MLB Player News

Mears (shoulder) threw a bullpen Saturday, MLB.com reports.

Mears has been on the injured list since May 29 due to a right shoulder impingement, with his progression halted June 16 after a bullpen session reignited the same soreness and pinching feeling that initially landed him on the shelf. The right-hander is now getting back on track in rehab and came out of Saturday's session feeling good, according to Royals manager Matt Quatraro. Provided no further setbacks ensue, Mears is likely to embark on a rehab assignment in the near future before returning to the big-league club. On the year, he owns a 5.12 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 15:11 K:BB across 19.1 innings.

Thomas went 2-for-5 with an RBI, a run scored and a steal in Sunday's 5-4 victory over the White Sox.

Thomas was penciled into the leadoff spot with left-hander Anthony Kay on the mound for the White Sox and made an immediate impact, leading off the first inning with a single before stealing second base and scoring on a Carter Jensen hit. Thomas also came through in his second at-bat, lining a slider into left field for an RBI single in the second inning. On the year, the outfielder is slashing .216/.329/.335 with five homers, 23 RBI, 20 runs and four stolen bases across 70 appearances. With Kyle Isbel (foot) sidelined, Thomas has shifted into a regular role in center field for the Royals.

Jensen went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI in Sunday's 5-4 victory over the White Sox.

Jensen extended his hitting streak to 19 games, doing so with a game-high three hits and a pair of RBI. The young catcher has turned it on in June, slashing .292/.333/.510 with four homers, nine doubles, 19 RBI and 17 runs scored across 24 appearances this month. The surge has significantly boosted Jensen's season line to .251/.317/.438 with 11 homers, 17 doubles, 45 RBI and 39 runs scored across 78 games.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Friday that Judge isn't expected to be ready for a re-evaluation later this week, when he'll be at the four-week mark in his recovery from a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

At the time Judge was placed on the 10-day injured list June 5, the Yankees announced that the three-time MVP was scheduled to be re-evaluated in 4-to-6 weeks. Though Judge hasn't necessarily suffered any setbacks while resting for much of June, Boone noted that the 34-year-old is moving slowly through the recovery process and may get follow-up imaging on his rib closer to the six-week mark. With that timeline in mind, Judge can be safely ruled out through the All-Star break, and an early August return from the IL could be ambitious if he isn't cleared to resume baseball activities immediately following his re-evaluation.

Varland (3-3) took the loss Sunday against the Rangers, striking out the side in the ninth inning but allowing one run on one hit.

With the score tied 2-2, the Blue Jays turned to their closer in the top of the ninth inning with a potential save situation off the table, but Varland suffered a very fluky loss. Following a two-out double by Josh Jung, Varland saw pinch runner Jarred Kelenic race home from second base after a wild pitch took a strange bounce that left catcher Alejandro Kirk unable to find it in time. Varland has been scored upon in three of 12 appearances in June, posting a 2.57 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 20:3 K:BB over 14 innings on the month while going 8-for-8 in converting save chances.

Lukes went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday's loss to the Rangers.

The 31-year-old outfielder accounted for all the Blue Jays' offense when he took Cole Winn deep in the eighth inning. Lukes has four long balls on the season, and all of them have come in June -- a month in which he's produced a .317/.364/.488 slash line with two doubles, eight RBI and 10 runs in 24 contests.

Sandoval (biceps) struck out three and allowed one earned run on three hits and one walk across four innings Sunday in his rehab start with Triple-A Worcester.

Sandoval built up to 60 pitches (40 strikes) in Sunday's appearance, his fifth minor-league start since he resumed a rehab assignment June 5. He generated five whiffs in the outing and averaged 92.8 mph with his four-seam fastball, down one mph from his average with the Angels during the 2024 season before he underwent internal brace surgery that June. The 29-year-old southpaw is now well removed from the elbow procedure, but a bout with biceps soreness during his rehab assignment in April continued to delay his Red Sox debut. Sandoval's current 30-day rehab window will come to an end Saturday, so he'll likely make one more start with either Worcester or Double-A Portland before coming off the 60-day injured list. With Jake Bennett having excelled as the Red Sox's No. 5 starter over the past few weeks, Sandoval might have to settle for a multi-inning relief role once he gets activated.

Robles went 2-for-5 with three stolen bases and a run scored in Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Guardians.

Robles doubled his stolen-base count for the season with his three steals Sunday -- he swiped just one bag over 12 games coming into the day while going 4-for-27 (.148). Robles has been limited to the short side of a platoon since returning from the IL in late May, though he could see more playing time in the short term with both Luke Raley (elbow) and Dominic Canzone (hamstring) dealing with injuries. Overall, Robles is slashing .242/.275/.273 with no home runs, two RBI and five runs scored across 69 plate appearances this year.

Delgado went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Sunday's 7-5 win over the Tigers.

Making his first start in four games with Jose Altuve getting the day off, Delgado put the Astros on the board in the seventh inning with his two-run blast off lefty Tyler Holton, cutting the deficit to 3-2. It's the first home run for Delgado in his first 27 major-league plate appearances. The 26-year-old infielder has gone 7-for-25 (.280) with a .708 OPS, four RBI and two runs scored in 13 games with Houston.

Walker went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer in Sunday's 7-5 win over the Tigers in 10 innings.

Walker gave Houston some breathing room in the top of the 10th inning with his three-run blast off Kenley Jansen, his 19th homer of the year. In his last two games, Walker's gone 5-for-9 with three extra-base hits after going just 2-for-27 over his prior seven contests. The veteran first baseman is now slashing .240/.311/.476 with 56 RBI and 45 runs scored across 351 plate appearances this season.