MLB Player News

Munoz (back) will be available to pitch in Tuesday's game against Baltimore, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Munoz made an early exit from Sunday's contest due to back tightness, but he's been given a clean bill of health ahead of Tuesday's contest. The 27-year-old has recorded a team-high 10 saves on the season but hasn't been particularly reliable while doing so, logging a 5.92 ERA and 1.44 WHIP across 24.1 innings.

General manager Justin Hollander said Tuesday that Brash was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain in his right lat, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.

Brash has suffered multiple right lat strains this season, though Hollander noted that his latest injury is in a different spot than the one that kept him out for three weeks in May. He also said that the 28-year-old righty is facing a longer stint on the IL this time around and is likely to return sometime around late July or early August. Until then, Jose Ferrer, Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo figure to work more often in high-leverage situations.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Tuesday that Ragans remains shut down from throwing while continuing to experience elbow symptoms, and the left-hander will be evaluated by another doctor later this week, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Ragans had a throwing session halted Friday since his arm wasn't feeling great, and it appears there still isn't a clear explanation for what he's currently dealing with. The 28-year-old landed on the injured list in early May due to pitcher's elbow. Ragans' status should be updated within the next few days as he continues to be evaluated.

Crochet (shoulder/lat) began throwing a plyometric ball Tuesday as the first step of his throwing program, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

The left-hander is expected to work with the plyo ball for about a week before potentially progressing to a baseball. Crochet continues to work his way back from shoulder inflammation and a lat strain and isn't expected to rejoin the Red Sox until after the All-Star break.

Baltimore optioned Nunez to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday.

Nunez was last in action on Sunday, when he pitched one scoreless inning against San Diego. On the campaign, the right-hander has posted a 4.98 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 38:14 K:BB through 34.1 innings. The 24-year-old will head down to Norfolk to make room for Ryan Helsley on the active roster.

The Orioles activated Helsley (elbow) from the 15-day injured list Tuesday.

Helsley wound up being sidelined for seven weeks with right elbow inflammation. He struck out five of seven batters faced over two scoreless rehab innings with Triple-A Norfolk and should slide right back into the closer role in Baltimore. Helsley posted a 2.53 ERA and 15:7 K:BB over 10.2 frames while notching seven saves before he got injured.

Sands underwent an MRI on Friday that showed healing in his injured forearm, though inflammation was still present, MLB.com reports.

The Twins placed Sands on the 15-day injured list May 2 due to what the team described as a mild right forearm strain, resulting in the reliever being shut down from throwing for a couple of weeks. He made enough progress to begin a minor-league rehab assignment June 2, only to be returned to Minnesota after his forearm bothered him during his lone appearance with Triple-A St. Paul. While Sands appears to have avoided any sort of major setback, the Twins will once again have him pause his throwing program to allow the inflammation to dissipate. He now appears unlikely to return from the IL until at least early July.

Kriske (shoulder) began a throwing progression Thursday, MLB.com reports.

Kriske landed on the injured list May 13 due to a right shoulder impingement and had previously been shut down from throwing. Beginning a throwing progression is a step in the right direction, though it's just the first of many as the right-hander works his way back to full health. Having been transferred to the 60-day injured list June 2, Kriske isn't eligible to be activated until after the All-Star break.

Gomez picked up the save in Monday's 4-2 win over the Rangers. He allowed no hits or walks while striking out one over 1.1 innings.

Gomez entered with a two-run lead and two outs in the eighth inning and went on to convert a four-out save on 15 pitches without issue. It marked the seventh save of the season for the 26-year-old, who has emerged as the Twins' top option at closer. Since being traded from the Rays on May 6, Gomez has posted a 1.53 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 21:7 K:BB with six saves across 17.2 innings.

Teng (3-6) took the loss against Detroit on Monday, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out nine batters over 3.1 innings.

It's not often that a starter has dominant swing-and-miss stuff and still gets crushed, but that's exactly what happened to Teng on Monday. The right-hander racked up 14 whiffs on 81 pitches, and nine of the 10 outs he recorded came on strikeouts, but everything else about his line was ugly. Teng served up three long balls, hit two batters and logged his shortest start since becoming fully stretched out as part of the rotation. He seemed to be settling in as a starter over the second half of May, posting a 1.69 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over his final three starts of that month. However, the wheels have fallen off since the calendar turned to June. In three starts this month, Teng has allowed a whopping 17 runs (14 earned) across 12.1 frames.