MLB Player News

The Rays activated Chirinos (triceps) ahead of his scheduled start Sunday against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Tampa Bay didn't need to open up a spot on the active roster for Chirinos, who is being designated as its 29th man after the Rays and Blue Jays resumed Saturday's suspended game earlier. The nightcap will only go seven innings, but that shouldn't impact Chirinos, who didn't reach the sixth inning in either of his two outings before landing on the injured list earlier this month.

Montas (back) felt good during a throwing session Sunday and is scheduled to return to the Oakland rotation for Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Shayna Rubin of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Montas was scratched with back tightness ahead of his scheduled turn Friday against the Giants, and though he was initially considered a candidate to start Sunday's series finale, the Athletics elected to take a more cautious approach with the right-hander, who threw a side session instead. Due to the brevity of his absence, Montas isn't expected to face any major restrictions Tuesday as he takes the hill for his fifth start of 2020. Montas owns a 1.57 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 22:9 K:BB across 23 innings.

Kaprielian was recalled from the Athletics' alternate training site in San Jose on Sunday, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The right-hander will take the place of fellow reliever Burch Smith, who was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a forearm strain. It will be Kaprielian's second tour of duty with the big-league club thus far this season, although he did not make an appearance over the two days he was up the first time. The 26-year-old right-hander has an impressive minor-league resume from his time with both the Yankees and Athletics organizations, but he's yet to make his big-league debut.

Kikuchi, who was scratched from his scheduled start Friday against the Astros due to neck spasms, was still dealing with stiffness Saturday and taking muscle relaxers for relief, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Manager Scott Servais added that Kikuchi was going to try and play catch later in the day to see how he felt. The team is holding out hope the southpaw will still make his next scheduled start Thursday against the Dodgers, but the coming days will naturally reveal how likely that is.

The Orioles activated Means from the COVID-19 injured list ahead of his scheduled start Sunday against the Nationals, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Means was never known to have tested positive for the coronavirus, but the Orioles were allowed to stash him on the COVID-19 IL while he waited to complete intake testing protocols after he went on bereavement leave over a week ago. The Orioles opened up spots on the 40-man and active rosters for Means by designating reliever Chandler Shepherd for assignment.

Heaney didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's contest against the Dodgers. He gave up four runs on five hits and four walks while fanning six across 5.2 innings.

Heaney tied season-high marks for innings pitched, walks and strikeouts, but he was fortunate to come away unscathed after allowing nine baserunners and four runs. He has allowed four or more earned runs in back-to-back starts and will try to bounce back ahead of his upcoming start Aug. 20 at San Francisco.

Javier (2-1) earned the win over Seattle on Saturday, pitching six scoreless innings and yielding one hit and three walks while striking out five.

Javier was wild in the outing -- he threw only 48 of 88 pitches for strikes and walked three batters -- but he made up for the lack of control by limiting Seattle to a single hit and no runs. The outcome is especially impressive considering the fact that Javier was behind hitters most of the night (he issued first-pitch strikes to only four of the 19 batters he faced) and induced a mere six swinging strikes. The rookie rebounded from his first rough start last Sunday against Oakland and has now allowed one or fewer earned runs in three of his first four career starts. He'll carry a 2.91 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 21:7 K:BB into his next start, scheduled for Thursday at Colorado.

Paxton (1-1) earned the win against Boston on Saturday, pitching five innings and allowing three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out two.

Paxton was far from dominant as he needed 83 pitches to make it through five frames and yielded three runs. However, he kept New York in the game after falling behind 3-2 in the third inning and walked away with his first victory of the season. The left-hander has allowed exactly three earned runs in each of his four starts this season, though he lasted a combined four innings in his first two outings as opposed to the 11.1 combined frames he has pitched in his last two starts. Paxton will next face Tampa Bay at home Thursday.

Eovaldi (1-2) took the loss against the Yankees on Saturday, throwing 5.1 innings and allowing eight runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out three.

Eovaldi entered the contest with a 4.09 ERA and departed with the mark having swollen to 5.93. He was burned by three long balls in the contest, the last of which -- a three-run shot off the bat of Clint Frazier -- contributed to a four-run sixth inning that ultimately forced him from the game. The right-hander did induce 14 swinging strikes, but he managed to whiff only three batters -- a season low, and a dramatic dropoff from the 10 strikeouts he racked up in his previous outing. Eovaldi will attempt to regroup when he heads to Baltimore to take on the Orioles on Friday in his next scheduled start.

Gibson (1-2) allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 6.1 innings, earning the win Saturday versus the Rockies.

Gibson escaped Coors Field without any significant damage, with only a Tony Wolters two-run double counting against him. Four of the seven hits Gibson allowed went for extra bases. The right-hander has a 3.74 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 17:7 K:BB in 21.1 innings this season. He lines up for a road start versus the Padres on Thursday.