MLB Player News

The Royals announced Friday that Ragans (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.

Ragans has been sidelined since May 6 with an elbow impingement but has been throwing bullpen sessions for the past week. He's now ready to face live hitters in a game setting and shouldn't need more than one or two rehab starts before rejoining the Royals' rotation. The left-hander has a 4.84 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 45:23 K:BB across 35.1 innings this season. Ragans has elite swing-and-miss stuff, but his 15.2 percent walk rate is in just the sixth percentile leaguewide, while opponents also have a sky-high 15.7 percent barrel rate against Ragans.

The Royals designated Diaz for assignment Friday.

Diaz has shown some extra-base pop in 10 games with the Royals this season, slashing .227/.261/.591 with a pair of doubles, two homers, five RBI, three runs scored and a 1:5 BB:K across 23 plate appearances. He's now been booted from the 40-man roster.

The Royals recalled Tolbert from Triple-A Omaha on Friday.

To make room on the 26-man roster, the Royals DFA'd Elias Diaz. Tolbert has appeared in seven games for Kansas City this season and is a career .273/.311/.364 hitter across 62 plate appearances. He's hit .260/.365/.288 with just two extra-base hits, five RBI, 11 runs scored, eight stolen bases and a 12:21 BB:K across 86 trips to the plate at Triple-A this season.

Akin will serve as the opener ahead of Chris Bassitt for Friday's game against the Tigers, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Akin opened ahead of Bassitt on May 10 against the Athletics and pitched one inning, recording a pair of strikeouts. The left-hander has produced an unsightly 13.50 ERA, 1.96 WHIP and 8:2 K:BB across 8.2 innings with the big-league club this season.

Story underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia Thursday and will be sidelined 6-10 weeks, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

Story was placed on the 10-day injured list last weekend and was seeking medical opinions for his hernia. He's opted for surgery and will miss far more than the minimum 10 days as a result. Andruw Monasterio and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have been handling shortstop duties in Story's place this week, but the longer absence could prompt the Red Sox to shift Marcelo Mayer back to his original position. In 41 games this season, Story has slashed an unimpressive .206/.244/.303 with three home runs, 19 RBI, 16 runs scored, four stolen bases and an 8:57 BB:K across 176 plate appearances.

Brown (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi on Sunday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Brown threw live batting practice earlier this week and is ready for game action as he recovers from a shoulder strain. The right-hander isn't eligible to return from the 60-day injured list until the end of May, but a June return might be more plausible given the length of his layoff. Brown last pitched March 31 and posted a 0.84 ERA and 17:6 K:BB across 10.2 inning in his first two starts of the season before being shut down.

Matthews is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs.

Matthews is slashing just .197/.242/.328 with a 27.3 percent strikeout rate in May, and though the Astros lost Jose Altuve (oblique) to the injured list Monday, the recent activation of Jake Meyers has resulted in the struggling Matthews losing out on some playing time in center field. The 24-year-old will hit the bench for the second time in three games while the Astros go with Braden Shewmake at second base. In addition to the keystone and center, Matthews remains a candidate to see playing time in left field, though Houston also has Zach Cole and Zach Dezenzo as options there.

The Mariners optioned Joe to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.

With Victor Robles (pectoral) back from the injured list, Joe loses his spot on the 26-man roster. Joe has slashed .182/.308/.333 with one home run, three RBI, two runs scored, two stolen bases and a 6:11 BB:K across 39 plate appearances with Seattle.

Dezenzo is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs.

The Astros will go with Zach Cole and Cam Smith as their corner outfielders for the series opener, ending Dezenzo's streak of six consecutive starts in left field during which the 26-year-old went 5-for-19 with a double, a walk and run. Though the Astros recently lost Jose Alutve (oblique) to the injured list, the returns of Jake Meyers and Jeremy Pena from the IL has left five players competing for three spots in the Houston lineup. Dezenzo, Cole, Smith and Brice Matthews are all in the mix for starts in the corner outfield, although Matthews is also battling Braden Shewmake for starts at second base.

The Mariners activated Robles (pectoral) from the 10-day injured list Friday.

In a corresponding move, Seattle optioned Connor Joe to Triple-A Tacoma. Robles hasn't played at the big-league level since April 6 due to a strained right pec. He appeared in 12 games with Tacoma on a rehab assignment and slashed .256/.389/.349 with four doubles, seven RBI, 10 runs scored, two stolen bases and a 9:13 BB:K across 54 plate appearances. He's likely to see most of his at-bats against lefties with the Mariners.