MLB Player News

Kluber (back) will be reevaluated Monday in Toronto before the team determines how long he'll remain out, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

The Indians want to see what the ace can and can't do before announcing a timeline for his return. Although the details are vague, Hoynes' report suggests Kluber will get a light workout in before Monday's game at the Rogers Centre. If all goes well, Kluber could be ready to get back on the hill Thursday in Houston.

Clevinger is joining the Indians and will make his first big-league start of the season Sunday in Kansas City, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

The move comes as expected, but a little later than originally thought. Thursday's rainout against Detroit gave the Tribe an extra day to get by without pushing Clevinger off his schedule at Triple-A Columbus. The right-hander made his MLB debut with the Indians last year, going 3-3 with a 5.26 ERA in 17 games, including 10 starts.

Hammel (1-3) tossed six quality innings, allowing just one run on three hits and two walks while striking out six in Friday's win over Cleveland.

Hammel's first victory as a Royal ended a six-start winless streak dating back to Sept. 19. According to ESPN.com, he worked out of the stretch exclusively for the first time in his career, and based on the results, it certainly won't be the last. The right-hander opted to ditch the windup in hopes of simplifying his delivery and achieving better results. "It's something I had experimented with on the side and just committed to it," Hammel said. "In the windup, there are a lot of pieces that have to go right, a lot of moving parts and the timing is going to be everything. With the stretch, everything is up and down, two movements up and down and you're going to the plate." The 34-year-old veteran will look to duplicate Friday's effort when he takes the hill again Wednesday in Tampa Bay.

Rodriguez allowed three runs on seven hits and one intentional walk while striking out six over six-plus innings in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Twins.

Rodriguez, who made his third consecutive quality start, has struck out 37 over 29.1 innings and sports a 3.07 ERA, indicating 2017 might be his breakout season. The left-hander still hasn't managed the art of the efficient outing, which involves consistently putting batters away on two strikes, but for him to make it through six innings is notable. He averaged 5.1 innings per start last season and is up to 5.2 innings through his first five starts of 2017. His next turn in the rotation comes Thursday at Milwaukee, but an off day Monday means he could pitch on normal rest Wednesday.

Darvish struck out five and gave up one run and scattered six hits and four walks over seven innings, but didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 3-1 win over the Mariners in 13 innings.

For the third start in a row, Darvish exceeded 110 pitches, though Friday's start came with the benefit of having some extra rest after the Rangers decided earlier in the week to push him back a day in the rotation. Darvish has turned in quality starts in six of his seven outings and owns a 2.76 ERA for the season, but his 9.1 K/9 rate probably isn't as lofty as fantasy owners had expected. While his velocity has been on par with past seasons, his 9.7 percent swinging-strike rate represents a career low, so it may be unwise to expect much recovery in the strikeout category as the season unfolds.

Keuchel allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five over eight-plus innings in Friday's 7-6 extra-inning win over the Angels.

Keuchel pitched much better than his line suggests. Through eight innings, the Astros ace had allowed two runs and four hits, and much of that was high-intensity work as Houston managed just two hits and was held to one run through six innings. With Keuchel's pitch count at 95 and the Astros leading 6-2, manager A.J. Hinch sent him out for the bottom of the ninth. When the left-hander allowed three straight hits to start the inning, Hinch brought in closer Ken Giles to shut down the rally, but he allowed three more hits and the Angels forced extra innings, negating what would have been Keuchel's sixth win of the season. Despite the number of runs allowed, it was another stellar performance out of Keuchel, whose ERA rose to 1.88. His next turn in the rotation comes next Thursday in New York to face the Yankees, but with a day off coming Monday, the Astros could keep him on a five-day routine and have him pitch the series finale against the Braves on Wednesday.

Miley was forced to leave Friday's game after he was hit by consecutive line drives from White Sox batters, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Miley stayed in after a Jose Abreu shot caromed off his arm, but manager Buck Showalter didn't even give Miley a chance to try and stay in the game after the very next hitter, Avisail Garcia, nailed him in the leg. Neither injury appeared serious, but we'll have to wait for confirmation after the game before we can be sure about his status for his next start.

Mejia is under consideration for the final spot in the Twins' rotation, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

With Kyle Gibson sent down following Thursday's game, there's an opening in the Minnesota rotation, and the choice has been narrowed down to Mejia and Jose Berrios. The Twins will need to make a call by May 13. Mejia struggled in three appearances with the big club earlier this year, but he tossed seven scoreless innings (just two hits allowed) in his lone start for Triple-A Rochester.

Berrios is under consideration to fill the final spot in the Twins' rotation, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Manager Paul Molitor said Berrios and Adalberto Mejia are the candidates to start the next time Twins need a fifth starter (May 13), with Kyle Gibson bumped following another poor outing Thursday. Berrios hasn't appeared in a game since April 30 as the Triple-A team keeps running into weather issues, but Berrios has shined in his five starts for Rochester this season (1.09 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 35:8 K:BB). Meanwhile, Mejia has posted a 5.79 ERA in his three starts for the big club so far this year.

Bergman is an option to start Sunday's game against the Rangers, Bob Dutton of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

With James Paxton (forearm) landing on the disabled list, Bergman is expected to have his contract purchased from Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday to possibly take his turn in the rotation. Dillon Overton is also a possible option to make the start. Bergman has a 2.17 ERA through five starts with Tacoma this season.