MLB Player News

Manager Ned Yost indicated that he and general manager Doug Melvin would be ready to announce a decision Monday. Rick Helling, who is ready to come off the DL, could also get the nod.

Funderburk will be away from the team for up to three days. Kendry Rojas is up to take his spot on the roster.

Valera left his last start with elbow soreness, but the team said on Monday that he would not need an X-ray or MRI. A day later, he is heading for an MRI. That’s a bit concerning, considering the 19-year-old missed three months last season with an elbow issue. We could be looking at an extended absence for the Red Sox’s fifth-ranked prospect.

With Raisel Iglesias (shoulder) going on the injured list, Dodd will be called up to take his place on the roster. He won’t be the closer; that will be Robert Suarez, but Dodd will be used to fill middle relief innings.

Iglesias was surprisingly not available to close Saturday’s game, and the Braves said he slept on his arm wrong and would be fine. The veteran then returned to notch a save on Sunday night, but he walked one and gave up a hit, and didn’t look sharp. Two days later, he’s landed on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. The expectation is that this won’t be a long stint on the IL, but Michael King also “slept on his arm wrong” last year and wound up missing almost three months with a nerve issue. While Iglesias is out, Robert Suarez becomes a top-five closer option in fantasy baseball and needs to be added everywhere. Hopefully the Iglesias manager already scooped him up last week when the injury first popped up.

The 22-year-old looked great in two starts at Double-A this season, allowing one run on six hits in 10 innings with a 16/3 K/BB ratio. However, this says more about the Red Sox’s lack of starting pitching depth. With Sonny Gray (hamstring) on the injured list, and all of Kutter Crawford, Johan Oviedo, Tanner Houck, and Patrick Sandoval on the injured list, the Red Sox don’t have many starting pitching options at Triple-A. Payton Tolle is likely being called up to the big leagues to take Gray’s spot in the rotation, which leaves Jake Bennett and Tyler Uberstine as the only true starting-pitcher options at Worcester. The Red Sox will hope not to have to turn to Rivera as an option this season, but he’s now one step closer.

Boyle landed on the injured list on April 11th with an elbow strain, but the imaging revealed no structural damage. He’s begun playing catch from distance and hopes to throw a bullpen by the end of April. That could have him on a rehab assignment by the middle of May, which would be good news for the Rays since it sounds like Ryan Pepiot (hip) is nowhere near a return to the mound.

The Orioles scored their first run with two outs in the top of the ninth to turn this into an extra-inning game. Both teams went scoreless in the 10th and plated one in the 11th. In the 12th, the Orioles took a lead on a Samuel Basallo single before Taveras appeared to finish things. The Royals, though, came back with three runs before making an out in the 12th, only to sputter out afterwards. Taveras came into tonight as a lifetime .280 hitter with the bases loaded, but he’d never gone deep in 50 plate appearances. He’s been a great surprise in the early going, hitting .341/.453/.554 to take over as the Orioles’ primary center fielder. His success might get Colton Cowser demoted at some point.