MLB Player News

Cortes (shoulder) is set to return from the 60-day injured list to start Saturday against the Astros, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

The lefty cut short his minor-league rehab assignment and will step in this weekend as a replacement for Domingo German, who is out for the remainder of the season as he undergoes treatment for alcohol abuse. Cortes is expected to be limited to around 60 pitches in his first start back against a tough Houston offense, and he tentatively lines up to face the Marlins his next time through. The 28-year-old left-hander has been sidelined since late May because of a shoulder strain.

Battenfield (shoulder) made the fifth start of his rehab assignment Sunday with Triple-A Columbus, striking out one over 7.1 innings while allowing seven earned runs on seven hits and five walks.

Between stops at Columbus and Double-A Akron over the past month, Battenfield has steadily built up his innings and pitch counts, but the results haven't been especially impressive. He's covered 24.2 innings in total, giving up eight home runs over that stretch while pitching to a 5.47 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 14:11 K:BB. With his 30-day rehab window nearing its end, the Guardians will have to activate him, and he looks like a candidate to fill the vacant fifth spot in the Cleveland rotation after Aaron Civale was traded to Tampa Bay earlier this week. The Guardians have yet to announce a starter for Saturday's game against the White Sox, so Battenfield could end up taking the hill that day.

Perez was moved to the bullpen Thursday, Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News reports.

The 32-year-old lefty is the odd man out in the Rangers' rotation after the club acquired both Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline. Perez was excellent for Texas in 2022, even earning his first career All-Star nod, but he's struggled to a 4.98 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 69:41 K:BB through 108.1 innings (20 starts) this season.

Kikuchi (9-3) picked up the win in Wednesday's 4-1 victory over the Orioles, allowing one run on six hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out three.

The southpaw tossed 60 of 91 pitches for strikes in his second straight quality start. Kikuchi has an impressive 1.23 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 23:7 K:BB through 22 innings since the All-Star break, and his current form should allow him to retain a rotation spot even after Toronto cuts back down to a five-man unit later this month. He'll try to stay efficient and effective in his next outing, likely to come early next week in Cleveland.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli suggested late Wednesday that Ryan might get extra rest before his next start, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Ryan struggled again in a loss at St. Louis on Wednesday, yielding seven runs on nine hits, including four homers, over just four innings. He's given up 17 home runs across his last seven starts, the most of any Twins pitcher over a seven-start stretch in franchise history. Ryan currently lines up to work Monday's series opener at Detroit, but the Twins could push him back to a later date in that four-game set as he works on some mechanical tweaks.

Rodriguez (2-3) took the loss Wednesday, giving up three runs on two hits and two walks over 5.2 innings as the Orioles fell 4-1 to the Blue Jays. He struck out six.

The 23-year-old right-hander was stingy through five innings and nearly delivered his second straight quality start, but after walking two batters with two outs in the sixth, he got the hook and had to watch as Shintaro Fujinami loaded the bases on another free pass before plunking consecutive Toronto batters, with both runs going on Rodriguez's ledger. Since returning to the big-league rotation after the All-Star break, Rodriguez has posted a 3.57 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 20:8 K:BB through 22.2 innings. He'll look for a better result in his next start, likely to come at home early next week against the Astros.

Cole (10-2) picked up the win Wednesday, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks over seven innings in a 7-2 victory over the Rays. He struck out eight.

An expected pitching duel with Shane McClanahan never materialized when the Tampa southpaw developed forearm soreness and got tagged for five runs in the third inning, while Cole was nearly flawless after serving up a two-run homer to Wander Franco in the first. The veteran right-hander has delivered six straight quality starts, posting a 2.27 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 44:7 K:BB through 39.2 innings over that stretch, and he'll look to keep rolling in his next outing, likely to come early next week on the road against the White Sox.

Cease (4-5) took the loss against Texas on Wednesday, allowing seven runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out one batter over 1.2 innings.

By almost every measure, this was Cease's worst outing of the season. He logged his shortest start to date -- previously, he had completed at least four innings in each of his 22 appearances -- and tied a season-worst mark with the seven runs he allowed. Cease also recorded his lowest strikeout total of the season with the single punchout he was able to muster. The right-hander served up a two-run homer to Corey Seager in the first inning, but his demise was the second, when he allowed five runs on three singles, a double and three walks. The poor outing pushed Cease's season ERA to 4.61, which would be his worst mark since his rookie 2019 campaign.

Dunning (9-4) earned the win over the White Sox on Wednesday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out 11 batters over 7.2 innings.

Dunning was staked to a 7-0 lead after two frames and cruised from there, keeping Chicago off the scoreboard until Seby Zavala tagged him for a solo homer in the eighth. That was the only run Dunning gave up in a dominant outing during which he racked up 16 swinging strikes and a season-high 11 punchouts. This was a very positive start to August following an up-and-down July that saw the right-hander post a 5.06 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 17:9 K:BB over 26.2 frames covering five starts.

Ryan (9-8) took the loss against St. Louis on Wednesday, allowing seven runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out four batters over four innings.

Ryan was hit hard by the Cardinals in the contest, as five of the nine hits against him went for extra bases, including four that left the yard. It was the second time this season that the right-hander has given up at least four homers in a game, with the other being a June 27 outing during which he served up five long balls to Atlanta. Ryan has struggled in his past two starts, giving up 11 runs and six homers over 7.2 frames. He at least struck out seven batters over 3.2 innings in his previous appearance, but his four punchouts Wednesday were his fewest since a June 10 start versus Toronto.