Austin Voth signs contract to pitch in Korea

Hicks’ homers are rarely bombs, but he drilled a Jack Perkins pitch 401 feet to right center today. It was the fourth time in 830 career plate appearances that he’d hit a ball 400 feet. Hicks is batting .308/.438/.654 with two homers and nine RBI in eight games since joining the Rays.

It’s certainly not one of Rasmussen’s better lines this year, but he did what he needed to do after getting handed a nice lead in a really tough ballpark for pitchers in Sacramento. Rasmussen’s velocity was down about one mph on all of his pitches today, which probably played a role in him finishing with just three strikeouts. He should get an extra day of rest next time out before taking on the Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Perkins took the loss to fall to 2-0 with a 7.26 ERA. It seems like time for the A’s to give someone else a try, but if not, he’ll face the Royals on Tuesday.

DeLuca mostly plays against lefties, but he got a start with Chandler Simpson resting today. He actually has a better OPS against righties than lefties this year (.776 to .731), but the Rays haven’t truly bought in. If typical form holds, he’ll start against the one lefty and probably one of the three righties the Orioles throw in their upcoming four-game series.

Gelof has two homers in three games since coming off the IL. His exit velocity numbers this season aren’t nearly as impressive as his .280/.331/.502 line, but the fantastic home ballpark has helped quite a bit; he’s hitting .321/.362/.593 with 10 homers at home and .222/.287/.374 with three homers on the road.

Devenski posted a strong 2.16 ERA across 16 2/3 innings for the Mets last year. The 35-year-old journeyman reliever was cut loose by the Pirates last week after missing three months due to an undisclosed illness. He’s merely emergency organizational relief depth at this stage of his career.

Leiter is aiming for roughly 40-45 pitches during his first rehab outing since undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his right ankle back in late June. There’s a decent chance he’s ready to rejoin the Rangers’ rotation by late August or early September.

Vitello added that Adames will sit out Friday’s series opener against the Rockies in an effort to put a lingering back problem to bed. The issue flared up and led to his removal from the late stages of Wednesday’s series finale against the Astros. The 30-year-old shortstop has been dealing with back spasms for a couple weeks at this juncture. It’s impossible to completely rule out a trip to the injured list, especially given everything we know about persistent back issues, but it sounds like Adames will be ready to return this weekend.

Teel told reporters afterwards that it was his first time hitting since landing on the injured list with a high ankle sprain back in late July. The 24-year-old backstop was given a 6-12 week return timetable, which puts him back in Chicago at some pint in early-to-mid September, if everything goes according to plan with his rehabilitation process.

Tracy added that they’re waiting to see how Crochet’s shoulder responds before increasing his throwing distance. With just over six weeks left in the season, it seems highly unlikely that he’ll be stretched out enough to start for the Red Sox before the regular season concludes. However, he could potentially be built up enough to contribute as a multi-inning reliever down the home stretch. There should be a more definitive return timetable once he begins ramping up his throwing progression.