MLB Player News

Puk (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Tuesday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Puk is over the left shoulder fatigue that sent him to the injured list earlier this month and will now ramp things back up as he preps for a return. When he is activated, Puk will move to the Marlins' bullpen.

Jefferies is expected to be called up from Triple-A Sacramento to start Wednesday's game in Boston, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Giants have yet to announce their scheduled starter for Wednesday, but Jefferies was spotted in the clubhouse at Fenway Park on Tuesday. Jefferies is in line to start in place of Blake Snell (intercostal) and could earn additional starts with Snell expected to be on the 15-day injured list for a while. Jefferies was torched for nine runs (five earned) over two innings in a spot start earlier this season but owns a 3.44 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 17:5 K:BB over 18.1 innings across four outings (two starts) with Sacramento.

Garrett (shoulder) will make a rehab start Wednesday with Triple-A Jacksonville before potentially returning from the 15-day injured list, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.comreports.

Garrett has spent all season on the shelf while recovering from a left shoulder impingement, and while he hasn't experienced any setbacks in his recovery from that injury, he did experience a case of "dead arm" following an April 15 bullpen session. The issue prompted the Marlins to temporarily pause Garrett's rehab assignment before he returned to action last Friday for Triple-A Jacksonville and allowed two earned runs on four hits and no walks while striking out four over three innings. Garrett tossed 59 pitches in that outing, so the Marlins will likely want him to get stretched out to around 75 pitches before inserting him into the big-league rotation.

The Royals optioned Bowlan to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday.

The move comes a day after Bowlan lased just 2.2 innings in a start versus the Blue Jays, yielding four runs on six hits and three walks. Bowlan returns to Omaha, where he's posted a 2.57 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 21:5 K:BB across 21 frames this season.

The Cardinals transferred Rom (biceps) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Rom has had trouble getting over the hump with his left biceps injury and is scheduled to be examined by Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas on Tuesday. He now cannot be activated until late May.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch confirmed that Manning will be called up from Triple-A Toledo to start the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader versus the Cardinals, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Manning had been on turn at Toledo but instead will take the hill Tuesday with the big club since they have a need for a spot starter. The right-hander has looked good in his two previous starts with Detroit this season, yielding four runs while putting up a 10:6 K:BB over 12.1 innings. He will be designated as the 27th man for Tuesday's doubleheader and is likely to be sent back down to the minors after the start.

Horton has been promoted from Double-A Tennessee to Triple-A Iowa, Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reports.

Horton threw only 16.1 frames across four starts with Tennessee but was dominant in those innings, posting a 1.10 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 18:2 K:BB. The top prospect is coming off a 2023 campaign which saw him collect a 2.65 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 117:27 K:BB over 88.1 innings. Horton is likely to push to debut for the Cubs in 2024.

Senga (shoulder) reached the mid-90s with his fastball during Monday's bullpen against live hitters and used all of his pitches in the session, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The Mets have been very deliberate so far with Senga's recovery from a shoulder capsule strain, but the organization's patience seems to be paying off. While the right-hander feels he will be back in the big-league rotation right around when he's first eligible to come off the IL on May 27, general manager David Stearns wouldn't sign off on that timeline, indicating Monday that he couldn't say whether Senga would be back in late May or early June. The 31-year-old is set to face live hitters two more times before beginning a rehab assignment around May 11.

Smith-Shawver topped 99 mph with three fastballs during his last start for Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

The 21-year-old right-hander is still learning the nuances of pitching after mostly playing quarterback in high school, so it's not surprisingly that Smith-Shawver is unlocking more velocity. He struck out a season-high seven batters in five innings for Gwinnett on Wednesday, and while Atlanta is limiting his workload by only having him pitch once a week rather than on a regular five-day schedule, he still figures to be an option for the big-league rotation at some point in 2024. After a couple shaky outings to begin the year at Triple-A, he's given up four runs with a 10:4 K:BB over his last 9.2 innings.

Henry (1-2) took the loss against the Dodgers on Monday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks without recording a strikeout over four innings.

Henry got another turn in the rotation with Merrill Kelly (shoulder) and Ryne Nelson (elbow) on the injured list, but he was mostly ineffective against a potent Dodgers offense. Though the extent of the damage on the scoreboard against the southpaw was a pair of second-inning runs, he didn't record a single strikeout, and only one of his 72 pitches was a swinging strike. Henry's overall body of work this season has been mediocre, as he's posted a 5.40 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 24:11 K:BB over 28.1 frames. He may be pushed out of the rotation before his next turn comes up with Nelson nearing a return to action.