MLB Player News

Springer went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Thursday's 12-0 win over the A's.

Springer launched Toronto's fourth homer of the game in just the third inning Thursday, a 376-foot shot off Anthony Maldonado to extend the Jays' lead to 11-0. It's the sixth home run this season for Springer, who'd gone just 1-for-15 in his previous six contests. Still, it's been a strong bounce-back campaign thus far for the veteran outfielder -- Springer's slashing .250/.367/.445 with 26 runs scored, 19 RBI and seven stolen bases across 196 plate appearances.

Shuster will work as the opener Friday in Baltimore, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

The game got pushed up a few hours due to inclement weather, so Shuster is going to give primary pitcher Sean Burke more time to get ready. Shuster has been back and forth between Triple-A and the majors a couple times this month, and he has a 1.93 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and 3:2 K:BB in 4.2 innings over his three most recent appearances with the big club.

Burke will follow opener Jared Shuster for Friday's game in Baltimore, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Friday's game is getting pushed up a few hours and will start at 4:30 p.m. due to a poor weather forecast later in the night. Burke has been stingy in May with a 2.67 ERA in 27 innings, but he has a 19:19 K:BB and 1.44 WHIP over that span. He is coming off his best outing of the year, as he picked up a win while striking out a season-high six in six innings of one-run ball against Texas.

Briceno went 4-for-4 with three home runs, a double, four runs, five RBI and a stolen base Thursday for High-A West Michigan.

The steal was of home, to put an exclamation point on a massive performance. Briceno is hitting .429 with six home runs, seven walks and just two strikeouts over his last eight games, so a promotion to Double-A could be coming soon. The lefty-hitting 20-year-old has made more starts at first base (14) than catcher (12) this year and could eventually lose catcher eligibility. He has a .268/.383/.610 slash line with 11 home runs and a 19.5 percent strikeout rate in 34 games, good for a 169 wRC+.

Bichette went 2-for-4 with a homer, three RBI and an additional run scored in Thursday's 12-0 win over the A's.

After smacking a pinch-hit home run Wednesday, Bichette extended Toronto's lead to 10-0 in the third inning Thursday with a two-run blast off Anthony Maldonado, the shortstop's sixth long ball of the year. Following an 0-for-15 stretch, Bichette has gone 4-for-9 with four extra-base hits in his last three contests. He's slashing .277/.324/.426 with 30 RBI, 25 runs scored and four stolen bases across 253 plate appearances this year.

Miller (elbow) is expected to make his return from the 15-day injured list to start Saturday's game against the Twins, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.

After spending about two weeks recovering from right elbow inflammation, Miller will avoid a rehab assignment and instead jump right back into Seattle's rotation. It's unclear if the 26-year-old right-hander will have any workload limitations Saturday, but he'll square off with a Minnesota offense that's struggled lately as he tries to improve his 5.22 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 35:21 K:BB on the season. Miller will be taking the rotation spot of Logan Evans, who was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday.

Hancock didn't factor into the decision Thursday against the Nationals after allowing two runs on two hits and three walks in 5.1 innings. He struck out four.

Hancock yielded a season-low two hits, but one went for extra bases on a two-run double by James Wood in the sixth inning. Hancock has fanned more than five just one time this season, and he's mostly struggled with a 5.64 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 32:15 K:BB and .307 opponent batting average over 44.2 innings. The right-hander is tentatively set to take the mound versus the reeling Orioles next week, but Hancock is likely to lose his rotation spot once both Bryce Miller (elbow) and Logan Gilbert (elbow) come off the injured list.

Diaz went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Thursday's 13-3 win over the Astros.

It was Diaz's first multi-hit game since May 21, as it's been a relatively quiet stretch for him at the plate in terms of batting average. Across his last 11 contests, the veteran corner infielder is batting just .234 with one homer, three doubles, 10 RBI and five runs scored. Diaz does have four multi-RBI efforts and multi-hit games during this period, however.

Caminero went 3-for-6 with a home run, a double, six RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's 13-3 win over the Astros.

The six RBI were a career high for Caminero, who homered in his second straight game and appears to be heating up at the plate recently. Over his last seven outings (29 at-bats), the slugging third baseman is batting .414 with three home runs, five doubles, 12 RBI and seven runs scored. Caminero also has five multi-hit games during this stretch.

Gusto didn't factor into the decision Thursday against the Rays after allowing two runs on four hits and three walks in 3.2 innings. He struck out four.

Gusto was already at 31 pitches after one inning, which effectively set back the rest of his outing. The right-hander has really struggled to provide length for the Astros this season, as he's thrown at least five innings just twice among his seven starts and has a shaky 5.83 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 32:13 K:BB over 29.1 innings as a starter. Working in Gusto's favor is a soft matchup that tentatively lines up for next week against the Pirates, who own a dismal .639 OPS in the month of May, but he remains difficult to trust for fantasy purposes.