MLB Player News

Manager Craig Counsell said Saturday that he expects Smyly (hip) to begin a rehab assignment with High-A South Bend sometime next week, Mike McGraw of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.

Counsell did not specify how many appearances Smyly will make in the minors, though he may require multiple outings after having been on the shelf since April 23 with a hip impingement. The 34-year-old southpaw put up a 4.97 ERA and 1.34 WHIP across 12.2 innings before getting hurt, and he will likely return to a multi-inning relief role once he rejoins Chicago.

De Los Santos registered a hold against Atlanta on Friday, striking out one batter over a perfect two-thirds of an inning.

De Los Santos entered in the seventh frame with the tying run at the plate and struck out Zack Short before getting Ronald Acuna to fly out to escape the danger. The hold was the first this month for the right-hander hurler, who had given up a homer in three of his previous four outings prior to Friday. The long ball has been an issue for De Los Santos this season -- of the six earned runs he's allowed, five have come on solo homers -- but he's otherwise been solid, posting a 3.12 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 23:4 K:BB while collecting five holds across 17.1 innings.

The Rays traded Belge to the Cubs on Saturday in exchange for Richard Lovelady.

Belge has spent all of 2024 at Double-A Montgomery while putting up a 4.20 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 15 innings out of the bullpen. The 26-year-old southpaw will presumably remain in Double-A as he moves into the Cubs' farm system.

The Rays transferred Waguespack (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list Saturday.

Waguespack will give up his spot on the 40-man roster in order to make room for recent acquisition Richard Lovelady. Waguespack landed on the injured list May 6 due to right shoulder inflammation, and he will now be ineligible to return until July 5.

Suarez earned a hold against Atlanta on Friday, allowing two hits and striking out two batters over one inning.

Suarez has been one of the best closers in baseball this season with 12 saves (in 12 chances) and a 0.47 ERA, so his usage in the eighth inning against Atlanta was not a demotion. Rather, the right-hander was called upon to face the heart of Atlanta's formidable lineup, and though he gave up singles to Marcell Ozuna and Chadwick Tromp, Suarez managed to emerge from the outing with his 16-game scoreless streak intact. The 33-year-old should see most of his work in the ninth inning going forward, though Friday's usage is an indication that manager Mike Shildt won't hesitate to use Suarez in the highest-leverage situations prior to the ninth if the situation calls for it.

The Orioles designated Baumann for assignment Saturday.

Baumann doesn't have any minor-league options remaining, so the Orioles will have to remove him from their 40-man roster in order to create room on the big-league squad for Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder), who came off the injured list Saturday. Baumann has posted a 3.44 ERA and 1.47 WHIP across 18.1 innings this season and will likely attract interest on the waiver wire from teams in need of bullpen help.

Matsui earned a hold against Atlanta on Friday, walking one batter and striking out two over two-thirds of an inning.

Matsui was called upon with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning with the trying run at the plate, and he struck out Michael Harris II to end the frame. The lefty reliever then struck out Orlando Arcia to begin the seventh before walking Adam Duvall, which got him the hook. Interestingly, usual closer Robert Suarez was deployed in a high-leverage spot in the eighth frame Friday, but Matsui -- who was expected to compete for the ninth-inning role after working mostly as a closer during his 10-year career in Japan -- wasn't available to close since he had already been used. If Suarez (who has been excellent this season) sees more work before the ninth, it's possible Matsui could get an occasional save chance, though he's struggled in May, allowing four runs on five hits while posting a 6:6 K:BB over 4.2 innings covering six appearances.

Kahnle (shoulder) may be activated from the IL during the Yankees' series against Seattle that begins Monday, per MLB.com.

Kahnle kicked off a minor-league rehab assignment May 8 and has been dominant through four outings, posting a 9:0 K:BB while tossing four perfect frames. The veteran reliever is slated to make another rehab appearance Saturday, after which he'll be re-evaluated. If Kahnle is cleared at that point, he could make his season debut for the big-league Yankees as soon as Monday.

Ferguson earned a hold against the White Sox on Friday, striking out one batter in two-thirds of an inning.

Fellow reliever Ian Hamilton began the eighth frame for the Yankees but got himself into hot water, allowing three hits to the four batters he faced to yield a run and put the tying runs in scoring position. Ferguson was called upon to put out the fire and did just that, striking out Andrew Benintendi and getting Corey Julks to line out to keep New York's advantage at two runs. Though his ERA still sits at an unappealing 5.74 on the campaign, Ferguson has been one of the Yankees' highest-leverage relievers of late, nailing down four holds over his past 10 appearances. He's posted a 10:3 K:BB across seven innings during that span, and all four of his earned runs during that stretch came in a single outing (May 12 versus Tampa Bay).

Hamilton earned a hold against the White Sox on Friday despite allowing one run on three hits while striking out one batter over one-third of an inning.

This wasn't Hamilton's finest performance, as he gave up a double followed by a run-scoring single prior to recording his only out. The right-hander then yielded another double to put the tying runs in scoring position, but Caleb Ferguson came to the rescue in relief of Hamilton to prevent any more runs from scoring. Despite the poor outing, Hamilton was credited with his first hold since May 1. The 28-year-old has taken a bit of a step back in comparison to last season, but he's still been relatively effective this year with a 3.18 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 19:9 K:BB through 22.2 innings.