MLB Player News

Hendriks notched his seventh hold of the season in Friday's 3-0 win over the White Sox, firing a scoreless sixth inning and recording two strikeouts.

The veteran right-hander was the first of several relievers to help preserve the slim lead following starter Jharel Cotton's exit after five frames with a blister. Hendriks' strong outing was also a welcome sight from an individual standpoint, as he'd surrendered six earned runs over his previous seven trips to the mound. The 28-year-old's June hasn't been for the faint of heart, as he's offset a 5.56 ERA, a blown save and a loss with three holds, two victories and 19 strikeouts over 11.1 innings.

Smith (elbow), who was shut down due to shoulder inflammation, will be reevaluated Monday, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports.

Smith was inching closer to a rehabilitation assignment when the Red Sox announced they were shutting him down for a bit. They suggested the shoulder soreness wasn't a serious situation. However, to hear the comments of manager John Farrell and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, one gets a different impression. Dombrowski said Smith "still has a chance to come back and help us this year," while Farrell has "not closed the book" on Smith contributing this season. Those are the kinds of statements they made about Tyler Thornburg right before he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery.

Fulmer (6-6) allowed just one run on two hits and four walks while striking out eight over seven innings but still took the loss Friday against the Padres.

Make it two consecutive quality starts for Fulmer, a good bounce back after he allowed five runs in consecutive starts May 27 and June 2, both against the White Sox. Eight strikeouts marks Fulmer's highest total since he struck out nine over eight innings on May 5 against the Athletics. Even though it was a loss, Fulmer showed electric stuff, which is a good sign that he's back on the rise.

Junis (2-1) pitched 6.1 innings Friday, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four Blue Jays in a no-decision.

It was an admirable performance by the youngster, who picked up his second quality start in his last three outings. Junis dealt strikes on 62 percent of his pitches Friday while inducing more groundouts (eight) than flyouts (six) for the first time in any of his big-league starts this year. Although the 24-year-old's ERA (4.97) and WHIP (1.62) won't draw the attention of many, Junis has shown flashes of what makes him an appealing option in dynasty formats. The right-hander is slated to make his next start Thursday at Detroit.

Pruitt pitched three shutout innings Friday, allowing three hits while striking out one to earn his first save against the Orioles.

Despite protecting a nine-run lead, he qualified for a save based on the rule that awards one to a pitcher recording three effective innings to close out a victory. Although the save was nice, his 6.25 ERA makes him a player with little fantasy appeal.

Flynn (back) is set to come off the 60-day disabled list Sunday, at which point the Royals may choose to place him back on the 40-man roster, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Hunter Dozier recently went down at Triple-A Omaha with a possible season-ending wrist injury, and the Royals may opt to replace him on the 40-man with Flynn. The latter has been on a rehab assignment with Omaha for nearly a month with mixed results, but Flynn performed admirably (2.60 ERA) over 36 games for the Royals last year.

Strahm will likely move to the bullpen once Danny Duffy (oblique) and Nate Karns (forearm) come off the disabled list, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Unless Kansas City shakes up its roster, there won't be room in a five-man rotation for Strahm when everyone is healthy. That said, Duffy is scheduled for a rehab assignment Saturday, but Karns' return date (which is expected sometime in July) remains cloudy, meaning Strahm should have a few more starts before he's bumped from the group. The 25-year-old could provide rotation depth from Triple-A, but continuing to face big-league hitters will provide the lefty with more valuable experience as the team looks toward the future.

Valdez will head back to Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet reports.

Valdez only earned one appearance during his brief stay with the Jays, allowing two earned runs off four hits and two walks during 3.1 innings of work Thursday. The right-hander will likely be back with the team in the near future, especially if the injury bug continues to hit the Blue Jays.

Santiago (shoulder) will start against the Red Sox on Tuesday, LaVelle E. Neal of the Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

Santiago has been out since June 6 with a muscle strain in his left shoulder but looked like his normal self during his rehab start Wednesday with Triple-A Rochester. The Twins will give the southpaw roughly 75 pitches in Tuesday's game and then extend his pitch count over the next couple starts.

Boxberger (back) will be activated by the Rays sometime this weekend, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Boxberger was expected to be back with the club Friday, but will likely come back from the 60-day disabled list Saturday instead. He has made six relief appearances in the minors over the course of this month, and seems to be at or near 100 percent physically after dealing with a strained lat muscle since the beginning of this season.