MLB Player News

McCullers (forearm) threw a bullpen session and took part in fielding drills on the mound Tuesday, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

McCullers has been completing side sessions for nearly a month while gradually increasing the intensity of his throws and incorporating all of his pitches, but the Astros haven't yet indicated when he'll be ready to face hitters. He's likely at least a week away from beginning a rehab assignment, so McCullers could have a tough time making it back from the 60-day injured list before the All-Star break in mid-July.

Odorizzi (lower leg) said he'll begin a rehab assignment Friday at Triple-A Sugar Land that will likely consist of two starts, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Odorizzi declared himself ready for game action after he tested out his left foot/ankle injury Tuesday, when he threw a bullpen session and took part in fielding drills on the mound. Assuming the Astros intend to bring Odorizzi back in a starting role and he sticks to the schedule of two rehab outings, he'll tentatively line up to rejoin the Houston rotation as soon as July 4. Cristian Javier or Jose Urquidy are the most likely candidates to lose out on a spot in the rotation once Odorizzi is activated from the 15-day injured list.

Kent was placed on the the 7-day injured list at Double-A Frisco with an undisclosed injury.

Kent missed a week earlier in April with a hamstring injury. He has an ugly 6.29 ERA but 45 strikeouts in 44.1 innings at Double-A.

The Guardians reinstated Civale (glute) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Tuesday against the Twins in Minnesota.

As anticipated, Civale is ready to slot back into the rotation for the first time since May 20 after he wrapped up a two-start rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus last week. In his second outing with the affiliate last Wednesday, Civale struck out seven while building up to 4.2 innings and 76 pitches, so he shouldn't face any major workload restrictions in his return to the big leagues. Cleveland optioned Konnor Pilkington to Triple-A over the weekend to reopen a rotation spot for Civale.

Hancock has a 1-2 record, 2.45 ERA and 0.95 WHIP across 22 innings in six starts for Double-A Arkansas this season.

Brent Stecker of 710 ESPN Seattle reports the organization is being careful with Hancock's workload after shoulder fatigue led to the 2020 first-round pick being shut down twice by the Travelers last season. Hancock has logged just 22 innings across his six starts, with his last two outings marking the first couple times he's reached the five-inning threshold.

Lyles (illness) will start Tuesday against the Nationals, Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Lyles was scheduled to start Sunday against the Rays before being scratched due to a stomach virus. The illness has evidently since passed, so he'll take the hill on two extra days' rest.

Sale (rib cage) is expected to make his next rehab start Saturday for the Red Sox's rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Sale felt fine after tossing a 22-pitch inning in his 2022 debut with the FCL club Monday, and assuming he comes out of his between-starts bullpen session no worse for the wear, he'll be back on the mound this weekend in Florida. Expect the southpaw to push for around 2-to-3 innings Saturday while the Red Sox have him steadily build up to a starter's workload. After his second outing in the FCL, Sale is expected to report to a full-season affiliate to continue his rehab assignment.

Berrios (5-3) took the loss against the White Sox on Monday, yielding six runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out one batter over four innings.

Berrios was in constant trouble throughout the outing, as he allowed multiple baserunners and at least one run in each of his four frames. Three of the hits against him left the yard, and he managed only two swinging strikes among his 72 pitches. Berrios had been pitching well coming into the contest, recording three straight quality starts and striking out 26 batters over 22 innings during that stretch. Monday's blowup pushed the right-hander's ERA up to 5.11 on the campaign, third-worst among qualified big-league starters.

Lynn (1-0) allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out five across five innings to earn the win Monday against Toronto.

Lynn showed flashes of brilliance, as he struck out the side in the first inning and also retired seven consecutive batters between the third and fifth innings. However, he still surrendered a two-run homer and a two-run double -- both hit by Teoscar Hernandez. Even so, it was a significant step forward for Lynn as he allowed only six baserunners across five innings after allowing 10 hits in his first outing of the campaign. He's also maintained a 9:2 K:BB across 9.1 innings.

Whitlock (hip) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Saturday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Whitlock will throw another session Tuesday, which is expected to be longer than Saturday's bullpen. "He's trending in the right direction," Boston manager Alex Cora said. "At one point on the road trip, he'll be with us." Whitlock could be activated and start during the series in Cleveland beginning Thursday or during next week's series in Toronto.