MLB Player News

Perez (thigh) gave up one run on three hits over 3.2 innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Jacksonville on Thursday. He struck out five without walking a batter.

The right-hander fired 51 pitches (37 strikes) in his first rehab outing since landing on the IL on May 29 after straining his right gracilis muscle. The initial estimate for Perez's recovery suggested he might be on the shelf until late July, but Thursday's performance was encouraging enough that a return before the All-Star break looks plausible. Perez was sitting 96-98 mph with his fastballs Thursday and topped out at 99.4 mph on a four-seamer.

The Cubs recalled Dean from Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com reports.

An offseason waiver claim, Dean has slashed .238/.369/.354 with three home runs, 14 stolen bases and a 36:58 BB:K over 56 contests with Iowa this season. The 29-year-old can handle all three outfield spots and should operate mainly in a reserve role.

Lukes went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's win over the Red Sox.

Getting the start in center field while Daulton Varsho (wrist) remains sidelined, Lukes took Sonny Gray deep in the seventh inning to give the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead. Lukes has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, and over 15 contests in June he's slashing .327/.373/.455 with both his homers on the season, along with five RBI and seven runs.

Guerrero went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's win over the Red Sox.

The first baseman launched the first pitch he saw from Sonny Gray over the Green Monster in the first inning, giving the Blue Jays a quick lead in an eventual 4-3 victory. It was Guerrero's first long ball since May 17, snapping a 24-game drought, and just his fourth of the year -- a concerning total for a player who averaged 31.8 homers over the prior five seasons. There's still plenty of time left in the campaign for Guerrero to go on a tear and get his power numbers back to their usual level, and Thursday's blast might have been the first sign a summer surge is on its way.

The Rangers outrighted Otanez to Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday.

Otanez cleared waivers after being designated for assignment and will remain in the organization as relief depth. The 28-year-old holds a 6.15 ERA, 1.72 WHIP and 37:25 K:BB in 26.1 innings this season with Round Rock.

Greene (elbow) struck out six over four scoreless frames Thursday in his first rehab start with the Reds' Arizona Complex League affiliate.

Greene yielded two hits, walked one and topped out at 101.1 mph on the radar gun, per Lance McAlister of 700 WLW Sports Talk. He got his pitch count up to 54, throwing 39 pitches for strikes. It's an encouraging first rehab outing for Greene, who is coming back from mid-March surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow. It's unclear when or where Greene's next rehab start will take place, but the Reds expect the right-hander to rejoin the rotation before the All-Star break.

Lee went 1-for-5 with a three-run homer in Thursday's 9-3 win over the Rangers.

Lee extended Minnesota's lead to 4-0 in the first inning with his two-out shot off Jack Leiter, his 12th homer this season. Over his last nine games, Lee has gone 8-for-32 (.250) with three home runs and no strikeouts. Overall, he's slashing .238/.294/.423 with 42 RBI, 32 runs scored and three stolen bases across 283 plate appearances this year.

Langeliers went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in a 5-0 win against the Angels on Thursday.

Langeliers had the key hit in a big first inning for the A's, clobbering a 430-foot homer to center field to account for the first three runs of the contest. The blossoming star extended his on-base streak to 11 games with the long ball, and during that stretch he's clubbed three homers and driven in six runs. On the season, Langeliers' 19 homers rank second among catchers behind Hunter Goodman (21), and Langeliers' .870 OPS trails only Drake Baldwin among catchers with at least 200 plate appearances.

Johnson (0-2) took the loss against the Athletics on Thursday, allowing five runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out two batters over five innings.

Johnson was called up from Double-A Rocket City to make his first big-league appearance since May 19. Things quickly soured for the right-hander, as he gave up five runs -- four of which came via the long ball -- in the first inning. Johnson was at least able to settle down from there and didn't give up another run while holding the A's to just one hit over the course of his remaining four frames, but the first-inning damage was more than enough to saddle him with the loss on a day when him team's offense couldn't push across any runs. The Angels' rotation recently lost Jack Kochanowicz (elbow) for the year and Grayson Rodriguez (back) for at least 15 days, but the team hasn't clarified if Johnson is going to get additional starts or if another hurler will get a look instead.

Jump (3-1) earned the win over the Angels on Thursday, allowing one hit and issuing three walks while striking out seven batters over seven scoreless innings.

The Angels simply couldn't get to Jump, managing just one hit -- an Oswald Peraza double -- against him. The rookie left-hander established a career-best mark with seven punchouts and tossed his second scoreless start over his past three outings. Jump has yet to give up a homer through five appearances this season, and he's completed at least six innings in three of those starts. The 24-year-old appears to be in the big-league rotation to stay, as he's registered an excellent 2.37 ERA and 0.99 WHIP along with a 26:9 K:BB through his first 30.1 major-league frames.