MLB Player News

The Twins reinstated Bundy (illness) from the COVID-19-related injured list ahead of his scheduled start Tuesday against the Athletics in Oakland.

Following Monday's 3-1 win in the series opener, the Twins opened up room for Bundy on the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster by designating reliever Jharel Cotton for assignment. Bundy was deactivated for just under two weeks after testing positive for the virus May 5, and because he didn't have sufficient time to get his conditioning back in order, the right-hander is expected to be on a limited pitch count Tuesday. He should be in store for a more normal start in his subsequent turn through the rotation, which will likely fall next week against the Tigers in Minnesota.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa said that Lynn (knee) will face hitters Friday during the team's road trip in New York, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Advancing from bullpen sessions to throwing live batting practice marks an important step forward in the recovery process for Lynn, who has been sidelined all season after requiring surgery in early April to address a slight tear in his right knee. The White Sox have thrown out early June as a potential return date, and his continued presence on the 10-day injured list rather than the 60-day IL seemingly supports that optimism. Before the team pinpoints a more precise date for Lynn to make his team debut, he'll likely need to head out on a minor-league rehab assignment and build up his pitch count in one or two outings.

Giolito (illness) rejoined the White Sox in Kansas City on Tuesday and is expected to come off the COVID-19 injured list to start Wednesday's game against the Royals, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

When asked Monday about his rotation plans for this week, manager Tony La Russa left the door open for Giolito to start one half of Tuesday's doubleheader, but the White Sox will instead opt to give the right-hander an additional day of rest before working him back into the mix. Since Giolito was first placed on the IL on Friday and didn't require an extended period to clear COVID-19-related protocols, he shouldn't face any major restrictions with his pitch count if he is in fact activated ahead of Wednesday's contest. Over his first five starts of the 2022 season, Giolito has posted a 2.70 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 37:9 K:BB across 26.2 innings.

The Dodgers recalled Pepiot from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday and will have him start the first game of the team's doubleheader with the Diamondbacks in Los Angeles.

Pepiot is designated as the 27th man for the twin bill, so he'll presumably head back to Oklahoma City at the conclusion of Tuesday's start. The 24-year-old right-hander made his big-league debut last week in Pittsburgh, striking out three over three scoreless innings but not advancing deep into the start after he issued five walks. Pepiot will aim to improve his efficiency in Tuesday's outing, and a better showing against Arizona could keep him in the conversation to make another turn through the rotation when the Dodgers next require a fifth starter May 24 in Washington.

The White Sox selected Martin's contract from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday. He'll start the second game of Chicago's doubleheader in Kansas City, LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Martin will get his first call to the big leagues after he impressed between stops at Charlotte and Double-A Birmingham earlier this season. Over his seven starts in the minors, Martin supplied a 2.50 ERA and 1.08 WHIP across 36 innings. With the White Sox adding Johnny Cueto to the rotation earlier this week and set to return Lucas Giolito (illness) from the COVID-19 injured list Wednesday, Martin is expected to be sent back to Charlotte following Tuesday's start, regardless of how he performs.

The White Sox placed Kopech on the paternity list Tuesday.

Kopech will be away from the team for up to three days while he witnesses the birth of his child. After making his most recent start Sunday, Kopech wouldn't have been in line to make his next start until Friday in New York anyway, so his placement on the paternity list shouldn't affect his availability this week. The White Sox are expected to return Lucas Giolito (illness) from the COVID-19 injured list to start Wednesday in Kansas City, so Kopech could end up getting an additional day of rest to make his next start Saturday, which would also come against the Yankees.

The MRI deGrom (shoulder) underwent Monday revealed "continued healing in the scapula." He's scheduled to continue building distance and velocity during his throwing program, but he remains without a definitive timetable for making his 2022 debut.

The news is definitely what the Mets wanted to hear, but that doesn't mean deGrom's return is anything close to imminent. He still has to go through a full spring training buildup process, though he's at least been throwing in a limited capacity recently.

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker suggested after Monday's 1-0 loss at Milwaukee that Strider will likely handle more higher-leverage work late in games in the wake of Tyler Matzek's (shoulder) impending move to the 15-day injured list, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. "When you lose a guy of [Matzek's] caliber, we may need Strider to fill those late-inning leverage innings," Snitker said.

When Atlanta optioned Bryce Elder and Kyle Muller to Triple-A Gwinnett on May 1, Strider looked like a potential candidate to step into the final opening in the rotation, but the big club will instead promote Tucker Davidson from Gwinnett to give him another look as the No. 5 starter beginning with Tuesday's game against the Brewers. After working a career-high four innings in a bulk-relief role May 6, Strider would have been reasonably stretched out enough for starting duty, but Atlanta apparently believes he'll provide more value out of the bullpen as a high-leverage, multi-inning arm late in games. Look for Atlanta to stay away from Strider on Tuesday, however, as he tossed two scoreless innings in a 26-pitch relief appearance Monday.

Kremer (oblique) will report to Double-A Bowie on Wednesday to begin a rehab assignment, Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Kremer has been sidelined since early April with the left oblique strain, so he'll likely need at least two outings in the minors to get stretched back out for starting duties. Given that he submitted a lowly 7.55 ERA and 1.64 WHIP across his 13 starts with the big club in 2022, Kremer won't be guaranteed a rotation spot with the Orioles at the conclusion of his rehab assignment. Whether Kremer slots into the Baltimore rotation, works out of the bullpen or gets optioned to Triple-A Norfolk once activated from the 10-day injured list will likely be determined by how he performs on his rehab assignment in addition to how back-end starters Spenser Watkins and Kyle Bradish fare in their next few outings.

The Royals recalled Singer from Triple-A Omaha ahead of his scheduled start in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader with the White Sox.

As anticipated, Singer is being designated as the Royals' 27th man for the twin bill, but he'll have a chance to stick around as the fifth member of the Kansas City rotation if he outperforms the starter in Game 1, Jonathan Heasley. After failing to escape the fourth inning while issuing four walks and allowing four hits in his first start with Kansas City last week against the Rangers, Heasley doesn't enter Tuesday with a long leash as a starter. Meanwhile, Singer started 39 games for Kansas City between the past two seasons, and despite opening the 2022 campaign in the bullpen, he's fared well as a starter since being optioned to Triple-A in late April. He stretched out to six innings in his most recent outing last week, so he shouldn't face any major workload restrictions when he makes his first start for the big club later Tuesday.