MLB Player News

Kittredge has already progressed to throwing bullpen sessions after missing time earlier in camp with shoulder inflammation. He’ll kick off a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk shortly after Opening Day. The 36-year-old veteran setup specialist will help bridge the gap to newly-minted Orioles closer Ryan Helsley this season.

It’s a tough break for the 26-year-old defensive wizard who was nearing a return from a bone bruise that had him shelved since April 22. He won’t be re-evaluated until after the All-Star break which means he’s going to be out for a while. If there were any concerns about the playing time for Henry Bolte once Clark returned, the runway has now been cleared.

It looks to be just a routine day off for the 34-year-old slugger. Mike Trout will function as the team’s designated hitter while Jose Siri will start in center field and will bat seventh for the Halos against Athletics’ right-hander Luis Severino.

The Red Sox plan to promote Tayron Guerrero prior to Friday’s game and needed to clear a spot on their active roster and it looks like Kelly drew the short straw this time around. The 31-year-old hurler has actually done a nice job for the Red Sox this season, registering a 3.31 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and a 14/7 K/BB ratio over 16 1/3 innings in his 17 appearances.

The Pirates needed to make a move to clear a spot on their active roster for the promotion of Esmerlyn Valdez on Friday and Cook wound up being the odd man out this time around. He’ll return to an everyday role there until his services are needed by the Pirates once again.

The 22-year-old slugger has hit .253/.381/.506 with 10 homers and 29 RBI in 194 plate appearances at Triple-A Indianapolis this season. It’s extremely unlikely that the Pirates would be promoting him to function in a part-time role, so expect him to see everyday at-bats from the jump. He has intriguing power potential, but no speed to speak of, so his fantasy value will ultimately depend on where he settles in the Pirates’ lineup.

No word yet on the corresponding move(s) that the Red Sox will make to the roster. Guerrero, 35, holds a scintillating 0.92 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and a 22/6 K/BB ratio across 19 2/3 innings in 15 appearances at Triple-A Worcester this season. He’ll bolster the club’s middle relief corps.

That means the team will need to promote someone from Triple-A St. Paul to take his place for the team’s weekend series against the Red Sox. It’s unlikely that they’ll want to bring back Royce Lewis so soon after his demotion, so it’s possible that Gabriel Gonzalez could get a cup of coffee with the big league club.

That’s a four-game sweep for Cleveland. Rocchio is hitting a rather stunning .290 with a 20/19 K/BB in 188 plate appearances. Last year, he had a 77/22 K/BB, giving him an .290 OBP that matched his career average. His OBP is .376 right now. In spite of his success, he’s continued to hit ninth for the most part. The Guardians aren’t messing with what’s working.

This one seemed poised for a different outcome early, but Cantillo was able to strand the bases loaded in a 32-pitch first inning and he allowed just three more baserunners the rest of the way. He ended the outing having allowed only two hard-hit balls and sporting a 32 percent CSW. Cantillo, who was working with Patrick Bailey for the first time today, moved to 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA, and the Guardians are 9-2 in his starts. It’d be nice if he were more efficient — he might have a couple more of those victories — but he’s proving useful anyway. He’ll face the Nationals on Tuesday.

Cade Smith and Eric Sabrowski had the day off after working the last two games, so Gaddis received his first chance to close this season and notched his fourth career save. He’s turned in five straight scoreless outings to bring his ERA down to 5.25.