MLB Player News

Lugo (finger) was activated from the 15-day injured list to start Friday's game against the Tigers.

The right-hander landed on the shelf in mid-May due to inflammation in his right middle finger, and he's rejoining Kansas City's rotation without a minor-league rehab assignment. Lugo has continued to be a reliable rotation piece for the Royals early in 2025 with a 3.02 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 42:15 K:BB across 56.2 innings.

Ragans (groin) will report to Double-A Northwest Arkansas to begin a rehab assignment Saturday.

The left-hander is eligible to come off the injured list Sunday, but he won't quite be ready to rejoin the Royals. Given the brevity of Ragans' absence, he may only need one outing in the minors before being re-inserted into Kansas City's rotation.

Rodriguez is expected to be called up from Double-A San Antonio by the Padres on Friday, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.

The right-hander is one of San Diego's top relief prospects and is poised to make the jump from Double-A straight to the majors, avoiding an extreme hitter's park at Triple-A El Paso. Rodriguez has a 3.22 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 31:5 K:BB across 22.1 innings with San Antonio this season.

Atlanta recalled Dodd from Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.

Dodd was optioned after firing a scoreless two-thirds of an inning during Thursday's doubleheader, but he'll make a quick return to the big club as bullpen depth for the weekend series against the Red Sox. The southpaw may not have a lengthy stay in the majors, since Atlanta will have to fill the rotation spot of AJ Smith-Shawver (elbow) early next week.

Atlanta transferred Smith-Shawver (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Friday.

The right-hander landed on the 15-day IL after suffering an elbow strain during the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Phillies, and his quick move to the 60-day IL is an indication it isn't a minor issue. The severity of the strain isn't yet known, but Smith-Shawver will be sidelined for at least the next two months.

Burke will follow opener Jared Shuster for Friday's game in Baltimore, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Friday's game is getting pushed up a few hours and will start at 4:30 p.m. due to a poor weather forecast later in the night. Burke has been stingy in May with a 2.67 ERA in 27 innings, but he has a 19:19 K:BB and 1.44 WHIP over that span. He is coming off his best outing of the year, as he picked up a win while striking out a season-high six in six innings of one-run ball against Texas.

Miller (elbow) is expected to make his return from the 15-day injured list to start Saturday's game against the Twins, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.

After spending about two weeks recovering from right elbow inflammation, Miller will avoid a rehab assignment and instead jump right back into Seattle's rotation. It's unclear if the 26-year-old right-hander will have any workload limitations Saturday, but he'll square off with a Minnesota offense that's struggled lately as he tries to improve his 5.22 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 35:21 K:BB on the season. Miller will be taking the rotation spot of Logan Evans, who was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday.

Hancock didn't factor into the decision Thursday against the Nationals after allowing two runs on two hits and three walks in 5.1 innings. He struck out four.

Hancock yielded a season-low two hits, but one went for extra bases on a two-run double by James Wood in the sixth inning. Hancock has fanned more than five just one time this season, and he's mostly struggled with a 5.64 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 32:15 K:BB and .307 opponent batting average over 44.2 innings. The right-hander is tentatively set to take the mound versus the reeling Orioles next week, but Hancock is likely to lose his rotation spot once both Bryce Miller (elbow) and Logan Gilbert (elbow) come off the injured list.

Gore didn't factor into the decision Thursday against the Mariners after allowing four hits and no walks in six scoreless innings. He struck out eight.

It was Gore's first scoreless start since his first appearance of the season, and he racked up an impressive 18 whiffs. The left-hander has fanned at least eight in six of his last eight outings, during which he boasts a 2.98 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 69:15 K:BB covering 45.1 innings, and he's worked fewer than five frames on a lone occasion in 2025. Gore is the first pitcher in MLB this season to reach triple digits in strikeouts with 101, and he has offered a fairly safe fantasy floor in most instances this year, but he's in for a tough test versus the Cubs in his next scheduled start.

Gusto didn't factor into the decision Thursday against the Rays after allowing two runs on four hits and three walks in 3.2 innings. He struck out four.

Gusto was already at 31 pitches after one inning, which effectively set back the rest of his outing. The right-hander has really struggled to provide length for the Astros this season, as he's thrown at least five innings just twice among his seven starts and has a shaky 5.83 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 32:13 K:BB over 29.1 innings as a starter. Working in Gusto's favor is a soft matchup that tentatively lines up for next week against the Pirates, who own a dismal .639 OPS in the month of May, but he remains difficult to trust for fantasy purposes.