AL East

The Boston Red Sox will be without a key member of their starting rotation for the next couple of weeks.

The team announced that right-hander Nathan Eovaldi has been placed on the 15-day injured list with lower back inflammation. Boston called up right-handed pitching prospect Kutter Crawford from Triple-A Worcester to take Eovaldi's spot on the roster for the time being.

In his last two starts, Eovaldi did not allow a run and combined for 13 strikeouts. However, it looked like he was laboring through both of them, throwing 93 pitches in six innings on June 3 against the Oakland A's and 84 pitches in five innings on June 8 against the Los Angeles Angels.

Eovaldi has made 12 starts this season and has a 4-2 record with a 3.16 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. He leads the Red Sox with 68.1 innings pitched and 72 strikeouts, but he has also allowed a team-high 16 home runs, which is the second-highest total in the majors.

Eovaldi's absence is another blow to Boston's pitching depth. Garrett Whitlock was placed on the 15-day IL on Friday because of inflammation in his right hip. The 26-year-old righty has made nine starts with four appearances out of the bullpen, going 2-1 with a 3.51 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 48.2 innings.

Entering Sunday's series finale against the Seattle Mariners, the Red Sox are fourth in the AL East with a 31-29 record. Eovaldi and the rest of Boston's pitching staff have done a commendable job so far, as the team's collective 3.67 ERA is tied for seventh in MLB this season.

The two sons of longtime Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos are headed to court to decide the future of the franchise, as well as their father’s law firm and the family fortune.

According to Tim Prudente and Justin Fenton of the Baltimore Banner, Louis Angelos is suing his brother John and mother Georgia in Baltimore Circuit County Court. Louis contends that John seized controlling power for the Orioles despite their father's intention for the two of them to control the team equally.

Louis also insinuated that if John maintains control of the Orioles, he could look to move the team out of Baltimore.

"John intends to maintain absolute control over the Orioles—to manage, to sell, or, if he chooses, to move to Tennessee (where he has a home and where his wife's career is headquartered)—without having to answer to anyone," the lawsuit states.

After suffering a heart issue in 2017, Peter Angelos established a trust with his wife and two sons appointed as co-trustees. Louis Angelos' attorneys Jeffrey Nusinov and Paul Raschke released a statement explaining the goal of their client's lawsuit.

"The purpose of this lawsuit is simple," it read. "Peter Angelos created a trust for the express purpose of ensuring that his sons would share equally in decision-making and inheritance of all family assets, including the Orioles. John Angelos, however, has been working secretly to undermine his father’s intentions and to gain unilateral control. Lou Angelos is compelled to bring this action to set things right."

John Angelos was able to assume controlling power of the Orioles amid his father's declining health. In 2019, MLB inquired who was running the team and requested that a "control person" be identified.

Louis was working in a principal role in their father's law firm, and John "took a more prominent role in running the business" of the Baltimore franchise. In November 2020, John was approved as "control person" by other MLB owners.

The lawsuit states that Georgia had been trying to sell the team for quite some time, but John nixed a potential deal. Louis claims that John has been "openly displaying his disregard for his father’s prerogatives as the managing partner" of the team.

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is the new betting favorite to win American League MVP, according to DraftKings:

The slugger moved ahead of Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who won the award last year.

Judge has four home runs in his last seven games and leads the majors with 21 on the year, five clear of Mookie Betts, Yordan Alvarez and Pete Alonso, who are tied for second. The outfielder also has a .313 batting average, which would be a career high, plus a league-best .677 slugging percentage and 1.059 OPS.

His performance has been a key part of the Yankees' success this season, with the team leading the majors with a 39-15 record.

The Angels are headed in the other direction with 12 straight losses dropping them to 27-29. Ohtani also hasn't been as dominant as he was a year ago, hitting 11 home runs with just a .242 average and .768 OPS. As a pitcher, he's 3-4 with a 3.99 ERA after lasting just three innings against the Yankees in his last start.

While Ohtani remains a uniquely talented player, Judge has been the bigger difference-maker for his team so far in 2022.

For all the latest betting information and reaction, check out B/R Betting.

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New York Yankees left fielder Miguel Andujar reportedly requested a trade Friday.

According to MLB insider Hector Gomez on Saturday, Andujar talked with manager Aaron Boone. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic confirmed the request and noted it came because of a "lack of a consistent opportunity" and that it wasn't the first time Andujar has asked to be traded.

The Yankees optioned the 27-year-old to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday to make room for Giancarlo Stanton, who was activated from the 10-day injured list Saturday.

Andujar has spent his entire career with the Yankees since signing as an amateur free agent in 2011, but the past four years have undoubtedly been frustrating for him.

The Dominican Republic native became a full-time major leaguer in 2018 and enjoyed a remarkable year, hitting .297 with 27 home runs, 92 RBI and 83 runs en route to finishing second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.

Andujar also had 47 doubles that season, which broke the Yankees rookie record previously held by the legendary Joe DiMaggio.

That season has been the high point of Andujar's career by a long shot.

Injuries have been the biggest culprit, especially in 2019, as a strained right shoulder and then a torn labrum in that shoulder limited him to just 12 games.

Additionally, Andujar made three errors in just four games at third base that season and three errors in six games at the position the following season, which forced the Yankees to move him to left field.

Since his outstanding rookie campaign, in which he played 149 games, Andujar has appeared in just 90 games for the big league club.

That includes 12 games this season, during which he hit .268 with two doubles, zero home runs and three RBI.

Andujar has shown he is too good for Triple-A, as he hit .333 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 16 games last season and .289 with four homers and 10 RBI in 26 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season.

The issue is the Yankees don't have enough room for Andujar on the major league roster with outfielders Stanton, Aaron Judge, Joey Gallo and Aaron Hicks.

As a result, a trade may be in Andujar's best interest, but dealing him would leave New York without an important depth option should one of its outfielders get injured.

The Tampa Bay Rays are helping in the efforts to curb gun violence in the United States.

Ahead of Thursday's game against the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay announced it donated $50,000 to Everytown for Gun Safety's support fund, which it explained "is the largest gun violence prevention organization in America."

The statement also said, "We all deserve to be safe in schools, grocery stores, places of worship, our neighborhoods, houses and America. … This cannot become normal. We cannot become numb. We cannot look the other way. We all know, if nothing changes, nothing changes."

The Rays' Twitter header is an image with the words "end gun violence."

Both teams announced they will use their social media pages to provide facts about gun violence during the game:

Tampa Bay's donation comes after a shooter killed 10 people at a Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York, on May 14, and another killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday.

Following Tuesday's violence, Ryan Bergeron of CNN noted "there have been more mass shootings than days in the year" in the U.S. in 2022.

The New York Yankees media announced Thursday that infielder Matt Carpenter has signed a major league contract with the team and has been added to the 26-man roster. 

New York placed Josh Donaldson, Joey Gallo and Kyle Higashioka on the COVID-19 injured list earlier this week. The Yankees placed Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day IL Wednesday because of ankle inflammation, and Gallo was reinstated.

This will mark Carpenter's first appearance in the big leagues in 2022. He signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers in March and accepted an assignment with their Triple-A affiliate at the end of spring training. 

In 21 games with the Round Rock Express, Carpenter hit .275/.379/.613 with six homers and 19 RBI. He was released by the Rangers on May 19 in a mutual decision caused by a lack of opportunity with the MLB team. 

Carpenter played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2011 to 2021, making three All-Star Games. He had a cup of coffee for the 2011 World Series champions with 19 plate appearances and became a staple in the team's lineup by the end of the 2012 campaign.

His best season was in 2013 when he led Major League Baseball with 126 runs, 199 hits and 55 doubles. Carpenter hit .318 (.873 OPS) with 11 home runs and 78 RBI.

The former TCU star also made the All-Star Game in 2014 and 2016 and paced the NL with 44 doubles in 2015. His .897 OPS in 2018 marked a career best.

Carpenter's bat began to decline in 2019 as injuries took their toll. He went on the injured list with a lower back strain and a right foot contusion, finishing the year hitting .226. The pandemic-shortened 2020 season ended with his batting average sinking below the Mendoza Line to .186 before bottoming out at .169 (.581 OPS) in 2021.

Carpenter had a vesting option for $18.5 million in 2022 if he reached 1,100 plate appearances in the previous two seasons, but he fell short and became a free agent.

Carpenter appeared in six postseasons and was a great Cardinals player who should find himself in the team's Hall of Fame someday.

The Yankees need depth because of Stanton's injury and the other players who are unavailable while on the COVID-19 injured list. Carpenter may not return to the peak levels he had with the Cardinals, but his stint in Triple-A with Texas is an encouraging sign that he might have something left.

New York Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson has issued a statement about the racist remark he directed toward Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson. 

In the statement, Donaldson said he apologized to Anderson over the weekend and his personal "view of that exchange hasn't changed and I absolutely meant no disrespect." 

Donaldson also issued an apology to Jackie Robinson's widow, Rachel, and Robinson's family "for any distress this incident may have caused."

Donaldson called Anderson "Jackie" on the field during the first inning of a game between the White Sox and Yankees on May 21. 

The two exchanged words on the field. In the fifth inning, Donaldson and White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal had a verbal exchange that led to both benches clearing. 

After the game, Anderson told reporters that Donaldson "made a disrespectful comment." Grandal said his reaction was sparked by what the Yankees third baseman said. 

"This game went through a period of time where a lot of those comments were made and I think we’re way past that," Grandal told reporters. "It’s just unacceptable. I just thought it was a low blow, and I want to make sure I got my team’s back. There’s no way you’re allowed to say something like that."

Donaldson attempted to downplay the significance of his comment. 

"Obviously he deemed that it was disrespectful," Donaldson said on Saturday. "Look, if he did, I apologize. There was no meaning by me saying that to him other than he’s called himself that. That’s it."

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Anderson said Donaldson made a similar comment when the two played against each other in 2019 "and I told him that we don’t have to talk again."

"I won’t speak to you, you won’t speak to me if that’s how you’re going to refer to me," Anderson added. "So I know he knew exactly what he was doing, because I already told him."

Anderson told Sports Illustrated's Stephanie Apstein in 2019 that he "kind of" feels like today's Jackie Robinson because "he changed the game, and I feel like I'm getting to a point to where I need to change the game."

In the context of the story by Apstein, Anderson made his comment about feeling isolated in Major League Baseball due to the lack of Black players in the sport. 

Major League Baseball announced a one-game suspension for Donaldson and an undisclosed fine. He is appealing the decision.