MLB Player News

Rodriguez (lat) threw 1.1 scoreless innings while walking two and striking out one in a rehab outing with High-A Aberdeen on Thursday, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Rodriguez appeared in game action for the first time since June 1, so it makes sense that he wasn't pushed in terms of workload. However, he was spotted throwing in the bullpen after the outing to continue to build up his pitch count. It's unclear what Baltimore has planned for Rodriguez, though it's possible he makes his big-league debut as a reliever so long as the team remains in wild-card contention.

Brown had his contract selected by the Astros on Thursday.

The 24-year-old has a 2.55 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 134:45 K:BB over 106 innings with Triple-A Sugar Land this year and will now receive his first taste of the big leagues. Brown has primarily worked as a starter in the minors but is likely to fill a multi-inning role out of the bullpen for Houston down the stretch.

Wells (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment at High-A Aberdeen on Friday, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

Wells threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Tuesday and will face hitters in a rehab appearance to close out the week. The Orioles haven't yet decided whether the right-hander will return as a starter or reliever, but he's closing in on his return from the IL regardless of what role he'll ultimately fills once activated.

Eovaldi (shoulder) threw recently but isn't progressing as quickly as the team had hoped, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Eovaldi threw a bullpen session Monday and was expected to face hitters soon, but the Red Sox seem to be slowing his rehab process due to his lack of progress in recent days. It's not yet clear when the right-hander will ultimately be able to face hitters, but it's still possible that he rejoins Boston's rotation at some point in September.

Houck (back) was shut down from throwing Thursday, and manager Alex Cora isn't sure if the right-hander will return by the end of the season, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Houck was scheduled to throw live batting practice Tuesday, but that session was scratched due to lingering back soreness, and he's now been shut down entirely. It doesn't sound as though the 26-year-old has experienced a setback, but he's clearly not fully recovered from the disc issue that landed him on the injured list nearly a month ago. Even if Houck is able to return this season, he's likely to be out until late September. Garrett Whitlock, John Schreiber and Matt Barnes should continue to split save chances for the Red Sox.

The Athletics selected Waldichuk's contract from Triple-A Las Vegas ahead of his scheduled start Thursday in Washington.

Oakland designated right-handed reliever David McKay for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Waldichuk, who will be making his big-league debut Thursday. The 24-year-old lefty, whom the Athletics acquired in the Aug. 1 deal that sent Frankie Montas to the Yankees, posted a 3.53 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 91:26 K:BB in 66.1 innings across 15 starts at Las Vegas and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on the season. With a strong showing over his starts with Oakland in the final five weeks of the season, Waldichuk could stake his claim to a permanent rotation spot with the Athletics heading into the 2023 campaign.

Kaprielian (3-9) took the loss Wednesday, giving up five runs (two earned) on seven hits and a walk over 5.2 innings as the A's fell 5-1 to the Nationals. He struck out three.

A Jonah Bride error in the fifth inning contributed to a four-run frame for Washington, erasing Oakland's early lead and sending Kaprielian to his fourth straight losing decision. The right-hander wraps up August with a 5.59 ERA, 1.79 WHIP and 23:17 K:BB through 29 innings, but the 28-year-old isn't likely to lose his rotation spot in September given the lack of alternatives available to the A's.

Rasmussen didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 2-1 extra-inning win over the Marlins, allowing one run on four hits over six innings. He struck out four without walking a batter.

The right-hander battled Trevor Rogers for five scoreless innings before Jon Berti (hip) popped a solo shot to left-center field in the sixth, but the Rays got Rasmussen off the hook for a loss right away with a run in the bottom of the frame. The 27-year-old delivered his sixth quality start of the season, and since the All-Star break he's reeled off eight straight outings giving up two earned runs or less -- a stretch in which Rasmussen boasts a 1.84 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 41:6 K:BB through 44 innings.

The Mariners reinstated Boyd (elbow) from the 60-day injured list Thursday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Boyd will be one of two players that will be joining Seattle with the roster expanding from 26 to 28 men for the final month of the season, with outfielder Taylor Trammell also receiving a call-up from Triple-A Tacoma. Though Boyd has worked almost exclusively as a starter through his first seven seasons in the big leagues, he'll be deployed out of the bullpen with Seattle as he makes his return from the flexor tendon surgery he underwent last September. He was excellent across his six minor-league rehab outings, striking out 14 over eight innings while allowing two earned runs on four hits and no walks.

Ryan (10-7) took the loss against Boston on Wednesday, tossing five innings and allowing five runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out eight batters.

All five of the runs Ryan gave up came in the third inning, when he served up a grand slam to Xander Bogaerts and a solo shot to J.D. Martinez. Though the right-hander racked up 19 swinging strikes and punched out eight batters, the poor frame was too much for Minnesota to overcome. Ryan has largely impressed this season, but he has allowed at least five runs on three different occasions, including a 10-run shelling against San Diego on July 29. He's still managed to post a decent 3.88 ERA and 1.14 WHIP while racking up 121 strikeouts over 118.1 innings overall.