MLB Player News

Cruz (1-0) earned the win over the Athletics on Tuesday, walking two batters and striking out one over 1.1 hitless and scoreless innings.

Cruz threw only 10 of 20 pitches for strikes and walked two batters in the eighth inning, but he fanned Max Muncy to get out of that frame unscathed. The righty reliever moved in line for the victory when New York struck for four runs in the bottom of the eighth. Cruz has been working in a setup role in front of closer David Bednar and has recorded three holds through six appearances. He's pitched 4.2 frames, allowing one run while posting a 7:4 K:BB.

Avila is available to pitch out of the Royals' bullpen beginning Wednesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Avila struggled in a spot start Saturday versus the Brewers, yielding five runs on eight hits and three walks in three innings. There's no longer a need for him in the rotation, but with the Royals' bullpen a bit short-handed, Avila will help out in relief for now rather than rejoin the rotation at Triple-A Omaha.

Rojas (personal) will start at shortstop and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.

Rojas had been slated to start at shortstop in Tuesday's 4-1 win, but he ended up being scratched shortly before the game after learning of the sudden passing of his father. Though Rojas is back with the Dodgers and in the lineup Wednesday, he could go on bereavement list at some point in the coming days to tend to the personal matter.

The Mariners transferred Vargas (lat) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.

The transaction will clear a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of outfielder/first baseman Connor Joe, who was called up from Triple-A Tacoma. Vargas has been out all season while recuperating from a right lat strain and now won't be eligible to return until late May. It's not clear whether Vargas has resumed throwing or remains shut down.

The Mariners placed Robles on the 10-day injured list Wednesday due to a right pectoral strain.

Robles had served as Seattle's fourth outfielder to begin the season, starting in four of the team's first 12 games while going 3-for-13 with a double, a stolen base and an RBI. According to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, Robles suffered the pec injury while making longer throws to the bases from the outfield as he was warming up prior to Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Rangers. Seattle called up Connor Joe from Triple-A Tacoma in a corresponding move to provide the bench with another right-handed-hitting option while Robles is on the shelf.

The Mariners selected Joe's contract from Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday.

He'll assume the roster spot vacated by Victor Robles (pectoral), who landed on the 10-day injured list. The right-handed-hitting Joe has a solid .247/.344/.401 career batting line versus left-handed pitching and should see some playing time versus southpaws with the Mariners.

Lindor went 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored Tuesday against the Diamondbacks.

Lindor helped spark the New York offense Tuesday, scoring the game's first run on a Brett Baty sacrifice fly in the first inning before doubling to right field an inning later, which led to another run crossing on a throwing error. The star shortstop has now recorded multi-hit performances in two of his last four games, a positive sign after a slow start to the season. Despite the recent uptick, Lindor's still slashing just .167/.340/.286 with a 10:9 BB:K across 53 plate appearances, though his track record of 95 home runs, 275 RBI and 91 stolen bases over the last three seasons suggests he's likely to heat up as the year progresses.

The Rays recalled Scholtens from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday.

Scholtens will give the club an extra bullpen arm while Drew Rasmussen is away on paternity leave. The 32-year-old Scholtens got into two games for the Rays last season, allowing seven runs (five earned) over 8.1 innings but also notching 12 strikeouts.

The Rays placed Rasmussen (personal) on the paternity list Wednesday.

Rasmussen had been slated to start Tuesday's game against the Cubs, but he ended up being scratched hours before first pitch after his wife went into labor sooner than anticipated. Tampa Bay didn't have a player available to replace Rasmussen on the roster Tuesday and opted to wait until Wednesday to deactivate him, with Jesse Scholtens now being recalled from Triple-A Durham in a corresponding move. Rasmussen will rejoin the Rays no later than Saturday, and he'll likely be in line to make a start at some point during the team's weekend home series versus the Yankees.

Gasser hasn't made an appearance for Triple-A Nashville since March 27 while dealing with muscle soreness in his left biceps and triceps, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The injury may explain why the Brewers didn't recall Gasser and instead opted to promote Shane Drohan from Triple-A to make a spot start Wednesday against the Red Sox, after a doubleheader last week forced Milwaukee to temporarily expand its rotation to six men. Gasser hasn't been placed on Nashville's injured list and appears to be making good strides in his recovery, with Hogg noting that the southpaw is scheduled to throw a bullpen session at some point this week.