MLB Player News

Scribner is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Athletics, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Scribner will enter the Angels' starting rotation in place of Jesse Chavez, who was recently shifted to the bullpen after struggling to a 5.24 ERA through 21 starts. The 26-year-old has only appeared out of the bullpen in the majors, but he's compiled a 4.39 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 17 starts (92.1 innings) for Triple-A Salt Lake this season. It's unclear if he'll make more than one start at this point; that could depend on how he pitches Friday.

Loup walked the only batter he faced in Wednesday's game against the White Sox, failing to capitalize on the chance to notch his fourth hold of the year.

The left-handed specialist maintained a 2.70 ERA and 1.39 WHIP through his first 33 appearances this season. Loup has since posted an 8.76 ERA with a 1.78 WHIP in 14 games. He looked like a contender to rack up holds early in the campaign, but that's since faded, making him unserviceable in all formats.

Chavez will shift from the starting rotation to the bullpen, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 33-year-old has struggled mightily as a starter this season -- compiling a 5.24 ERA and 86:40 K:BB through 113.1 innings (21 starts) -- so the Angels will move him to the bullpen as rookie Troy Scribner gets a shot in the starting rotation. Chavez spent all of 2016 as a reliever, though he posted an unimpressive 4.43 ERA across 67 innings. He'll provide length out of the bullpen, and with his high ERA and low strikeout rates, he won't carry much fantasy value.

Valdez is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Astros, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reports.

Francisco Liriano was recently traded to Houston, providing an opportunity for Valdez to stick in the Blue Jays' starting rotation for the time being. He was lit up for seven runs (six earned) in two innings during his last outing, so it could be a good chance to stack Houston hitters against him.

Smith (elbow) will embark on a rehab assignment Saturday with Double-A Portland, Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald reports.

Smith has been out since the early stages of the 2016 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery for his right elbow. It's likely that Smith will need a decent amount of rehab outings, mainly because he hasn't faced live hitting since last spring. The Red Sox will continue to take it step-by-step with the 27-year-old, with a definitive timetable coming into view after a couple appearances.

Diekman (abdomen) threw live batting practice Wednesday, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Diekman said he felt good afterwards, so he'll toss another live session this Saturday before likely heading out on a minor-league rehab assignment. The 30-year-old remains without a firm timetable for his return from the 60-day disabled list, but mid-to-late August seems to be a reasonable estimate given his recent progress.

Martinez will make his next start Sunday against the Twins.

After he was blitzed for seven runs over 5.1 innings while replacing Yu Darvish in the rotation in Tuesday's loss to the Mariners, Martinez seemed bound to return to Triple-A Round Rock, but manager Jeff Banister determined the right-hander was worthy of a shot at redemption. With a 5.07 ERA and 4.5 K/9 rate over 76.1 innings this season, Martinez hasn't provided much evidence to suggest he's capable of turning things around, so it wouldn't be surprising if he was dropped from the rotation next week in the event Tyson Ross (finger) is cleared to return from the 10-day disabled list.

Zych notched his ninth hold in Tuesday's 8-7 win over the Rangers, allowing an earned run on one hit and a hit batsman over one-third of an inning.

Zych's outing was anything but smooth, yet he managed to still log his fifth hold over his last 10 appearances. The 26-year-old right-hander has given up an earned run in two of his last three outings, but his ERA remains a solid 2.36.

Lawrence (1-3) allowed three earned runs on four hits over 2.1 innings in Tuesday's 8-7 win over the Rangers. He struck out three.

Lawrence is now the Mariners' designated long reliever and he produced mixed results Tuesday. The right-hander cruised through his first five batters over the fourth and fifth innings before running into trouble in the sixth, yielding back-to-back singles and then surrendering a 409-foot three-run shot to Joey Gallo. The 29-year-old hasn't exactly displayed a penchant for consistency in his big-league stints this season, so it remains to be seen how long he might be able to hold down his current role.

Triple-A Pawtucket manager Kevin Boles said Johnson (shoulder) could be cleared to start for the club Saturday, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Johnson hasn't pitched for Pawtucket since July 23 due to left shoulder inflammation, but the worst of the injury appears to be behind. The southpaw threw a bullpen session Wednesday, and assuming he feels fine a day later, he'll likely be added back to Pawtucket's starting schedule. Over 11 starts at the Triple-A level this season, Johnson has submitted a 2.84 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 63.1 innings.