MLB Player News

Interim manager Chad Tracy said Friday that Crochet (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session this weekend and live batting practice early next week, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Crochet has been sidelined since April 25 due to left shoulder inflammation, but he continues to check boxes in his rehab process and appears to be nearing a return to Boston's rotation. It's unclear if Crochet will go out on a rehab assignment or if the Red Sox will simply use live BP and simulated games to get his arm built back up for starts. It's been a rough start to the 2026 campaign for Crochet, who owns a 6.30 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 37:11 K:BB across his first 30 innings.

The Guardians optioned Heuer to Triple-A Columbus on Friday.

With Peyton Pallette back from paternity leave, Heuer will return to Columbus, where he owns a 2.57 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 12:7 K:BB across 14 innings. He's pitched in two games for Cleveland this season, allowing one run on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts covering 2.2 innings.

The Guardians activated Pallette from the paternity list Friday.

The rookie right-hander rejoins the Cleveland bullpen after spending the previous three days with his family. He owns a 5.49 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 21:13 K:BB across 19.2 innings this season.

The Royals announced Friday that Ragans (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.

Ragans has been sidelined since May 6 with an elbow impingement but has been throwing bullpen sessions for the past week. He's now ready to face live hitters in a game setting and shouldn't need more than one or two rehab starts before rejoining the Royals' rotation. The left-hander has a 4.84 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 45:23 K:BB across 35.1 innings this season. Ragans has elite swing-and-miss stuff, but his 15.2 percent walk rate is in just the sixth percentile leaguewide, while opponents also have a sky-high 15.7 percent barrel rate against Ragans.

Akin will serve as the opener ahead of Chris Bassitt for Friday's game against the Tigers, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Akin opened ahead of Bassitt on May 10 against the Athletics and pitched one inning, recording a pair of strikeouts. The left-hander has produced an unsightly 13.50 ERA, 1.96 WHIP and 8:2 K:BB across 8.2 innings with the big-league club this season.

The Astros selected Santa's contract from Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday.

To make room for the 23-year-old on the big-league roster, Jayden Murray was optioned to Triple-A. Santa will be looking to make his MLB debut during the Astros' weekend series at Wrigley Field. In 18 games with Sugar Land this season, he logged a 2.37 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 24:7 K:BB across 19 innings.

The Rangers signed Ross to a minor-league contract Friday, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.

Ross was released from his minor-league deal with the Diamondbacks earlier this week after he'd posted an ugly 19.64 ERA across three MLB games. In 12 games with Triple-A Reno, the veteran right-hander logged a 4.29 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 12:5 K:BB across 21 innings. Ross will provide organizational depth with Texas.

Kuhnel (1-1) earned the win in Thursday's 3-2 victory over the Angels. He allowed a hit and a walk with no strikeouts over a scoreless inning.

Kuhnel entered with the game tied in the ninth inning and allowed two Angels to reach base, but he was able to work out of the jam and send the contest to extra innings, before the Athletics pushed across the winning run in the 10th. The right-hander has been solid this season and has put himself in the high-leverage mix, though he hasn't been given a save situation since April 20. Overall, Kuhnel owns a 2.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 10:5 K:BB with four saves and three holds across 18.2 innings.

Macko (1-0) gave up a hit and struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings of relief Thursday to record the win over the Yankees.

Braydon Fisher worked 1.1 scoreless frames as the opener before passing the torch to Macko in what ended up being a 2-0 combined shutout for the Blue Jays staff. It was the 25-year-old southpaw's first win in his third MLB appearance, and through three innings Macko has yet to give up a run with a 3:0 K:BB.

Miles is viewed as purely a short-term option for the rotation by the Blue Jays, and manager John Schneider said after Thursday's game that the organization has "off ramps" in mind to return the right-hander to the bullpen, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

Toronto appears to have found a gem in the Rule 5 pick, as Miles has a 2.17 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 29:8 K:BB over his first 29 MLB innings. That's already more than double his prior career innings total as a professional, however, as the 25-year-old has struggled to stay healthy since being a fourth-round pick of the Giants in 2022. Miles is plugging a hole in the rotation for now, but the organization doesn't want to over-extend him, and the projected June returns of Max Scherzer (forearm/thumb/ankle) and Shane Bieber (elbow) would provide those "off ramps" to get the rookie back to a sheltered long relief role.