MLB Player News

Banda will be recalled from Triple-A Durham on Tuesday to start against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Banda was originally expected to start one of the Rays' doubleheader games against the Orioles on Saturday, but he ultimately went unused as the 26th man after the team opted to deploy long reliever Matt Andriese instead. His 2018 big-league debut is now set for Tuesday, with the Rays placing him on the taxi squad in anticipation. One of the team's top pitching prospects, the 24-year-old Banda owns a 3.50 ERA and 44:16 K:BB across seven starts (36 innings) with the Bulls this season.

May (elbow) will move his rehab assignment to Triple-A Rochester and start Thursday against Syracuse.

May made his first rehab appearance at High-A Fort Myers on Saturday, logging three scoreless innings and striking out five as part of a 58-pitch outing. He'll likely step up his pitch count a bit Thursday as he aims to build up to a starter's workload. Since May opened the season on the 60-day disabled list, he won't be eligible to return until late May, at which point it's unlikely that he'll merit consideration for an immediate spot in the big-league rotation.

Pruitt allowed four earned runs on four hits and a walk over 3.1 innings in a blowout loss to the Orioles on Sunday. He also recorded a strikeout.

Just recalled from Triple-A Durham a day earlier, Pruitt received a rude welcome back to the big leagues. The right-hander put in a hefty workload of 68 pitches, and although he managed to avoid the long ball after starter Blake Snell and Andrew Kittredge had combined to allow four home runs, he struggled considerably in his final frame. Given the way the Rays have shuttled several bullpen pieces back and forth to Durham this season, Pruitt's current big-league tenure may not last long.

Manager Jeff Banister said he will "continue to evaluate" Moore's spot in the rotation after the left-hander was chased after three innings in Sunday's 6-1 loss to the Astros.

Moore started the game well, fanning four over the first two innings, but endured a 32-pitch, three-run third inning and was pulled by Banister after just 72 pitches. The manager said he wanted to make the change while the Rangers still had an opportunity to win, which suggests Moore has lost Banister's confidence. Moore's ERA rose to 7.82, the highest of any MLB pitcher with at least 35 innings. If he stays in the rotation, Moore's next start is expected to be Saturday on the road against the White Sox.

Kelly got the save against the Blue Jays on Sunday, allowing no baserunners with no walks or strikeouts in a clean ninth inning to close out Boston's 5-3 victory.

Manager Alex Cora was forced to get creative without the services of Craig Kimbrel and Carson Smith (rest) and starter Drew Pomeranz only lasting four innings, so Kelly ended up getting the save to close out a strong effort from Boston's bullpen -- which shut out Toronto over five innings to preserve the victory. Kelly is having a good season with a 2.33 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP over 19.1 innings, but Kimbrel is one of the most dominant closers in baseball, so Kelly is not likely to see many save opportunities aside from the occasional spot appearance.

Pomeranz didn't factor into the decision in Boston's 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays on Sunday, giving up three earned runs on five hits, striking out six and walking five before departing after four innings.

Pomeranz struggled with his control in this one, issuing five free passes that bloated his pitch count to 103, forcing an early exit from the contest after just four innings. He's only thrown 24.2 innings since coming off the disabled list with a forearm injury, but the early returns haven't been strong, as Pomeranz sports a 5.47 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP over his first five starts. He was coming off back-to-back quality starts before Sunday's game, however, and he had a 3.32 ERA in each of the past two seasons, so hopefully Pomeranz can recapture that consistency as he logs more starts.

May (elbow) covered three scoreless innings in his first rehab start for High-A Fort Myers on Saturday. He scattered three walks and a hit and struck out five.

Taking the hill for the first time in affiliated ball since 2016 after requiring Tommy John surgery last spring, May turned in a quality performance in the 58-pitch outing. He'll likely require at least two or three more starts in the minors to build up to a starter's workload before the Twins activate May from the 60-day disabled list. May appears unlikely to have a spot in the big-league rotation waiting for him once he's ready to go, so it's possible the Twins use him out of the bullpen or assign him to Triple-A Rochester.

The Rays optioned Kittredge to Triple-A Durham on Sunday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Kittredge's demotion comes shortly after he was pummeled for six runs on six hits and a walk while failing to record an out in his 24-pitch appearance during Sunday's 17-1 loss to the Orioles. Look for the Rays to bring a fresh reliever onto the 25-man roster ahead of Monday's series opener in Kansas City.

Martin (forearm) will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Frisco on Monday.

Martin, who last pitched April 30 before hitting the 10-day disabled list, may need to make a couple of appearances in the minors before the Rangers are comfortable adding him back to the active roster. Prior to allowing four runs in the April 30 outing, Martin had been one of the Rangers' top late-inning options, producing a 2.70 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over his first 15 appearances of the season.

White Sox manager Rick Renteria confirmed that Fulmer would make his next scheduled start Wednesday in Pittsburgh, Scot Gregor of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.

Fulmer's back-to-back quality starts April 23 and 28 are beginning to look like major outliers, as the 24-year-old has otherwise been tagged for 22 runs (19 earned) on 27 hits and 15 walks across 17.1 innings in his other six outings (five starts) this season. Despite failing to escape the second inning his last time out Friday against the Cubs, Fulmer hasn't lost the faith of the White Sox skipper just yet, though Renteria's patience has surely been tested. Fulmer will get another chance to prove his worth Wednesday but could be at risk of a demotion to Triple-A Charlotte if he falters again with Miguel Gonzalez (shoulder) and Carlos Rodon (shoulder) both nearing returns from the disabled list.