MLB Player News

David Robertson's wife is past due with the couple's second child, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports.

Robertson's wife Erin tweeted that she was at the ballpark while he locked down the save against against the Yankees, his former club, Thursday. If she goes into labor in the next few days, Robertson could need to spend time on the paternity list, meaning Tommy Kahnle could fall into a save chance or two.

Devenski worked around two hits and a walk while striking out two over two scoreless innings in Thursday's 6-1 win over Oakland.

Devenski has logged 17.1 innings during the month of June, helping to shore up a rotation featuring four fill-in starters. Houston's relievers have pitched 43 percent of the innings during the month of June through Thursday's game, compared to 35 percent in April and 37 percent in May. Only once in the last 11 games has a Houston starter completed six innings. As the injured starters begin to work their way back to the lineup, manager A.J. Hinch may get a chance to give his relievers some respite.

Robertson allowed just one hit while striking out one batter in a scoreless ninth frame Thursday en route to his 12th save of the season.

Robertson was able to get back on track after allowing the go-ahead (inherited) run to score in Sunday's loss to the A's. The 32-year-old has struck out a batter in seven straight appearances, and he owns a respectable 3.18 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 42:9 K:BB in 28.1 innings this season.

Honeywell was named to the USA squad for the All-Star Futures Game in Miami on July 9, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 22-year-old right-hander has had an up-and-down season over 16 starts between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham, compiling an 8-8 record, 4.48 ERA and 1.37 WHIP across 86.1 innings. However, Honeywell remains one of the organization's brightest prospects, and his 110:25 K:BB, which partly consists of seven starts with at least eight strikeouts, serves as a prime example of his vast potential.

Puk was chosen as the Athletics' sole representative at the All-Star Futures Game in Miami on July 9, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

The towering southpaw was recently promoted to Double-A Midland and allowed three runs across seven innings in his RockHounds debut on June 19. While he was hit hard in his next start (four earned runs in one-third of an inning), Puk has impressed since being taken sixth overall in the 2016 MLB Draft, compiling an eye-popping 146 strikeouts in 101 minor-league innings along with a .197 BAA and 1.13 WHIP.

Kimbrel struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning to collect his 22nd save of the season during Thursday's win over Minnesota.

Kimbrel has allowed just two runs over 25.2 innings through 25 appearances since blowing his last save April 20. He's converted 16 consecutive saves since while striking out 46 batters during that stretch, and he now owns a dominant 1.04 ERA, 0.49 WHIP and 16.4 K/9 for the season. Continue to view Kimbrel as an elite asset.

Smith was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports.

The 28-year-old made one outing during his brief stint with the big league club, allowing one hit in a scoreless inning against the Orioles on Tuesday. Smith will now head back to Triple-A, where he has a 3.93 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP over 18.1 innings this season. The Blue Jays brought up Glenn Sparkman in a corresponding move Thursday.

Boxberger (back) was activated from the 10-day disabled list Thursday.

As expected, Boxberger will be back with the Rays for Thursday's series finale against the Pirates. The team designated Danny Farquhar for assignment following Wednesday's game in order to clear room on the roster for the reliever. Seeing as Boxberger has only pitched in 24.1 innings since the start of 2016, he'll likely be eased back into regular action before eventually working back into the setup mix ahead of closer Alex Colome.

Junis (2-2) gave up six runs on seven hits (including three homers) and three walks while striking out five over six innings in Thursday's loss to the Tigers.

Justin Upton's three-run shot put Junis in an early hole, and Junis only dug himself deeper with home runs allowed in the third and fourth innings. It hasn't been pretty for the 24-year-old Junis, who now has a 5.66 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in 35 innings with the big club this season. He may very well lose his spot in the rotation once Danny Duffy (oblique) is cleared to return.

Fulmer (7-6) was charged with three runs (two earned) on seven hits over 8.2 innings in Thursday's win over the Royals. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.

Fulmer was outstanding Thursday, facing just one batter above the minimum through eight. It looked like his third career complete game was in the bag, but the Royals began chipping away at the lead with two outs in the ninth and Fulmer was pulled following his 104th pitch of the outing. He now has a 2.42 ERA over his last three starts, and it's especially encouraging to see Fulmer go without a free pass after back-to-back four-walk showings.