MLB Player News

Rojas (abdomen) struck out nine and walked two over five scoreless, no-hit innings Thursday in his rehab appearance for Single-A Dunedin.

The 22-year-old lefty has resided on High-A Vancouver's injured list all season due to an injury to his midsection, but he appears to be on the cusp of making his 2025 debut in the Northwestern League. Over six appearances (five starts) between Dunedin and the rookie-level Florida Complex League, Rojas has posted a 1.00 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 26:5 K:BB through 18 innings. If he keeps dealing for Vancouver after being activated, Rojas should get his first taste of Double-A later this summer.

The Tigers optioned Sweeney to Triple-A Toledo following Friday's 4-1 loss to the Twins.

Sweeney will give up his spot on the 26-man active roster for outfielder/infielder Matt Vierling (shoulder), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Sweeney has a .594 OPS with two steals, four home runs and 23 RBI in 225 plate appearances this season, and he had seen his playing time diminish since Parker Meadows and Wenceel Perez returned from the IL in early June, which resulted in Javier Baez shifting from the outfield to shortstop. Sweeney will get more regular playing time in Triple-A and could be recalled by the Tigers should they need to bolster their depth in the infield later on this season.

Smith, who tossed two scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts in Friday's loss to the Twins, now has a 1.86 ERA this season.

Smith has been back and forth between Detroit and Triple-A Toledo, so he's only logged 9.2 innings for the Tigers to date, but he's impressed in the small sample, allowing just four hits and three walks for a strong 0.72 WHIP. The 25-year-old is working in a mostly low-leverage role with limited fantasy impact during his rookie campaign, though he could earn more high-leverage innings if he continues to pitch well.

Smith started at first base and went 2-for-5 with a walk, a double and a two runs scored in Friday's 7-6 loss to the Mariners.

Smith made a third consecutive start at first base with Jake Burger (oblique) on the 10-day injured list. All three starts have come against righties, which is the typical pattern for the lefty-hitting Smith. June is shaping up to his best month, as he sports a .910 OPS with 10 extra-base hits and nine RBI over 19 games this month.

The Tigers reinstated Vierling (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list, and he will start in center field and bat seventh against the Twins on Saturday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Vierling has appeared in just four major-league games this season due to right shoulder inflammation, which has led to two separate stints on the injured list. He played in seven games for Triple-A Toledo during his latest rehab outing, going 6-for-29 (.207) with four runs scored and two RBI, but he's shown enough to make his way back to the majors and will start in the outfield in his return. Trey Sweeney was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Osuna started in left field and went 1-for-2 with a double in Friday's 7-6 loss to Seattle.

Osuna filled in for the injured Wyatt Langford, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with an oblique injury that Kennedi Landry of MLB.com described as mild. Osuna was eventually replaced by Ezequiel Duran when a lefty reliever entered the game. Friday marked the third consecutive start for Osuna, who has a .171/.300/.195 line over 19 games since his contract was selected from Triple-A Round Rock at the end of May. Osuna, Duran or Sam Haggerty could see a spike in playing time while Langford is unavailable.

Schneemann started at third base and went 0-for-3 in Friday's 5-0 loss to the Cardinals.

Schneemann filled in for the injured Jose Ramirez, who was unavailable after being hit by a pitch on his forearm during Thursday's loss to Toronto. Schneemann's been grinding the last week, going 2-for-21 (.095) with zero RBI and one run scored over the last seven contests.

Civale didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 3-1 loss to the Giants, allowing one run on three hits and four walks over four innings. He struck out four.

The veteran righty got only 40 of his 80 pitches into the strike zone before getting the hook with the game tied 1-1. It's the second time in three starts since joining the White Sox that Civale has issued four free passes, and he sports a 4.50 ERA, 1.69 WHIP and 10:9 K:BB in 16 innings for his new club. He's unlikely to nab his first win with Chicago in his next outing, which lines up to come on the road next week against the Dodgers.

Clemens is not in the Twins' starting lineup against the Tigers on Saturday.

Clemens will hit the bench after starting in the Twins' last six games, going 3-for-18 (.167) with four runs scored and two solo homers over that span. Willi Castro will shift to the keystone while Trevor Larnach, Harrison Bader and Matt Wallner start in the outfield from left to right.

Jones went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's 4-2 win over Worcester on Friday.

Jones was promoted to Triple-A before Friday's contest, and it didn't take long for him to make an impact, as he smacked a solo homer to center field in his first plate appearance. He did strike out in two of his other plate appearances, and that is an area the 24-year-old prospect will need to work on as he shifts his focus toward a promotion to the majors.