MLB Player News

Twins starter Kyle Gibson, making his third major-league start, was better than his last outing but suffered his second straight loss.

After winning his debut, Gibson is 1-2 with a 7.27 ERA. Gibson allowed four earned runs on four hits and four walks with three strikeouts over six innings and 102 pitches Tuesday.

Gibson beat the Royals June 29, allowing two runs in six innings. He's given up 12 earned runs since over 11 1/3 innings on 15 base hits and five walks. His next start is Sunday at the New York Yankees. He gave up eight runs on 11 hits against the Yankees July 4.

The Athletics are expected to call up pitcher Sonny Gray from Triple-A Sacramento Wednesday. Gray, the 18th overall selection of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, is 8-5 with a 2.81 ERA in 16 starts at Triple-A. He is expected to start off in the bullpen.

Manager Buck Showalter hasn't revealed the long-term plans this season for Orioles prospect Kevin Gausman, MASNSports.com reports. Gausman is in the bullpen. 

"I like having Kevin in our organization, period," Showalter said. "He was talking to Rick (Adair) today about his experience in the bullpen and how, obviously, he hopes to be a quality starter for us, but how much it's helped him, he thought, seeing the game from that angle. Of course, as we all know, that's how it used to be done. Guys cut their teeth in the bullpen, worked their way into something else. But it's been a little bit of a necessity thing because we really have no long arm right-hander and we have back-to-back left-handed starters." 

It sounds like the Orioles could demote Gausman to allow him to start every fifth day if the team's other starters get deeper into games more consistently. 

"There's so many things that branch off the depth you get with your starting pitching," Showalter said.

Tigers pitcher Drew Smyly won't be stretched out as a starter anytime soon and perhaps not this season, the Detroit News reports Tuesday. Manager Jim Leyland has no plans to change his role. 

"I'm not stretching him out," Leyland said. "He can stretch out during the winter -- on his bed." 

The 24-year-old Smyly, who hasn't given up becoming a starter is 4-0 with a 2.04 ERA over 33 relief appearances. He has 55 strikeouts over 53 innings with a 0.981 WHIP. He has two saves and is averaging 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings. 

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco has been sent to Triple-A Columbus, according to MLB.com.

Carrasco was designated for assignment Sunday, but had to pass through waivers before being sent to the minors. He went unclaimed, and will return to the Indians' system. Carrasco had a 9.10 ERA in 28 2/3 innings. 

Mariners top prospect pitcher Taijuan Walker stretched a scoreless innings streak to 14 before he allowed a solo homer in the fourth inning of Sunday's start with Triple-A Tacoma, his third at this level, MLB.com reports.

Walker took the no-decision after going five innings with six hits and just the lone run allowed. The 20-year-old has gone 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA with five walks and 16 Ks over 16 innings while holding opponents to a .186 average thus far.

Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan agreed with Yu Darvish's assessment after his latest start, a loss to Houston Saturday, that the pitcher is "a breaking ball pitcher," the Dallas Morning News reports Monday. 

"I think he’s in between right now on where is comfort level is with pitch selection," Ryan said.

Darvish has gone 8-4 this season with a solid 3.02 ERA. That said, he's 1-2 over his last four outings with a 4.50 ERA with 12 walks over 24 innings as he's struggling with his fastball command. 

Rays starter Alex Cobb (concussion) felt good after he threw another bullpen session Monday, the Tampa Bay Times reports. It was his second bullpen session. 

Cobb said he is eager to face hitters again but the Rays have given no official timetable for his return. He's looking at a late July or early August return if everything goes well. 

Rangers starting pitcher Martin Perez was often compared to fellow Venezuelan hurler Johan Santana during his rise through the minors. Those are lofty expectations for any prospect to deal with, but Perez finally seems to be living up to expectations.

After overcoming a fractured wrist, Perez is 2-1 with a 1.85 ERA in four starts. His WHIP (1.40), hits per nine innings (10.4) and strikeout rate (4.4 K/9) are disappointing, but that doesn't make Perez (owned 49 percent of leagues) a bad Fantasy addition. Given the fact the Rangers are contenders, Perez can overcome his shortcomings in Fantasy because of the regular opportunity to rack up wins.

There are obviously some concerns down the road that might arise. Such as, what happens to Perez when Colby Lewis and Alexi Ogando are healthy? Also, Perez could face an innings limit, but the fact he missed a good portion of the season means Perez could actually be right on course with his workload and might not face an early shutdown.

I like the left-hander given his potential upside and consider him a quality addition off waivers.

Rays pitcher Alex Cobb will throw a bullpen session Monday, the Tampa Bay Times reports. It will be his second bullpen session since suffering a concussion on June 15.

Cobb said he is almost over the feelings of vertigo he had been dealing with since suffering the injury. He threw 29 pitches Friday and said he felt fine, and he is progressing towards a return in late July.