MLB Player News

The Rays optioned Boyle to Triple-A Durham on Monday, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.

Boyle made a case to stick around by dazzling in a spot start Sunday versus Atlanta, fanning seven batters with no hits and just two unearned runs allowed over five innings. However, the Rays are sticking with their plan to return Boyle to the minors. He'll likely be first in line for a promotion when the big club needs a starter again.

The Rays plan to option Boyle to Triple-A Durham prior to Monday game against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Boyle dazzled in a spot start Sunday versus Atlanta, permitting two unearned runs on no hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over five innings. However, the Rays will stick with their initial plan and send Boyle back down in order to bring up a fresh relief arm. Boyle should be the first pitcher the Rays call upon when they need rotation help.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Stroman received a cortisone shot over the weekend to address inflammation in his left knee, Larry Fleisher of the Associated Press reports. "The MRI was good, but he had some swelling in there somewhere," Boone said of Stroman. "So try to eliminate that, hopefully get him ramped up pretty quick and, hopefully, something that really helps him move it forward."

New York placed Stroman on the 15-day injured list Saturday after he failed to escape the first inning and was limited to 46 pitches a day earlier in a rain-affected start against the Giants. Boone noted that he was unsure if the poor weather exacerbated the discomfort in Stroman's left knee, which he previously had surgically repaired in 2015. Though the MRI confirmed that Stroman isn't dealing with any structural damage to his knee, the right-hander could still require more than the minimum 15 days to fully heal up from the injury. Stroman had struggled to an 11.57 ERA, 2.04 WHIP and 7:7 K:BB in 9.1 innings over his three starts, so the Yankees likely won't look to rush him back from the IL until they're confident that he's 100 percent healthy.

Matthews is no longer expected to be recalled from Triple-A St. Paul this week with the Twins planning to maintain a five-man rotation, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune previously reported last Thursday that the Twins were contemplating calling up Matthews and having him serve as a temporary sixth member of the rotation, but Minnesota will stick with a five-man setup with off days on tap this Thursday and the following Monday. Matthews should still be next in line to join the big-league rotation if an opening emerges, though David Festa was called up ahead of him last week when Pablo Lopez (hamstring) landed on the injured list. Matthews has gotten off to a nice start to the season at St. Paul, striking out 13 over 10 innings while allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks.

Mize (2-1) allowed four runs on seven hits across 5.2 innings to take the loss Sunday against the Twins. He struck out three.

Over his first two starts of the season, Mize had allowed just one run across 11.2 innings with 12 strikeouts. The righty was unable to match that production as he allowed his first two home runs of the year and didn't miss as many bats. Mize still has a strong 2.60 ERA and 1.04 WHIP overall, and he'll look to get back on track in his next scheduled appearance, which is penciled in for Friday against the Royals.

Gilbert (1-1) allowed one run on three hits and a walk while striking out seven in five innings in a win over the Rangers on Sunday.

Gilbert had to work hard to get through the first two frames, needing 46 pitches to do so. His one big mistake came in the second inning after allowing a solo home run to Dustin Harris. Gilbert went on to retire 12 of the next 13 hitters following the long ball. He's allowed a home run in three of four starts thus far but also has allowed just 11 hits while punching out 32 batters in in 22.2 innings. Gilbert will look to continue his success in a road start versus Toronto this coming weekend.

Eovaldi (1-2) allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out five in five innings in a loss to the Mariners on Sunday.

Eovaldi got off to a rough start by allowing a two-run homer to Cal Raleigh in the opening frame. From there, he was able to settle in and retire 14 of the next 15 hitters he faced. Eovaldi was sent back out for the sixth but failed to record an out and was eventually replaced by Hoby Milner with the based loaded. Eovaldi has now failed to go more than five innings in consecutive starts. He's also hit four batters and has just seven strikeouts after compiling a 17:0 K:BB in his first two starts of the year. Eovaldi will look to bounce back his next time out when the Dodgers come to town for a weekend series.

Severino (0-3) allowed one run on four hits and three walks while striking out six in 5.2 innings in a loss to the Mets on Sunday.

Severino blanked the Mets through five innings while allowing just two hits. He began the sixth by walking Pete Alonso and was knocked out of the game after an RBI-single by Luis Torrens. Sunday was the first time Severino has not reached six innings in four starts this season, but it was an excellent bounce back performance against his former team after allowing 11 runs (10 earned) in his prior two starts. The 31-year-old owns a 4.01 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 21:10 K:BB in 24.2 innings and lines up for a road start against the Brewers this week.

General manager Dana Brown said Sunday that the Astros' series with the Royals that runs from April 25 through 27 could be a potential target for McCullers' (forearm) season debut, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports. "That would be pretty encouraging, but we don't want to rush it," Brown said.

McCullers made the third start of his minor-league rehab assignment Saturday with Triple-A Sugar Land and delivered his best performance yet; he struck out five over four scoreless innings, yielding just one hit and one walk. He covered 61 pitches in the outing, inducing 13 whiffs while averaging 91.4 miles per hour on his 13 sinkers, 80.5 mph on 13 curveballs and 85.1 mph on 12 sliders, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. All of those velocity readings were a couple ticks below his averages from his last healthy season in 2022, but McCullers noted that it's not an unexpected development, and he's happy overall with how his surgically repaired forearm has been responding coming out of his first three rehab starts. According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, McCullers will shift his rehab to Double-A Corpus Christi for his fourth rehab start next weekend. He's expected to reach 75-to-80 pitches in that outing, and if all goes well, he'll be activated from the 15-day injured list to make his 2025 Astros debut during the Kansas City series.

Woods Richardson (1-1) earned the win Sunday, allowing one run on five hits with no walks over five innings against Detroit. He struck out five.

Woods Richardson had a solid outing with a slight increase in velocity to a max 95.9 mph fastball after two lackluster starts to begin the season. He likely needed a strong outing to remain in the rotation with David Festa making a case for keeping a starting role and Zebby Matthews pitching well at Triple-A.