MLB Player News

McMillon (forearm) resumed throwing off the mound on Friday, MLB.com reports.

McMillon is progressing well from his right forearm strain and could be ready for a rehab assignment later this month. However, the Royals want to be cautious with their talented young relief arm, so it sounds like they're unlikely to activate him before the end of the season. McMillon has been out since late August.

Diaz will serve as the Tigers' opening pitcher for Tuesday's game against the Dodgers, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

For the second time in three days, Diaz will open a game for the Tigers. After tossing a scoreless inning Sunday against the Angels before giving way to Joey Wentz, Diaz will most likely cover an inning or two Tuesday before giving way to Alex Faedo, who is available on five days' rest. Since joining the Tigers as a September call-up, Diaz has quickly emerged as one of manager A.J. Hinch's most trusted relievers. Diaz has yet to allow a run and has struck out nine while walking two over 6.2 innings.

Kowar (2-0) allowed a hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning to earn the win Monday over the Guardians.

Kowar's two wins have come over his last five appearances, in which he's posted a 5.1-inning scoreless streak with a 6:1 K:BB. The right-hander is finding a bit more success out of the bullpen in the majors, though he still has a 4.91 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and 28:16 K:BB through 25.2 innings over 20 appearances this season. Kowar started just one of his 30 outings with Triple-A Omaha but pitched to a 5.96 ERA over 45.1 innings. It appears he'll mostly remain in a low-leverage role with the capability to take multiple innings for the rest of this season.

Stephan (6-7) allowed four runs (three earned) on three walks and a hit-by-pitch over two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Monday versus the Royals.

Stephan couldn't find the strike zone, with just 12 of his 31 pitches landing for strikes in the wild outing. His poor showing allowed the Royals to rally in the eighth inning, though Enyel De Los Santos was tagged with the blown save after being unable to get the situation under control. Stephan has taken three losses while adding four holds over seven appearances in September, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) over 6.1 innings. He's at a 3.76 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 70:25 K:BB through 64.2 innings with two saves and 28 holds overall.

Abreu wasn't available to pitch during Monday's game against Baltimore after being struck by a line drive in the right forearm during Houston's weekend series with Kansas City, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Manager Dusty Baker noted that Abreu was sent for X-rays earlier in the day and the results came back negative. The team is hopeful the right-hander will be ready to pitch Tuesday, per Adam Spolane of Sports Radio 610 Houston.

Crochet (shoulder) is close to being activated from the injured list, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Per the report Crochet will throw a bullpen session at some point during Chicago's three-game series against Washington that begins Monday, and if all goes well he will likely rejoin the roster shortly after that.

McArthur picked up the save in Monday's 6-4 victory over the Guardians. He pitched a clean inning and struck out one.

After picking up his first career win Saturday, McArthur added a save to his ledger Monday. With both Taylor Clarke and Carlos Hernandez being unavailable due to throwing in two of the three previous days, McArthur was summoned for the save Monday after the Royals mounted a comeback in the eighth inning. McArthur has allowed just one hit with zero walks and eight strikeouts in 9.2 scoreless innings this month.

Cruz will work as the Royals' opening pitcher for Tuesday's game against the Guardians, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Cruz tossed two scoreless innings while opening against White Sox last week, and he'll get another chance to work in that role Tuesday. Since being tagged for four earned runs in his Aug. 29 big-league debut, Cruz hasn't allowed a run and has posted a 0.63 WHIP and 8:1 K:BB over 6.1 innings. Alec Marsh is the most likely candidate to work in bulk relief behind Cruz on Tuesday.

Stanek (ankle) will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Sugar Land, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Stanek landed on the injured list earlier this month with a sprained ankle, but he has made good progress since and is ready to resuming pitching in games. If all goes well Tuesday, he could be activated Wednesday when first eligible, or shortly thereafter.

Sborz (hamstring) threw a live batting practice session Monday, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.

Sborz faced off against two of the Rangers' rehabbing hitters, Josh Jung (thumb) and Adolis Garcia (knee). The Rangers could look to send out Sborz on a brief minor-league rehab assignment before bringing him back from the 15-day injured list, though the organization has yet to announce its plans for the right-handed reliever. Before hitting the IL on Sept. 5, Sborz had compiled a 5.80 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 49.2 innings out of the bullpen this season.