MLB Player News

Howard (shoulder) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Howard was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder impingement syndrome in early August and hasn't pitched in a game since Aug. 7. No target return date is in place, at least not publicly. It doesn't seem the Rangers are in a hurry for the 26-year-old righty to return.

Pressly (neck) is not on Tuesday's lineup card, so he is apparently not ready to be activated, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Rafael Montero has been excelling as the fill-in closer and Hector Neris has been an excellent setup man recently. Pressly should be considered day-to-day for now.

Cordero (illness) has struck out three and allowed no hits and one walk in three scoreless innings across two appearances for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre since being activated from the COVID-19 injured list Friday.

Cordero was unavailable for about a week and a half after testing positive for COVID-19. The 30-year-old right-hander sports a 1.86 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 38:11 K:BB in 29 innings this season, but his lack of a 40-man roster spot has thus far worked against him in his hopes of earning a call-up to the Yankees.

Zimmermann was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday.

Zimmermann will be unavailable for several days after covering the final six innings of the Orioles' loss to the Blue Jays in the second game of Monday's doubleheader, so he was sent down and replaced with a fresh arm in the bullpen.

Vespi was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday.

Vespi pitched each of the last three days, so the Orioles decided to send him down and replace him with a fresh arm. Vespi has appeared in 24 games with the Orioles this season, so chances are he will be back with the big club before the campaign comes to a close.

Reed was added to the Orioles' roster Tuesday.

Reed was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers on Monday, and he will immediately head to the top level with his new squad. Reed owns a 7.36 ERA over 11.0 big-league innings this season, but he does at least bring some experience, having appeared in 20 major-league games since the start of the 2021 campaign.

Cano was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday.

Cano had been with Norfolk since being acquired by the Orioles at the trade deadline, and the club is now ready to let him show what he can do at the top level. Cano allowed 14 earned runs over 13.2 innings in 10 appearances out of Minnesota's bullpen earlier this year, so Baltimore will no doubt be hoping for better results this time around.

Chargois will work as an opener in Tuesday's game against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Drew Rasmussen was scheduled to start Tuesday, but he landed on the paternity list, so Chargois will get the ball instead. Chargois has not thrown more than an inning in any of his eight appearances this season -- including when he opened back on Aug. 26 -- so don't expect him to be out there long. Yonny Chirinos (elbow) is the favorite to follow Chargois into Tuesday's contest.

The Blue Jays returned Pop to Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday.

As expected, Pop will rejoin the Triple-A club after he served as the Blue Jays' 29th man for Monday's doubleheader with the Orioles. He appeared out of the bullpen in Toronto's 7-3 win in Game 1, striking out one over a scoreless inning.

Akin (3-2) took the loss in the second game of Monday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk over 2.1 innings. He struck out four.

After two scoreless frames, Toronto chased Akin from the game in the third en route to an 8-4 victory. The southpaw hasn't completed three innings in an appearance since Aug. 1, so it wasn't a surprise Akin couldn't give the O's more length in his spot start. He'll return to a long-relief role with a 2.86 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 66:17 K:BB through 72.1 innings on the season.