MLB Player News

The Angels will call Suarez up from Triple-A Salt Lake to start Monday's game against the Rangers in Texas, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Suarez has already been a member of the taxi squad for the past two days, which provided a good clue the Angels were planning on bringing him back into the rotation. He'll be receiving the starting nod over Trevor Cahill, who was moved to the bullpen after being activated from the injured list a few days ago. Over his previous four starts with the Angels this season, Suarez posted a 5.57 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 21 innings.

General manager Jeff Luhnow said that Urquidy is a candidate to receive a promotion from Triple-A Round Rock to join the Houston rotation Tuesday against the Rockies in Colorado, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

With the Astros recently optioning Framber Valdez to Triple-A and placing Brad Peacock (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list, the team suddenly finds itself with a three-man rotation. Due to off days Monday and Thursday, the Astros can get by a little shorthanded prior to the All-Star break, but a fourth starter will still be required. Urquidy has entered the conversation for a spot start after posting a 2.89 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 64:10 K:BB in 43.2 innings with Round Rock since receiving a promotion from Double-A Corpus Christi in May. Along with Urquidy, long reliever Cy Sneed is also viewed as a potential spot starter for Tuesday, though expectations should be restrained for whomever ultimately gets the nod at hitter haven Coors Field.

The White Sox will call up Cease from Triple-A Charlotte to start the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Tigers.

The organization's top healthy pitching prospect, Cease will receive his first taste of the big leagues with the White Sox in need of reinforcement to its injury-battered rotation. While Cease will likely serve as the 26th man for the twin bill, he'll likely stick in the big-league rotation after the All-Star break if he can merely avoid a blowup outing versus Detroit. Over 68.1 innings in the International League this season, Cease has posted a 4.48 ERA (3.26 FIP) and 1.57 WHIP, but he's notched 73 strikeouts and has surrendered only four home runs.

Severino (lat) had his throwing program shut down Saturday and isn't expected to return from the 60-day injured list until late August at the earliest, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. "He had a little bit of soreness and we held off a little bit. He re-MRI-ed which is what we wanted to do before he got back on the mound," manager Aaron Boone said of Severino. "He is about 90 percent healed so we kind of slowed it down. He will probably be throwing again, hopefully, in five to seven days. He won't get back on the mound until it's 100 percent."

Per Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger, general manager Brian Cashman admitted Sunday that Severino shouldn't have been throwing in the first place while his strained lat was only 90 percent healed, so the Yankees will now exercise caution and wait until he's 100 percent before ramping things up. Since he's been on the shelf all season, Severino will essentially require a full spring training regimen -- approximately six weeks in length -- before the Yankees sign off on an eventual return from the IL. Assuming Severino avoids any further setbacks and meets the Yankees' goal of being ready to return by late August, he would likely pick up around 4-to-6 starts before the regular season ends.

Kikuchi didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Astros, giving up five runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks over five innings while striking out five.

A Dee Gordon error cushioned the blow to his ERA, but this was still another less-than-effective outing for Kikuchi. The lefty walked multiple batters for the sixth straight start and got tagged for at least three earned runs for the sixth time in his last seven, although on the bright side, he didn't serve up a homer for the first time since May 19. Kikuchi will take a 5.12 ERA and 68:32 K:BB through 91.1 innings into his next start Friday, at home against the A's.

Ramirez (elbow) allowed two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out four in a rehab start at Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ramirez recently had his rehab stint extended and has now made five starts with Salt Lake, reaching 82 pitches in Saturday's outing. The Angels want the 30-year-old to make at least one additional start in the minors, seemingly setting him up to be activated shortly after the All-Star break.

Manager Charlie Montoyo said Stroman won't miss his next start after exiting Saturday's game with a pectoral cramp, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

Stroman was unable to properly get loose due to the cramp and was forced to leave the game after four innings, but it looks as though that will be the extent of the injury. The 28-year-old currently lines up to take the mound Thursday against the Red Sox.

Stroman was diagnosed with a left shoulder pectoral cramp after exiting Saturday's start against the Royals.

Stroman exited the game with what appeared to be an arm injury, but the diagnosis of pectoral cramp to his non-throwing shoulder is basically a best-case scenario. The 28-year-old allowed three runs over four innings before leaving the game and should have his status updated for Thursday's scheduled start within the next couple days.

Cortes was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Cortes was tagged for 11 earned runs over his last 15.1 innings coming off Saturday's contest in London, where he got lit up for five earned runs in three innings, prompting the Yankees to send him back to the RailRiders after the game. Per Hoch, Chance Adams is with the club as an extra player and can be added to the roster before Sunday's game.

Stroman exited Saturday's game against the Royals in the fifth inning with an apparent arm injury, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

His first pitch of the fifth inning sailed high, and he immediately called for the trainer before exiting. It is unclear what the exact injury is, but this typically isn't a good sign.