MLB Player News

Junis is expected to be recalled and start the second game of Sunday's doubleheader against the Mariners, Pete Grathoff of The Kansas City Star reports.

Teams are allowed to add a 26th man on days when there is a doubleheader, and it looks like Junis will be that guy. The right-hander has bounced between levels this season, making a combined total of 18 starts for Triple-A Omaha and the Royals. Junis has been strong in his role with Omaha, managing a 2.92 ERA over 71 innings.

Manager Bob Melvin said Mengden (ribs) has started a rehab assignment at Oakland's spring training complex in Arizona, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Mengden made his return to action with the team's rookie-league affiliate Friday night, tossing two scoreless innings while racking up three strikeouts on 81 pitches. Despite the positive step in his recovery, the 24-year-old still has a ways to go before he's able to return to regular action with Triple-A Nashville, as he hadn't pitched since tossing 4.2 innings in a start for the A's on June 3.

Diekman (abdomen) threw 31 pitches during a simulated game Saturday, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Diekman admitted to feeling fatigued afterward, but nevertheless he cleared the hurdle -- perhaps his final hurdle before heading out for a rehab assignment. He could join Double-A Frisco as soon as Tuesday if his arm responds well. The lefty underwent three operations earlier this year to address ulcerative colitis.

Coulombe (2-2) failed to record an out in the seventh inning of Friday's 8-6 loss to the Angels, allowing three earned runs on three walks.

Coulombe simply couldn't find the strike zone, throwing just three of his 15 pitches for strikes and blowing a 6-4 lead. The stumble snapped an 11-appearance scoreless streak for the southpaw and raised his ERA from 2.43 to 3.16. It also marked the first multi-walk outing for the usually sharp Coulombe, who continues to see plenty of work as a lefty specialist.

Alvarado, just recalled from Triple-A Durham earlier Friday, struck out the side in the ninth inning of a 2-0 loss to the Brewers.

The outing was literally perfect, as Alvarado struck out each of the three batters he faced on a minimum three pitches apiece. The 22-year-old had given up five earned runs over 1.1 innings in his last three appearances before being sent down in late June, so it remains to seen if he worked out some of his issues during his recent stay with the Bulls.

Santiago (back) will make his next rehab start Wednesday, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The Twins will keep Santiago down with Triple-A Rochester for one more start, and they will give him one additional day of rest between outings after he threw 92 pitches Thursday. As things stand now, Santiago appears in line to rejoin the Minnesota rotation Aug. 15 against the Indians.

Lopez could join the big-league rotation Friday against the Royals, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports.

He will start Sunday for Triple-A Charlotte, and if all goes well, it sounds like he will make his next start as a member of the big-league rotation. Lopez has a 3.65 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 122 strikeouts in 116 innings this year and has allowed two or fewer runs in seven straight starts, striking out at least 10 in three of those outings. He is worth an add in deep mixed leagues and should have already been rostered in AL-only formats.

Santiago (back) will make another rehab start for Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The expectation was that Santiago would rejoin the Twins following Thursday's rehab outing -- after all, he built up to 92 pitches during that start -- but the Twins have decided to keep the lefty down for a fourth turn. With that, Aug. 13 now appears the most likely return date for Santiago. He has been out since early July with upper-back pain.

Kelly (hamstring) was reinstated from the DL on Saturday, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports.

Kelly wound up being sidelined for three weeks, and he hasn't pitched in a major-league game since July 9. Throughout the course of the 2017 season, the right-hander has posted a sparkling 1.49 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 36.1 innings. Kelly figures to reside in high-leverage situations upon his return, although Addison Reed may be in line to work the eighth-inning setup role for Craig Kimbrel.

Valdez (1-1) coughed up six runs on six hits and two walks over 3.1 innings in Friday's 16-7 loss to the Astros. He struck out one.

The right-hander was hardly alone in his struggles on the night -- Houston's offense scored at least one run against every Toronto pitcher it faced, and homered off five of the six -- but Valdez has now had two awful starts in a row, leaving him with a 7.63 ERA and putting his spot in the rotation in serious jeopardy. If the team doesn't make a move to replace him, his next trip to the mound would come Wednesday at home against another potent offense in the Yankees.