MLB Player News

The Orioles activated Akin from the COVID-19 injured list Sunday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Manager Brandon Hyde hasn't clarified what Akin's role will look like after he was on the shelf for 10 days while waiting to clear COVID-19 health and safety protocols, but the 26-year-old lefty will most likely work out of the bullpen for now. According to Joe Trezza of MLB.com, Akin isn't listed among the Orioles' probable starters for the team's upcoming three-game series with the Yankees, suggesting that Alexander Wells and Spenser Watkins will hold down the back-end spots in the rotation.

Vesia (1-1) earned the win over Arizona on Saturday, pitching a scoreless inning during which he gave up one hit.

The southpaw came into the contest with scored tied 3-3 in the sixth inning. He gave up a one-out single but faced the minimum by subsequently inducing a double play. The Dodgers put up four runs in the top of the seventh, giving Vesia his first win as a major-leaguer. In 19 appearances with the big club this season, Vesia has registered a 3.48 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 24:13 K:BB across 20.2 innings.

Ottavino allowed three runs on two hits and a hit batsman while striking out two over two-thirds of an inning in Saturday's 9-5 loss to the Rays.

Ottavino closed out the seventh inning without incident but ran into immediate trouble in the eighth. He permitted a leadoff double, then hit a batter before giving up a run-producing single. That ended his night, but two more runs were charged to him while Austin Davis was on the mound. There have been a few struggling relievers among the Red Sox bullpen lately, with Ottavino being one of them. He's allowed seven runs on seven hits, two walks and two hit batsmen over his last three innings.

The White Sox recalled Lambert from Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday. He's scheduled to start the White Sox's series finale with Cleveland, Vinnie Duber of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

Lambert has started in all 13 of his appearances with Charlotte this season, but he's maxed out at 64 pitches over his past three outings. With that in mind, Lambert can't be counted on to work deep into Sunday's start, even though he projects to cover the most innings for the White Sox. Reynaldo Lopez covered two frames in relief Thursday, but he could still be a candidate to pitch about two innings once Lambert departs the contest.

Cleveland will call Morgan up from Triple-A Columbus to start Monday's game against the Blue Jays, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.

As he rejoins the Cleveland rotation, Morgan will tentatively line up for a two-start week, with his second turn expected to come Saturday at home versus Detroit. However, based on the results he's provided through his first seven big-league starts, Morgan hasn't given fantasy managers much reason to trust him for the two step. While his 20.4 K-BB% is solid, Morgan's 7.47 ERA and 1.37 WHIP have been toxic.

Manager Jayce Tingler said the Padres plan to reinstate Strahm (knee) from the 60-day injured list ahead of the team's two-game series in Oakland that begins Tuesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Sidelined all season while recovering from the patellar tendon surgery he required for his right knee last October, Strahm kicked off a minor-league rehab assignment just under two weeks ago and has apparently convinced the Padres that he's healthy and ready to contribute out of the bullpen. He was particularly sharp over his last two appearances for Triple-A El Paso, firing 2.2 perfect innings and striking out four between the outings. Given that eight other San Diego relievers currently reside on the IL, Strahm could get the opportunity to pitch high-leverage innings out of the bullpen right away for the big club.

Padres manager Jayce Tingler confirmed that Knehr will start Sunday's game against the Rockies in San Diego, Bob Scanlan of Bally Sports San Diego reports.

Knehr will be plugged into the rotation after he was called up from Triple-A El Paso as a replacement for Chris Paddack, who was placed on the injured list Saturday after tweaking his oblique in a bullpen session. Over his previous two starts with the Padres this season, Knehr has covered 5.1 innings while giving up five earned runs on four hits and six walks.

Hearn didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 5-4 extra-inning win over the Mariners, giving up two unearned runs on three hits and a walk over 3.2 innings. He struck out three.

The 26-year-old still isn't fully stretched out and got the hook after 52 pitches (34 strikes), but after Kyle Seager took him deep in the first inning for a two-run blast, Hearn settled down and gave the Rangers a chance to rally. The lefty wraps up July with a 0.57 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 13:5 K:BB through 15.2 innings over eight appearances, and he should remain in the rotation as long as he remains effective.

Yarbrough didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 9-5 win over the Red Sox, giving up five runs on four hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out four.

Two-run shots by Xander Bogaerts in the first inning and Bobby Dalbec in the fifth accounted for most of the damage off Yarbrough. The southpaw hadn't served up multiple homers in a start since June 3, but he's allowed a steady rain of balls to fall into the seats this season -- his 1.42 HR/9 is by far a career-worst performance in that category. Yarbrough will carry a 4.58 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 94:21 K:BB through 114 innings into his next outing.

Iglesias recorded two strikeouts and didn't allow a baserunner over 1.1 frames to record the save in Saturday's 1-0 win against Oakland.

The right-hander entered with two outs in the eighth inning and the tying run on second base, but he quickly escaped the jam and retired the side in order in the ninth. Iglesias continues to pitch well for the Angels after a rough start to the season, and he has a 1.93 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 51:5 K:BB in his past 27 outings. Overall he's 22-for-27 in save chances this season and features a 38.6 percent strikeout rate.