MLB Player News

Kansas City recalled Klein from Triple-A Omaha on Friday.

The 24-year-old righty will rejoin the Royals after being optioned down in late April, while southpaw Daniel Lynch gets sent down to Omaha in a corresponding move. Klein has seen just one inning with Kansas City this year and logged two strikeouts with no runs allowed.

The Rays selected Sterner's contract from Triple-A Durham on Friday.

The right-hander has a 3.60 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 33:8 K:BB over 25 innings for Durham this year to earn his first taste of the big leagues. Sterner should fill a low-leverage bullpen role for the Rays.

The Rays optioned Alexander to Triple-A Durham on Friday, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

It was just two weeks ago that Alexander flirted with a perfect game in Toronto, but that outing sticks out like a sore thumb on his game log. The lefty allowed four runs over 4.2 frames versus the Athletics on Thursday to push his ERA on the season up to 6.19. With Zach Eflin (back) poised to rejoin the Rays' rotation soon, Alexander has lost his spot.

Manoah will receive a second opinion on his injured right elbow, but the expectation is that he's going to be sidelined for an extended period of time, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

Manoah was forced from his last outing Wednesday against the White Sox in the second inning due to discomfort in his pitching elbow. He underwent an MRI on Thursday, and it would appear the results of that exam were not favorable. Manoah has not yet been placed on the injured list, but that looks to be inevitable. Bowden Francis (forearm) is slated to return soon and is an option to take Manoah's rotation spot.

Mahle (elbow) threw a bullpen session off a game mound May 18, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

According to Grant, Mahle took the mound for biomechanical evaluation, so it's not entirely clear if he's at a point in his rehab from May 2023 Tommy John surgery where he's regularly throwing bullpen sessions, or if the Rangers simply wanted to get a quick gauge of his progress. In any case, Mahle is unlikely to be cleared for game action until after the All-Star break, and he's expected to require an extended minor-league rehab assignment before he's activated from the 60-day injured list.

Rodriguez (back) struck out one and allowed two hits and two walks over 1.2 scoreless innings in his latest rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Buffalo.

Making his second rehab appearance for Buffalo, Rodriguez was lifted after just 16 pitches in what was apparently a pre-planned arrangement, per MLB.com. Rodriguez is scheduled to start again for Buffalo on Friday and is expected to work multiple innings, but he'll still likely require at least one more rehab outing beyond that before the Blue Jays bring him back from the 15-day injured list. Prior to landing on the IL on April 30 with thoracic spine inflammation, Rodriguez had been working as a tandem starter with Bowden Francis (forearm), who is also on the IL but is expected to be activated this weekend. Alek Manoah has since taken over the No. 5 spot in the rotation, but after Manoah exited Wednesday's start with an elbow injury that required an MRI, he could be in danger of landing on the IL. If that ends up being the case, the Rodriguez/Francis tandem pairing could soon be called upon again.

Francis (forearm) struck out five over 3.2 innings in a rehab outing with Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday. He gave up one unearned run on one hit and one walk.

Francis made what was likely the fourth and final appearance of his rehab assignment and should be ready to return from the 15-day injured list this weekend. Shortly before he was shelved with right forearm extensor tendinitis in late April, Francis had been working out of the bullpen as a tandem starter with Yariel Rodriguez (back), but with Rodriguez joining Francis on the IL soon thereafter, Alek Manoah got a chance to reclaim the No. 5 spot in the rotation. Manoah exited his latest start Wednesday with right elbow discomfort, and if he ends up requiring an IL stint of his own, Francis could re-emerge as a rotation option in his return to the Blue Jays.

Kwan (hamstring) went 1-for-2 with an RBI, two walks, three runs scored and a stolen base in a rehab game with Triple-A Columbus on Thursday.

After two games with High-A Lake County, Kwan moved his rehab to Columbus earlier this week. He was on base three times Thursday in his second game with the Guardians' top minor-league affiliate and added a steal for good measure, showing good confidence in his hamstring. The 26-year-old appears poised to return to the major-league lineup in the near future, possibly as soon as Friday against Washington, and will look to pick up where he left off before going down after posting a .353/.407/.496 slash line over his first 32 games this season.

Medina (knee) returned to the Athletics following his latest rehab start with Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday and could be activated during this weekend's series with Atlanta, MLB.com reports.

The right-hander has plunked four batters and pitched to plenty of contact on his rehab assignment, allowing 14 hits over eight innings, but Medina topped out at 100.2 mph and averaged 97 mph with his fastball in his Tuesday start. He then proceeded to throw a bullpen session prior to Thursday's extra-innings loss to the Rays, setting him up for activation at some point this weekend. Whether Medina will immediately slot into an injury-riddled Athletics rotation remains to be seen.

Caballero went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, two runs scored and a stolen base Thursday against the Athletics.

This line is indicative of Caballero's skill set, as he's striking out at a 29.3 percent clip and has just a .306 on-base percentage. However, he has already racked up 20 stolen bases, only the second player to hit that mark at this point in the campaign. Caballero's playing time could be in danger upon the return of Taylor Walls (hip), but for now, he fills a key role for both the Rays and fantasy managers.