MLB Player News

Infante was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte by the White Sox on Saturday.

The move comes between games of Saturday's doubleheader with the Royals, as the team made room for Dylan Covey, who is starting Game 2. Infante had a 3.13 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with 49 strikeouts across 54.2 innings out of the White Sox bullpen in 2017, but he's allowed eight runs on 12 hits and eight walks over nine innings this season.

Fulmer (2-1) allowed four hits and three walks while striking out three over seven scoreless innings in a win over the Royals in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.

The results were pristine but the 3:3 K:BB speaks to a lack of dominance, and keep in mind Fulmer was facing the Royals, who rank dead last in baseball in run scoring. Fulmer has been prone to walks and homers so far in his young big-league career, and he will need to show more before he can be trusted in most mixed leagues. The right-hander lines up for a home start against the Twins next week.

Rodney worked around two walks in a scoreless ninth inning against the Reds on Saturday en route to his third save of the season.

Fans were buckling in for another bumpy ride after Rodney issued a four-pitch walk to the first batter he faced, but he went on to retire three of the next four, ending a streak of three straight blown save chances. Rodney was signed to be the closer and the Twins seem intent on keeping him in the role, but he can't afford many more hiccups in the immediate future, especially with Addison Reed -- who has a 2.57 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 13:4 K:BB in 14 innings -- waiting in the wings.

Barlow was recalled from Triple-A Omaha for Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader against the White Sox.

Barlow, who has served as the Royals' 26th man for two doubleheaders already this season, will be active for Game 2 on Saturday. The 25-year-old returned to the minors immediately both times and has yet to make his major-league debut. Barlow has struck out 13 and allowed one run on nine hits and seven walks over 12 innings with Omaha this season.

Scott was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday.

It's already the second time Scott has been sent down this season, and it could be a relatively short stay once again. The 23-year-old has struck out five and allowed three earned runs on six hits and one walk over 4.2 innings (three appearances) with the Orioles this season.

Covey's contract was purchased from Triple-A on Saturday and he will start Game 2 of the doubleheader against the Royals, James Fegan of The Athletic Chicago reports.

He was outrighted off the 40-man roster this offseason, but the White Sox needed a spot starter, and he will get the call with a corresponding roster move to be determined. Covey has a shiny 2.95 ERA at Triple-A, but his 5.15 FIP and below-average 18 percent strikeout rate do a better job illustrating how good he has been. He should be avoided in most formats, and could be sent back to Triple-A after the twin bill.

Manager Alex Cora feels Smith's stuff has gotten better since the start of the season, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

Smith was expected to be a trusted setup man out of the pen but has a 5.87 ERA through 7.2 innings (10 games). Some of that high ERA is skewed by early results, when Smith gave up two runs each in a pair of outings during the first week of the season. Since then, the right-hander had five scoreless outings before allowing a run Thursday. "You can see it. The slider is a lot better," said Cora. "It's just a matter of putting guys away has been difficult for him throughout the first few weeks, but we do feel that he's turning a corner." Despite the positive words from the manager, Cora's actions suggest he's still not ready to call on Smith in high-leverage situations.

Bummer pitched a third of an inning and uncorked a wild pitch in Friday's 7-4 extra-inning win over the Royals.

The wild pitch allowed Whit Merrifield to score and moved Mike Moustakas to second base, setting the stage for him to score the tying run later in the inning. If possible, the White Sox are limiting Bummer to left-handed batters only, as was the case Friday when he was brought on to face Lucas Duda. He's faced one batter in each of his last three outings. The 24-year-old southpaw is limiting lefty hitters to a .563 OPS while righties are at .839 this season.

Manaea (4-2) struck out seven and walked one in Friday's win over the Astros, allowing one unearned run on four hits in seven innings.

Manaea shut down the Astros on Friday, allowing no extra-base hits on his way to securing his third consecutive win. Manaea didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning, and thereby set a new franchise record for most consecutive innings pitched without allowing a hit at 14.1, dating back to the start before his no-hitter. The 26-year-old lefty has yet to allow more than two runs in a start and is currently holding opponents to a .134 batting average. His next start will be a matchup with the Mariners in Seattle.

Graterol gave up three runs (but just one earned) with seven strikeouts and no walks over 3.2 innings Friday in his first start of the season for Low-A Cedar Rapids.

Graterol can reach 100 mph with his fastball and had an impressive showing at rookie ball in 2017 with 45 strikeouts in 40 innings. He's an intriguing prospect and his stock could rise rapidly with a strong showing at Low-A.