MLB Player News

Martinez will start Thursday's game against the Astros, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Heading into the week, it appeared Cole Hamels would be in line to pick up the start for the series finale, but after the staff ace struggled in his last outing Aug. 26 against the Athletics, the Rangers elected to bump him back a day in the rotation, allowing Martinez to pick up the Thursday start. Martinez has submitted an unimpressive 5.26 ERA and 1.33 WHIP over 87.1 innings with the big club this season, but turned in one of his more impressive performances of the campaign while replacing Tyson Ross in the rotation last weekend. The right-hander covered seven innings against the Athletics in a losing effort, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks while tying his season high with seven strikeouts.

Graveman allowed five runs on six hits and three walks while striking out five batters in five innings Wednesday against the Angels. He didn't factor into the decision.

Wednesday's outing was a step backwards for Graveman, who had allowed just five runs in 20 innings over his previous three starts, all of which were quality outings. He struggled mightily to keep the ball in the yard, as all five of the Angels' runs came off of a trio of homers. It marked the first time in 14 starts this season that he's conceded multiple homers in a game, and it was the first long ball he's given up since Aug. 3 (five starts). While outings like this make him tough to trust from a fantasy perspective, Graveman's 2.70 ERA in seven starts at home this season make him a decent streaming option when he's pitching at the Coliseum, as is the case for his next start against the Angels on Tuesday.

Colome allowed a hit but struck out the side for his league-leading 40th save Wednesday against the Royals.

He's now opened up a four-save lead over the Rockies' Greg Holland, and Colome's finally started piling up some strikeouts lately. The righty's last four appearances have seen him put up eight strikeouts without a walk over four innings, marking quite the change of pace from the 7.4 K/9 he was sitting on before this stretch. If he can keep missing bats down the stretch, Colome should be able to improve upon his ratios -- with a 3.02 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, he's well short of elite by bullpen standards.

Santiago (back) is scheduled to make another rehab start for Triple-A Rochester on Sunday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Santiago struggled with velocity in his last rehab start, topping out at just 86 mph according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, so he'll head back to Rochester for what will be his sixth rehab appearance since July 25 in an attempt to get back on track before rejoining the Twins. Santiago's possible return date remains up in the air at this point, but one will hopefully become clearer following his next rehab outing. Dillon Gee will continue to fill in for Santiago in the rotation.

Merritt (2-0) recorded the win in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Yankees, allowing only one run on five hits and two walks over 5.1 innings while striking out one.

The 25-year-old lefty continues to give Cleveland excellent performances whenever they need to plug him into the rotation, and Merritt now has a 1.74 ERA through 20.2 big-league innings this year. His 7:4 K:BB limits his fantasy value, however, and it's fair to wonder just how long he can keep it up before major-league hitters finally figure him out. If Danny Salazar (elbow) is able to rejoin the team next week, Merritt will likely move to the bullpen for the final weeks of the season.

Smith (elbow) will likely be activated from the 60-day disabled list after the minor-league season ends on Sept. 4, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Smith has been sidelined all season while working his way back from Tommy John surgery, and it appears a return is finally in sight. While the Red Sox are contemplating sending Smith to another affiliate after the minor-league season finishes, he'll likely rejoin the big club and ease his way back into action with lower-leverage work. The 27-year-old posted an impressive 2.31 ERA and 92:22 K:BB through 70 innings of work with the Mariners in 2015, his last full season.

Manager Rick Renteria said Lopez (back) is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Rays.

Everything checked out for Lopez after he completed his second bullpen session since landing on the disabled list, essentially clearing the way for him to rejoin the big-league rotation. The 23-year-old allowed eight runs and compiled 12 strikeouts in two starts (10.1 innings) for the White Sox before landing on the DL with a back issue.

Manager Scott Servais said Diaz has been limited over the past couple of games due to back spasms, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

This helps explain why Diaz wasn't used in back-to-back close games against the Orioles. He was apparently available in a limited capacity Wednesday, so the issue doesn't appear to be anything overly serious. With an off-day Thursday, Diaz will likely be ready to go for the upcoming weekend series against the Athletics.

Lopez (back), who threw a 30-35 pitch bullpen session Tuesday, could rejoin the White Sox's rotation to start Friday against the Rays, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Lopez reported feeling pain-free and said he was ready to pitch after getting through his second bullpen session since landing on the disabled list, so the next time he takes the mound could be for the big club. While the White Sox haven't officially announced when Lopez will rejoin the rotation, they have yet to name a starter for Friday's series opener against the Rays, indicating the opportunity could be given to the 23-year-old. Even if he doesn't reenter the starting rotation over the weekend, he shouldn't be too far from a return.

Green allowed just one hit while striking out seven in 2.2 innings of scoreless relief during the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader against Cleveland, but didn't factor into the decision as his team fell 2-1.

Green did a masterful job of keeping New York in the game after entering with a man on first and nobody out in the sixth inning. He allowed just one of his 44 pitches to be put in play, recording seven of eight outs via strikeout and the other on a caught stealing. There's little room for upward mobility in a Yankees bullpen that features three closer-worthy arms, but this tremendous effort shouldn't go unnoticed.