MLB Player News

Triple-A Las Vegas placed Estes on its 7-day injured list May 20 due to an undisclosed injury.

After being optioned to Las Vegas in early April after two rough starts for the Athletics to begin the season, Estes made seven appearances for the Triple-A club before going down with an injury. The 23-year-old righty likely would have been in consideration for a call-up in the near future had he not gotten hurt, as he posted a 4.15 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 33:9 K:BB across 34.2 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Stephen struck out a career-high 11 for High-A Vancouver on Tuesday, allowing two runs (one earned) one three hits over six innings. He didn't walk a batter.

The 22-year-old right-hander hasn't missed a beat since his promotion to the Northwest League, and over three starts for Vancouver, Stephen has posted a 3.21 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 16:3 K:BB through 14 innings. A second-round pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, the Mississippi State product made his pro debut at Single-A this season and is racing up the ladder on the strength of a mid-90s fastball, a potentially plus changeup and strong control and command.

Garcia (elbow) threw a bullpen session Sunday, MLB.com reports.

It's unclear how hard or how many pitches Garcia threw, but manager Joe Espada did note that the session went well. While this is a positive step forward, Garcia is expected to be sidelined until at least late July.

McClanahan (triceps) threw a short box bullpen session Tuesday and has a full bullpen session scheduled for Friday, MLB.com reports.

The Rays continue to offer optimistic news about McClanahan, as imaging has revealed no structural issues with his arm. He'll continue to ramp up his throwing intensity but will be sidelined until after the All-Star break.

Lopez suffered a lat strain on the back of his pitching shoulder during Tuesday's 10-3 win over the Athletics and is likely to be placed on the injured list, the Phil Miller of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports. "It's not the greatest news to hear, to have to deal with, but if there's a silver lining it's that it wasn't that posterior cuff or that I didn't feel anything blowing up," Lopez said after the game.

Lopez was removed in the sixth inning after feeling soreness in his shoulder after throwing warmup pitches. He was still able to come away with his fifth win of the season, giving up two earned runs on fur hits and three walks while striking out four over five frames. Lopez is set to undergo further testing Wednesday before the Twins confirm the diagnosis of a lat strain, but at least his initial outlook doesn't seem to be too ominous. Triple-A St. Paul starters David Festa and Simeon Woods Richardson would appear to be the leading candidates to enter the big-league rotation the next time Lopez's turn comes up.

Bello came away with a no-decision in Tuesday's 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Angels, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out four.

After struggling to complete five innings in a start through most of May, Bello began June with a much sharper outing, tossing 65 of 103 pitches for strikes in his third quality start of the year. The 26-year-old right-hander will carry a 3.91 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 33:24 K:BB through 46 innings into his next trip to the mound, which is scheduled to come at home early next week against the Rays.

Kikuchi came away with a no-decision in Tuesday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the Red Sox, giving up three runs on eight hits and five walks over five-plus innings. He struck out five.

The left-hander tossed only 56 of 99 pitches for strikes in a shaky outing, but Kikuchi had limited the damage until running out of gas in the sixth inning, when he began the frame with two free passes sandwiched around a two-run homer by Ceddanne Rafaela before getting the hook. Kikuchi has walked at least four batters in four straight starts, but Rafaela's long ball was the first homer he's served up during that stretch, allowing him to escape with a 2.11 ERA in 21.1 innings despite a worrisome 20:18 K:BB. Kikuchi will try to tighten things up in his next trip the mound, which lines up to come at home early next week against the A's.

Bieber (elbow) will have his rehab start for Double-A Akron pushed back a day to Friday, MLB.com reports.

Bieber's next rehab start was originally slated for Thursday, per Zach Meisel of The Athletic, but Meisel followed up with a note indicating the start will now come Friday, which confirms the MLB.com report. Bieber's first rehab start was in the Arizona Complex League where he tossed 2.1 scoreless frames for the ACL Guardians.

Francis (2-7) took the loss Tuesday against the Phillies, allowing seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out two in 1.2 innings.

The Phillies plated six runs in the first against Francis, which included back-to-back home runs from Trea Turner and Bryce Harper among the six hits they had in the inning. Francis has given up 17 home runs, the most in baseball. He's allowed seven hits or more in four starts and has allowed multiple homers five times. He'll aim to rebound on the road against Minnesota this weekend.

Rodon (8-3) picked up the win in Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Guardians, allowing one run on five hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out eight.

The veteran southpaw was locked in a pitchers' duel with Tanner Bibee most of the way, but back-to-back solo shots by Jazz Chisholm and Anthony Volpe to lead off the bottom of the seventh broke open a 1-1 tie. Rodon has won seven straight decisions, with his last loss coming back on April 13, and during his undefeated stretch he's rattled off seven quality starts in nine trips to the mound with a 1.27 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 70:15 K:BB in 56.2 innings. He'll look for his eighth straight win in his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home this weekend against the Red Sox.