MLB Player News

Greene (1-4) earned the win Friday, tossing six hitless innings during a 9-0 victory over the Cubs. He struck out 11 and walked two.

Coming into the contest, Greene allowed seven home runs and 17 runs over his previous four starts, but he was still striking batters out at a high clip (29 through 22 innings). He maintained that elite strikeout rate versus the Cubs while reducing the hard contact, resulting in the best outing of his season and arguably of his short two-year career. The hard-throwing right-hander has all the makings of an ace, but he hasn't proven it consistently yet. The best stretch of his career thus far came at the end of 2022, when he posted a 0.62 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 45:7 K:BB over his final five starts (29 innings), which included a two-hit, eight strikeout performance against the Cubs.

Orioles general manager Mike Elias revealed Friday that Means (elbow) recently suffered a muscle strain in his upper back, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

The strain is in the scapular area, although it's not clear whether it's to his left (throwing) shoulder or right shoulder. This represents a fairly significant setback for Means in his ongoing recovery from Tommy John surgery. He had been on track to join the Orioles around the All-Star break but he can probably now be ruled out through at least the end of July.

Manning (foot) threw a bullpen session earlier this week, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

It was his first time throwing off a mound since he suffered a right foot fracture back in mid-April. Manning is on the 60-day injured list and not eligible to return until mid-June.

Milwaukee recalled Small from Triple-A Nashville on Friday.

The 26-year-old right-hander will replace Tyson Miller in the Brewers' bullpen ahead of Friday night's game against the visiting Giants. Small has allowed five earned runs in 6.1 innings this season at the MLB level, but he's looked fairly sharp at Triple-A.

Turnbull (neck) has yet to resume throwing, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Multiple MRI scans have shown that Turnbull's neck has been healing, just very slowly. He's scheduled for another MRI in two weeks, at which point the Tigers will re-evaluate his situation and determine whether or not he can begin a throwing program. Turnbull has been on the IL with neck discomfort since May 12.

Skubal (elbow) threw live batting practice Friday at Comerica Park, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Jonathan Schoop was one of the hitters that stood in against Skubal and told reporters that the 26-year-old left-hander looked "nasty." Velocity readings had him reaching 98 mph with his fastball at one point. Skubal is on the road back from August 2022 flexor tendon surgery and could be an option for the Tigers' starting rotation sometime in late June.

The Yankees recalled Vasquez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday.

The 24-year-old righty will make his major-league debut while starting Friday's game against the Padres. He holds a 4.85 ERA and 1.59 WHIP through 42.2 innings in the minors this season, but he has demonstrated an ability to rack up strikeouts at a plus rate. That being said, he shouldn't be viewed as a reliable fantasy option to begin his MLB career. Aaron Hicks was released Friday in a corresponding move.

Kershaw was activated from the bereavement list Friday.

Kershaw will return to the Dodgers ahead of his scheduled start Saturday against the Rays. The left-hander has produced an impressive 2.98 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with 69 strikeouts over 57.1 innings in 10 starts this season.

Whitley was removed from Thursday's start at Triple-A Sugar Land with discomfort in his right shoulder, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The Astros are saying his removal was precautionary, but Whitley just recently missed a couple weeks of action with shoulder issues and he ended last season with a shoulder problem, as well. Whitley has been inconsistent with Sugar Land this season, posting a 5.70 ERA and 32:17 K:BB over 30 innings.

Smith-Shawver gave up two runs on four hits and three walks over seven innings for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday. He struck out eight.

The 20-year-old right-hander has finally been tagged for some runs -- four in 12 Triple-A innings -- after firing 21 scoreless frames between High-A and Double-A to begin the season, but Smith-Shawver is still having little trouble dominating minor-league hitters. Thursday's seven innings represented his longest start of the year, and across all three levels he sports a 45:12 K:BB through 33 frames. The 2021 seventh-round pick has taken a massive leap forward this year while flashing two plus pitches in his fastball and slider, and a big-league debut later in the summer can't be ruled out if he continues to impress.