MLB Player News

Lewis (hamstring) is expected to begin a rehab assignment later this week, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.

Lewis did sprints Monday and ran the bases Tuesday to test out his left hamstring, coming out of the workouts with no issues. He's also been doing on-field batting practice and infield drills for a couple weeks. It's not clear how many rehab games Lewis will require, but he looks to be tracking toward an early May season debut.

Perkins (lat) is on the 7-day injured list with Triple-A Las Vegas.

There was a transaction on March 20 where Double-A Midland reinstated Perkins, but he was then assigned to Triple-A on March 28 and has yet to make his season debut. Assuming he is still dealing with a lat injury, Perkins could be cleared in the coming days/weeks. Arguably Oakland's top pitching prospect, Perkins could spend a decent amount of this summer in the big-league rotation if he gets healthy.

Jung is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Padres.

It's southpaw Kyle Hart on the mound for the Padres, so the left-handed-hitting Jung will begin the festivities on the bench. Andy Ibanez will play third base and bat cleanup for Detroit.

Keith is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Padres.

It's the first time this season that Keith has been out of the lineup two days in a row, although this one isn't a surprise since the Padres are sending lefty Kyle Hart to the bump. Spencer Torkelson will handle first base and bat fifth for the Tigers.

Carpenter is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Padres.

Carpenter returned to action Tuesday after missing a game with a hamstring injury, but he's back on the bench Wednesday as the Padres send southpaw Kyle Hart to the bump. Justyn-Henry Malloy is at designated hitter and batting leadoff for the Tigers.

Smith took flyballs in center field prior to Monday's game against the Blue Jays and the Astros are considering using him at the position, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Smith has exceeded expectations with how well he's taken to right field, a position he had never played before. The transition has been so seamless that the team is mulling using Smith in center field on days when it's looking to inject more offense into the lineup. The idea of Smith playing center field "is in its infancy," per Rome, and may never happen, but if it does, Zach Dezenzo would likely play right field those days, with Jake Meyers on the bench.

The Twins are expected to activate Lopez (hamstring) from the 15-day injured list to have him make a start during their weekend series versus the Angels in Minnesota, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Though Lopez is eligible to come off the IL for Thursday's series finale versus the White Sox, the Twins are listing Chris Paddack as their scheduled starter for that day, which implies that Lopez won't be activated until at least Friday. Lopez looked sharp in his lone rehab start with Triple-A St. Paul this past Saturday, covering 4.2 innings and striking out four batters while allowing one earned run on three hits and no walks.

Estevez was charged with a blown save after allowing three runs on one hit and three walks Tuesday against the Rockies. He did not record a strikeout.

Estevez was brought in for the ninth inning to protect a two-run lead. He got two outs on just four pitches but then proceeded to load the bases with three straight walks, and Jacob Stallings made him pay with a bases-clearing double. The Royals were able to get a run back in the ninth to send the game to extras and save Estevez from a loss, but Estevez has now issued a walk in three straight appearances and has an unsightly 1:5 K:BB in four innings over that span. For the season, he owns a 3.27 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 10:9 K:BB in 11 innings.

Bubic did not factor into the decision in Tuesday's win over the Rockies, allowing just four hits and striking out six over seven scoreless innings. He did not issue a walk.

Bubic lowered his ERA to 1.45, which is currently ninth best in all of baseball. He racked up 14 whiffs and was all over the strike zone with 62 strikes on 91 pitches. Tuesday marked the first time he's reached seven innings since the 2022 season. Bubic will have a chance to complete a two-start week when he takes on the Astros this weekend.

Rafaela went 2-for-3 with a walk, two stolen bases and two runs scored in Tuesday's 8-3 win over the Mariners.

Rafaela was back in the lineup after getting a day off Monday. The free-swinging Rafaela has put together a few good at-bats recently, but overall he's batting just .229 with a .622 OPS through 22 games this season. The two steals give him six for the year, tying him for the team lead with Jarren Duran and Trevor Story.