eighth homer of the year and his fourth in the last 14 games -- a stretch in which he's slashing .240/.367/.480 with six RBI, nine runs and a 9:4 BB:K.

Springer went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Thursday's 12-0 win over the A's.

Springer launched Toronto's fourth homer of the game in just the third inning Thursday, a 376-foot shot off Anthony Maldonado to extend the Jays' lead to 11-0. It's the sixth home run this season for Springer, who'd gone just 1-for-15 in his previous six contests. Still, it's been a strong bounce-back campaign thus far for the veteran outfielder -- Springer's slashing .250/.367/.445 with 26 runs scored, 19 RBI and seven stolen bases across 196 plate appearances.

Shuster will work as the opener Friday in Baltimore, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

The game got pushed up a few hours due to inclement weather, so Shuster is going to give primary pitcher Sean Burke more time to get ready. Shuster has been back and forth between Triple-A and the majors a couple times this month, and he has a 1.93 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and 3:2 K:BB in 4.2 innings over his three most recent appearances with the big club.

Burke will follow opener Jared Shuster for Friday's game in Baltimore, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Friday's game is getting pushed up a few hours and will start at 4:30 p.m. due to a poor weather forecast later in the night. Burke has been stingy in May with a 2.67 ERA in 27 innings, but he has a 19:19 K:BB and 1.44 WHIP over that span. He is coming off his best outing of the year, as he picked up a win while striking out a season-high six in six innings of one-run ball against Texas.

Briceno went 4-for-4 with three home runs, a double, four runs, five RBI and a stolen base Thursday for High-A West Michigan.

The steal was of home, to put an exclamation point on a massive performance. Briceno is hitting .429 with six home runs, seven walks and just two strikeouts over his last eight games, so a promotion to Double-A could be coming soon. The lefty-hitting 20-year-old has made more starts at first base (14) than catcher (12) this year and could eventually lose catcher eligibility. He has a .268/.383/.610 slash line with 11 home runs and a 19.5 percent strikeout rate in 34 games, good for a 169 wRC+.

Bichette went 2-for-4 with a homer, three RBI and an additional run scored in Thursday's 12-0 win over the A's.

After smacking a pinch-hit home run Wednesday, Bichette extended Toronto's lead to 10-0 in the third inning Thursday with a two-run blast off Anthony Maldonado, the shortstop's sixth long ball of the year. Following an 0-for-15 stretch, Bichette has gone 4-for-9 with four extra-base hits in his last three contests. He's slashing .277/.324/.426 with 30 RBI, 25 runs scored and four stolen bases across 253 plate appearances this year.

Miller (elbow) is expected to make his return from the 15-day injured list to start Saturday's game against the Twins, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.

After spending about two weeks recovering from right elbow inflammation, Miller will avoid a rehab assignment and instead jump right back into Seattle's rotation. It's unclear if the 26-year-old right-hander will have any workload limitations Saturday, but he'll square off with a Minnesota offense that's struggled lately as he tries to improve his 5.22 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 35:21 K:BB on the season. Miller will be taking the rotation spot of Logan Evans, who was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday.