MLB Player News

Montas (hand) threw a bullpen session Monday and is on track to make his next start Thursday against the Rangers, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Montas was forced to leave Saturday's outing after being clipped in the hand by a line drive. However, X-rays revealed no structural damage, and his ability to throw Monday means he will likely stay in line for his regularly scheduled start. Through 50.2 innings this season, Montas has a 3.55 ERA with a 1.01 WHIP and a 55:13 K:BB.

Rodriguez underwent tests on his ribs Monday which didn't reveal any stress reaction, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The tests seemingly confirm that Rodriguez's diagnosis will be limited to a sprained left rib cage. He'll avoid throwing this week but is expected to resume next week. Given that he'll still need some time to build his arm back up, it seems unlikely that a minimum-length stay on the injured list is in play, though the Tigers have yet to clarify his timeline.

Skubal (shin) completed his between-starts bullpen session Monday, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Assuming Skubal's left shin isn't aching too much following the side session, he looks like he'll be good to go with few restrictions (if any) when his next turn in the rotation comes up Thursday at home versus the Guardians. Skubal's previous start over the weekend against the Guardians was cut short after he took a comebacker off the shin.

Suarez was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday.

Suarez was called up by the Angels last week, and he tossed two-thirds of a scoreless inning against the Rangers on Wednesday. After making just one relief appearance during his stint in the majors, the southpaw will head back to Salt Lake to make room for Archie Bradley, who was reinstated from the injured list Monday.

Sears will likely be called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start Wednesday's game against the Orioles, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Sears made two relief appearances for the Yankees early in the season and tossed two scoreless innings before being sent down in mid-April. However, he's worked mainly as a starter at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and has posted a 1.25 ERA and 0.61 WHIP in 21.2 innings over six appearances (four starts). The Yankees need a spot starter after Sunday's doubleheader against the White Sox, so Sears will likely step in to make his first major-league start during Wednesday's home matchup.

The Orioles placed Watkins on the 15-day injured list Monday.

Though Watkins avoided any structural damage to his right forearm and escaped with a bruise after he was struck by a line drive three batters into his start in Sunday's 7-6 win over the Rays, the 29-year-old is still experiencing enough discomfort a day later to take him out of the mix for his next turn through the rotation. Unless the Orioles are willing to advance top prospect Grayson Rodriguez to the big leagues, Keegan Akin or Mike Baumann could be the top candidates to enter the rotation in place of Watkins when a fifth starter is next needed during Saturday's doubleheader in Boston.

Kremer (oblique) is scheduled to make his second rehab appearance Tuesday with Triple-A Norfolk, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Kremer is presumably looking to work deeper into Tuesday's outing than he did in his initial rehab appearance with Double-A Bowie on May 18, when he struck out five over two scoreless innings (25 pitches). The 26-year-old right-hander had been in line for a spot in the Orioles' Opening Day rotation until a left oblique strain suffered during a bullpen session prior to his first start resulted in him moving to the IL. Kremer may not be guaranteed a spot in Baltimore's rotation once he's fully ramped up.

Crawford hit a batter and struck out two over four scoreless innings in his first start at Triple-A Worcester last Thursday.

Crawford is a starter by trade, but he won a spot as a reliever on Boston's expanded April roster. There were rough outings in the majors, which can be partially traced to working sporadically out of the bullpen, a role in which the right-hander is not accustomed. He was scheduled to throw only three innings Thursday, but Crawford was so efficient he went back out for another frame.

Severino struck out five in seven shutout innings while allowing eight hits and hitting two batters in a 5-0 loss Sunday against the White Sox. He did not factor into the decision.

Despite allowing 10 baserunners, Severino held the White Sox scoreless by getting out of a number of jams, including loading the bases with no outs in the fifth. It was his longest outing since 2018 and the fourth consecutive start where he's thrown more than 90 pitches. In May, he's allowed three earned runs or fewer in each start and has compiled a 2.78 ERA with a 24:5 K:BB in 22.2 innings. He'll likely make one more start before the end of the month, this weekend in Tampa Bay.

Kopech (1-1) earned the win, striking out six in seven scoreless innings while giving up two walks and a hit in a 5-0 victory Sunday against the Yankees.

Kopech retired the first 17 batters he faced before allowing his lone hit, a double to Rob Brantly. He pitched around two walks in the bottom of the seventh and the White Sox scored five times in the top of the eighth to put Kopech in line for the win. It was the longest, and arguably best, start of his major-league career. The 26-year-old has been incredibly stingy and batters are hitting just .122 with no home runs against him through 42 innings. His next start will likely be next weekend against the Cubs.