MLB Player News

Crochet (lat) threw 25 pitches during a side session Friday, MLB.com reports.

It was Crochet's third side session but carried some significance, as it was the left-hander's first on the main mound at Fenway Park while donning his home white Red Sox uniform. He continued to increase his intensity -- up to 80-to-90 percent -- and introduced his sweeper during the session. Crochet is scheduled to throw one more bullpen session early next week before potentially facing live hitters.

Newcomb will serve as the White Sox's opening pitcher for Saturday's game against the Cardinals, James Fegan of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Newcomb has allowed six earned runs across his last five innings, but the White Sox will trust him to shut down St. Louis' bats in the first inning or two of Saturday's affair. Luis Castillo will follow Newcomb as a bulk reliever.

Miles will serve as the Blue Jays' opening pitcher for Saturday's game against the Orioles, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Miles has pitched 13 consecutive shutout innings, so the Blue Jays will trust him to lock down the first inning or two of Saturday's contest before turning the game over to a bulk reliever. Spencer Arrighetti is the most likely candidate to cover multiple frames once Miles exits the contest.

Bednar earned the save in Friday's 6-4 win over the Mets, allowing one run on two hits while striking out one batter across 1.2 innings.

Bednar was brought in for the eighth inning with the bases loaded, and he limited the damage to only one run on a Marcus Semien sacrifice fly. Bednar came back out for the ninth and gave up a leadoff homer to A.J. Ewing, the first long ball the former has allowed since July 28, but Bedner responded by getting the next three batters out to secure the save. He's up to 33 saves on the year, tied with Aroldis Chapman and Louis Varland for fifth-most in the majors, and Bednar has a 2.70 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 71:18 K:BB over 63.1 innings.

Rodriguez (back) is expected to join Triple-A Durham for a rehab assignment Sunday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Rodriguez has been on the injured list since Sept. 3 due to a lower-back strain. If all goes well on his assignment, the right-hander should return to Tampa Bay before the end of the season. He's unlikely to be a factor in fantasy leagues at this point but should bolster the playoff-bound Rays' bullpen during the postseason.

Helsley (elbow) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday, Matt Betts of MLB.com reports.

Helsley has been on the 15-day injured list since late June with right elbow discomfort, and the right-hander threw 24 pitches in live batting practice Tuesday. The rehab outing will be his first game action in over two months, so he'll likely need to get a few appearances under his belt before becoming an option to rejoin the Orioles. A return before the end of the season remains in the cards, though.

Cruz earned the save in Friday's 3-2 win over Boston, striking out one batter in a scoreless ninth inning.

With Nate Pearson holding firm in the eighth inning, the Royals turned to Cruz to close things out in the ninth, with the latter promptly doing so on only 10 pitches (six strikes) and ending the frame by striking out Roman Anthony. It was the seventh save of the season for Cruz, all of which have come since the All-Star break, and the 27-year-old right-hander has a 4.04 ERA and 1.24 WHIP across 55.2 innings this season.

Sears has joined the Tigers in Detroit and is likely to be recalled from Triple-A Toledo to start Saturday's game against the Rockies, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

With Jack Flaherty (forearm) due back from the injured list next week, Sears may be in line for just one start for Detroit before either heading to the bullpen or reporting back to Triple-A.Sears has made one start and two relief appearances with the Tigers this season, authoring a 4.38 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 8:3 K;BB over 12.1 innings.

The Athletics designated Rashi for assignment Friday.

The transaction frees a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of waiver claim Hunter Bigge. Rashi was a waiver claim himself in August and has allowed five earned runs with a 5:3 K:BB over 5.2 frames between the Diamondbacks and Athletics this season.

The Athletics claimed Bigge off waivers from the Rays on Friday.

It's not a surprise that Bigge didn't make it through waivers after he collected a 2.51 ERA and 36:10 K:BB over 32.1 innings in his first two major-league seasons. He's regressed in 2026 with a 6.98 ERA and 14:14 K:BB over 19.1 innings with the Rays and a 6.14 ERA and 37:20 K:BB over 29.1 frames with Triple-A Durham. However, Bigge is under team control for several more seasons and could turn into a high-leverage reliever with some adjustments.