MLB Player News

Garcia was removed from Saturday's game against the Rangers with a right hamstring strain, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Garcia injured himself while running from first to third base in the seventh inning and was immediately replaced on the basepaths. The severity of his injury is unknown, though there's a strong chance that he will require a trip to the injured list, which would likely leave Nick Loftin as the next man up to start at third base for Kansas City.

The Athletics recalled Kelly from Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday.

With Luis Severino (shoulder) headed for the injured list, Kelly will return to the majors to provide the big club with some additional bullpen depth. Since being demoted to Triple-A in early April, the 33-year-old righty has posted a 4.91 ERA and 1.62 WHIP over 14.2 innings. He'll likely be limited to low-leverage work as long as he's with the A's.

The Athletics placed Severino on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a right shoulder strain.

Severino made an early exit from Friday's game due to what was originally labeled as arm soreness, but further evaluation determined the right-hander suffered a strain in his shoulder. The severity of the strain is unclear, but he'll now have to wait until at least mid-June for his next opportunity on a big-league mound. Michael Kelly will come up from Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move to give the A's extra bullpen depth until they need another starter.

Quero went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's 7-1 win over the Tigers.

The 23-year-old catcher brought home a run in the first inning with a sacrifice fly before launching a solo shot off Framber Valdez in the seventh. Quero has started three of the last four games -- two against left-handed pitchers and one against a righty -- and may have pushed his way back into the top spot on the depth chart over Drew Romo. Since May 17, Quero is batting .346 (9-for-26) with two homers, eight RBI and nine runs in 11 games, while Romo is batting .190 (4-for-21).

Dominguez struck out one in a perfect eighth inning Saturday to record his first hold of the season in a 7-1 win over the Tigers.

After being used in the top of the ninth inning of a tie game Friday, Dominguez was brought back Saturday with the White Sox up 4-1 and Detroit's 2-3-4 hitters coming to the plate. The right-hander got the job done on 15 pitches (eight strikes), and the White Sox then added some insurance runs before letting Trevor Richards finish the game with a big lead. Dominguez has produced four straight scoreless appearances, and on the season he sports a 3.97 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 28:11 K:BB through 22.2 innings while converting 11 of 14 save opportunities.

Kay (5-1) picked up the win in Saturday's 7-1 victory over the Tigers, allowing one run on six hits and a walk over five-plus innings. He struck out three.

The lefty cruised through five frames, giving up just a solo shot to Wenceel Perez in the third inning, but Kay got the hook after 84 pitches (54 strikes) when the first two Detroit hitters reached to open the sixth. Kay has four wins in his last five starts, a stretch in which he's delivered a stellar 1.65 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 22:9 K:BB through 27.1 innings. He'll look to keep rolling in his next outing, which is set to come on the road next weekend in Philadelphia.

Valdez (2-4) took the loss Saturday, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks over 6.2 innings as the Tigers fell 7-1 to the White Sox. He struck out four.

The southpaw got tagged for two runs in the first inning and two runs in the seventh, getting lifted after 89 pitches (59 strikes) having received little support from his offense. Valdez has allowed at least four runs in three of his last five outings, stumbling to a 5.93 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 22:11 K:BB in 27.1 innings over that stretch. He'll look for his first win since April 19 in his next start, which lines up to come at home next weekend against the Mariners.

Manager Matt Quatraro said Saturday that Avila will start Monday's game against the Reds, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

With Cole Ragans (elbow) set to spend more time on the 15-day injured list than the Royals originally expected following a setback, Kansas City will turn to Avila to temporarily fill the fifth spot in the rotation. The 24-year-old righty struggled to find his footing in the majors early in the season but has settled in as of late, posting a 3.14 ERA and 1.33 WHIP across 14.1 frames since the beginning of May. He likely won't be able to handle a full starter's workload Monday after throwing just 67 pitches over three frames during his last appearance Tuesday against the Yankees, and he'll also be tasked with taking on a Reds lineup that's posted a .742 OPS across its last 10 games.

Cease (hamstring) is throwing a bullpen session of 25-to-30 pitches Saturday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Cease landed on the 15-day IL on Monday, so it's promising that he's already throwing a bullpen five days later. The hurler has been optimistic that he'll be able to return to the Blue Jays' rotation when first eligible, and a successful BP on Saturday would be a big step toward making that a reality. Depending on how the bullpen goes, Cease's next step could be either another BP or facing hitters, per Zwelling.

Kirk (thumb) has been taking on-field batting practice and is expected to begin hitting off a high-velocity pitching machine in the coming days, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Kirk has been sidelined since April 4 and is currently on the 60-day IL. He's probably still at least a week away from beginning a minor-league rehab assignment, so the backstop doesn't seem likely to be activated until mid-June, at the earliest. Brandon Valenzuela and Tyler Heineman have been handling catching duties for the Blue Jays while Kirk has been out of action.