MLB Player News

Cousins (elbow) faced live hitters Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Cousins is in the final stages of his recovery from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent last June. The veteran reliever was signed by the Dodgers in late March and has spent the entire campaign to this point on the IL. Cousins' ability to face live hitters Saturday is an indication that he's continuing to progress toward a return. He'll presumably need to log multiple appearances during a minor-league rehab stint before he's ready to make his Dodgers debut, but it's not out of the question that he could see work out of Los Angeles' bullpen before the end of the regular season.

The Tigers optioned De Jesus to Triple-A Toledo on Sunday.

De Jesus has been a decent bullpen option for Detroit this year with a 3.83 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 39:15 K:BB across 42.1 innings, though he's been a bit shakier over his past six outings with four earned runs allowed. Andrew Sears will take his spot in the bullpen and is poised to work in bulk relief Sunday against the Royals.

Hentges (1-6) took the loss and was charged with a blown save Saturday against the Red Sox, allowing two earned runs on two hits and an intentional walk across one-third of an inning. He also hit a batter.

Hentges entered in the ninth inning with a runner on first base and plunked the first batter he faced. The 30-year-old southpaw went on to give up a single and a double before Boston won on a fielder's choice. Hentges owns a 3.56 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and 33:23 K:BB across 30.1 innings this season.

The Marlins recalled Ralston from Triple-A Jacksonville on Sunday.

The right-hander was added to Miami's 40-man roster in early August, and he's now on the cusp of making his major-league debut. Ralston has enjoyed a strong season for the Jumbo Shrimp with a 2.04 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 76:30 K:BB across 61.2 innings out of the bullpen.

The Rays reinstated Rodriguez (elbow) from the 60-day injured list Sunday.

Tampa Bay cleared room on the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster for Rodriguez by designating right-hander Chris Roycroft for assignment. Rodriguez served as a high-leverage relief arm for the Rays to begin the 2025 campaign and compiled a 2.08 ERA and 1.05 WHIP while collecting 11 holds over 30.1 innings, but his season came to an early end when he required right flexor tendon repair surgery on Aug. 8. Now just over a year removed from the procedure, Rodriguez has been cleared to rejoin the Tampa Bay bullpen after he completed a month-long rehab assignment during which he submitted a 5.63 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 14:2 K:BB in eight innings over stops with three different minor-league affiliates. He'll likely be deployed in the middle innings initially, but Rodriguez could quickly work his way up the bullpen pecking order if he looks sharp in his first few appearances with Tampa Bay.

Kimbrel picked up the save Saturday against the Tigers. He allowed no hits and a walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning.

Kimbrel entered the ninth inning with a two-run cushion and retired the side on 20 pitches (14 strikes) to secure his first save of the campaign. The veteran right-hander has yet to allow a run across 5.1 frames since joining Kansas City. Overall, he owns a 4.15 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 35:18 K:BB across 39 innings between the Royals, Rays and Mets this season. The closer role has been a revolving door in the absence of Carlos Estevez (shoulder), and Kimbrel could see more save opportunities alongside Nate Pearson and Steven Cruz if he keeps delivering.

Waguespack will start Sunday's game against the Royals as an opener, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

It'll be the first start of the season and 15th of Waguespack's MLB career, with most of those coming in 2019 when he was working out of the rotation with Toronto. The right-hander is in the midst of his best big-league campaign with a 1.95 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 16:9 K:BB across 27.2 innings out of the bullpen, though his 4.71 xFIP indicates regression could be on the horizon.

Sommers posted two perfect innings of relief with four strikeouts in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Royals.

Sommers pitched the last two innings of the contest for the Tigers and kept his team in the game, though they weren't able to mount a rally. Despite an 0-3 record, the lefty has been good this season and particularly stingy lately, as he's only allowed one run across his last 10 appearances. He also has a whopping 23 strikeouts in 12.1 innings during that time. Sommers isn't in a fantasy-friendly role at the moment, but he is making a strong case to move up in Detroit's bullpen hierarchy.

Fedde is expected to work in bulk relief Sunday against the Mets behind left-hander Sean Newcomb who is slated to start the game for the White Sox.

The last time the fifth spot in the rotation came up Tuesday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the White Sox deployed Fedde out of the bullpen while Bryan Hudson worked the first inning of the contest. Fedde followed Hudson with a strong performance, striking out five batters across 4.2 scoreless frames while scattering three hits and two walks. Newcomb has maxed out at three innings on the season and should be capable of offering a little more length than Hudson to begin the game, but Fedde remains the White Sox pitcher most likely to qualify for a win Sunday.

Newcomb will serve as the White Sox's opener for Sunday's game against the Mets, Brooke Fletcher of Chicago Sports Network reports.

The White Sox will deploy Newcomb as a starter for a second straight appearance and for the third time in his past four outings. He's made three total starts this season and hasn't covered more than three innings on any occasion, so he'll presumably be in line for another light workload Sunday. Erick Fedde is the leading candidate to pitch in bulk relief behind Newcomb.