MLB Player News

Cole (elbow) threw on flat ground again Saturday, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the session went "really well," Max Goodman of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Cole has been playing catch on flat ground for about three weeks, extending his throwing distance up to 120 feet. Boone indicated early last week that the ace hurler is getting close to throwing off a mound, and that could happen as soon as this week. If Cole continues to progress without setbacks, he could feasibly be ready to join the Yankees' rotation when he's eligible to come off the 60-day IL in late May.

After Monday's game against the Cardinals was postponed due to inclement weather, Maeda will start in Wednesday's contest, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The Tigers will roll with Jack Flaherty in the first game Tuesday, while Matt Manning is pencilled in to start the second contest as the 27th man. Maeda holds an 0-1 record over five starts this season, posting a 5.96 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 17:7 K:BB over 22.2 frames.

Trevino is not in the starting lineup for Monday's matchup against Baltimore.

Trevino had a big game in New York's 15-5 rout of the Brewers on Sunday, going 2-for-4 with a run and three RBI. However, he's ceding the start behind the plate to Austin Wells on Monday. Trevino has put up far better offensive numbers this season, but Wells continues to get slightly more playing time -- over New York's past eight games, Wells has started behind the plate on five occasions while Trevino has gotten three starts.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said that Duran (oblique) will likely be activated from the 15-day injured list Tuesday, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Duran has rejoined the Twins in Chicago following a pair of minor-league rehab appearances. While he won't be activated prior to Monday's series opener versus the White Sox, Duran looks like he just needed one additional day of recovery after making his most recent rehab appearance Saturday. Baldelli didn't say whether Duran would immediately regain his closer job or be eased back in upon his reinstatement, but fantasy managers should probably go ahead and activate the hard thrower for this week so as not to miss out on any potential saves he might net.

Following Sunday's loss to the Twins, the Angels optioned Kristofak to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Kristofak closed out the last two innings of Sunday's game, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out two batters. The right-hander will head back down to Triple-A, where he has appeared in six games and has posted a 3.38 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over 18.2 frames. The move corresponds with right-hander Davis Daniel being recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday.

The Angels selected Tucker's contract Monday.

After being let go by the Mariners in spring training, Tucker caught on with the Angels on a minor-league contract April 10. The 27-year-old played well with Triple-A Salt Lake, slashing .333/.462/.500 with two doubles, one home run and five RBI while drawing eight walks over 40 plate appearances in the minors. To make room for Tucker, the Angels designated Aaron Hicks for assignment. Tucker will see major-league action immediately, as he's starting at DH and batting seventh against Phillies southpaw Cristopher Sanchez for Monday's contest, per Erica Weston of Bally Sports West.

Volpe went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, an additional run scored, a stolen base and two walks in Sunday's 15-5 rout over Milwaukee.

After a scorching start to the season, Volpe had fallen back a bit in the second half of April, as he came into Sunday batting .157 with no homers and a 30.9 percent strikeout rate over 12 games since April 15. He turned things around -- at least temporarily -- by reaching four times against Milwaukee on Sunday, with his fifth-inning three-run homer opening the floodgates for a Yankees offensive outburst late in the contest. Despite his recent slump, Volpe still has strong overall numbers on the campaign -- he's slashing .282/.368/.418 with three home runs, 13 RBI, 20 runs and seven stolen bases through 126 plate appearances.

The Angels designated Hicks for assignment Monday.

Hicks has had a rough start to the season, slashing .140/.222/.193 with one home run and five RBI. Over his last seven appearances, Hicks has gone 1-for-19 with two runs, one RBI, two walks and eight strikeouts. In a corresponding move, the Angels selected the contract of Cole Tucker.

The Angels recalled Daniel from Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday.

Daniel was optioned to Triple-A during spring training. He's started in five games with Salt Lake, going 0-3 while recording a 6.08 ERA, 1.81 WHIP and 26:8 K:BB over 23.2 innings. To make room for Daniel in the bullpen, the Angels optioned right-hander Zac Kristofak to Triple-A Salt Lake following Sunday's loss to the Twins.

Perez was scratched from Monday's lineup versus the Blue Jays due to back tightness, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Perez had been slated to catch and bat cleanup, but now Freddy Fermin will be behind the plate and Nelson Velazquez will move up to the cleanup spot. Consider Perez day-to-day.