MLB Player News

The Astros optioned Santa to Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Santa will open the second half in the minors after making two appearances out of the bullpen during his latest stint with the Astros. The young right-hander owns a 1.17 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over his first 15.1 innings in the big leagues, though a weak 5.1 K-BB% indicates that he hasn't been nearly as dominant as the other two ratios would suggest.

The Orioles transferred Akin (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Akin landed on the IL on June 29 due to left elbow inflammation and is scheduled to meet with Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday to receive a second opinion on his injury. The Orioles fear that Akin may have UCL damage that could require surgery, and their willingness to shift the southpaw to the 60-day IL less than three weeks after he landed on the shelf suggests that the club is bracing for bad news following his consultation with Dr. Meister. The transaction opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Cam Sanders, whom the Orioles acquired in a trade with the Pirates.

The Orioles acquired Sanders from the Pirates on Monday in exchange for cash considerations, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Baltimore transferred Keegan Akin (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL to free up a spot on the 40-man roster for Sanders, who was subsequently optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. The 29-year-old right-hander had made nine appearances out of the Pittsburgh bullpen this season, posting an 8.68 ERA, 2.04 WHIP and 13:10 K:BB in 9.1 innings.

Freeman underwent surgery June 29 to repair a herniated disc in his neck, MLB.com reports.

At the time surgery was performed, Freeman was expected to rest for about three weeks before resuming baseball activities, so he could be cleared for on-field work when the Rangers reconvene following the All-Star break. Before landing on the injured list June 25, Freeman appeared in just seven games for the Rangers and went 4-for-17 with a 1:5 BB:K and one run.

Montgomery (elbow) struck out a batter and allowed one earned run on four hits and no walks across four innings Sunday in a rehab start with Triple-A Round Rock.

Montgomery spotted 35 of his 52 pitches for strikes and averaged 90.1 mph with his sinker, which was down 1.7 ticks from his average through his first five rehab outings. The velocity downturn isn't fully unexpected as Montgomery works deeper into his rehab starts, and his results through three outings with Round Rock and two with Double-A Frisco have been impressive overall (2.25 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 11:0 K:BB in 12 innings). The veteran southpaw -- who is working his way back from the hybrid UCL reconstruction surgery he underwent in March 2025 -- will likely make one final rehab start next weekend before the Rangers bring him back from the 60-day injured list.

Bradford (elbow) struck out a batter and allowed one run on no hits and two walks in a one-inning rehab start with Double-A Frisco on Sunday.

Bradford made his first appearance since April 2, as he was previously pulled off a rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock after one start when he experienced a setback in his recovery from his June 2025 internal brace procedure. The southpaw needed 21 pitches to record his three outs and threw just seven strikes, with the lack of control not especially surprising coming off a lengthy layoff from game action. The Rangers are expected to allow Bradford to get stretched out for a starting role during his rehab assignment, but he'll need to improve his efficiency as he builds up his innings volume in his subsequent minor-league outings in order to stake a claim to a spot in the big-league rotation once his 30-day rehab window comes to a close.

The Astros promoted Neyens from Single-A Fayetteville to High-A Asheville on Monday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Neyens will begin the second half of the season with the Astros' South Atlantic League affiliate after opening his professional career in impressive fashion at Fayetteville. The No. 21 overall pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft, Neyens totaled 14 home runs and 16 stolen bases while slashing .240/.449/.462 with a 25.9 percent walk rate and 30.2 percent strikeout rate across 305 plate appearances in the Carolina League.

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said Thursday that Crochet (shoulder/lat) has yet to resume a formal throwing program and is limited to playing catch with weighted plyometric balls, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Initially placed on the injured list April 29 due to shoulder inflammation, Crochet advanced to facing live hitters in late May, but after experiencing a setback and being diagnosed with a low-grade lat strain, he's essentially back to square one in the rehab process. While he hasn't been shut down from activity entirely, Crochet will need to eventually restart a throwing progression before the Red Sox have a better sense of when he might be ready to return. Even if he gets the green light to start playing catch with a baseball during the All-Star break, Crochet would likely need at least a month to check all the boxes in his throwing program and complete a rehab assignment, so a return in late August probably represents a best-case scenario for the 27-year-old.

Interim manager Chad Tracy confirmed Thursday that Anthony's (finger) recent follow-up appointment with Dr. Gary Lourie revealed no new information about his injury, and the outfielder will continue to rehab at the Red Sox's complex in Florida through at least the All-Star break, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Anthony is still trying to get over the hump in his recovery from the partially torn tendon in his right ring finger that has kept him on the shelf since May 7. Though Tracy noted that Anthony's finger is healing as expected, the 23-year-old has struggled to regain full strength in his hand, which has thus far prevented him from starting a hitting progression. Until Anthony reaches that step in the recovery process, the Red Sox won't be able to map out a minor-league rehab assignment for him. Though Anthony remains without an official timeline to return from the 60-day injured list, fantasy managers can safely rule him out through the rest of July.

Bello struck out five and allowed one earned run on two hits and no walks across 4.1 innings of long relief Sunday in the Red Sox's 3-2 extra-inning win over the Mets.

Boston recalled Bello from Triple-A Worcester prior to their final game of the first half, after the right-hander submitted a 4.34 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 22:4 K:BB in 18.2 innings across his four starts in the minors. Though Bello had previously been used as a traditional starter or bulk reliever in his prior 13 outings with Boston this season, he was deployed as part of a piggyback arrangement with Payton Tolle, whom interim manager Chad Tracy indicated prior to the game would be deliberately limited as a means of workload management. After Tolle covered the first 3.2 innings, Bello entered midway through the fourth and was able to keep the Red Sox competitive before the Boston offense finally broke through with two runs in the ninth inning to send the game to extras. Boston will have an opening in its rotation until either Ranger Suarez (groin) or Connelly Early (elbow) return from the injured list, and Bello or Eduardo Rivera -- who made an abbreviated start Saturday -- would appear to be the top candidates to fill the void.