MLB Player News

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Taillon will undergo further testing on his right ankle when the club returns to New York this weekend before a timeline for the pitcher's recovery established, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

While Boone noted that Taillon was feeling "better than expected" after aggravating a right ankle tendon injury in Tuesday's start against the Blue Jays, the skipper was unwilling to speculate whether the right-hander would pitch again in 2021. Considering Taillon missed just under three weeks the first time he succumbed to the injury, he would seem to be at major risk of missing the entire ALDS, should the Yankees clinch a wild-card spot and win in the wild-card game. Taillon had been lined up to start Sunday's regular-season finale against the Rays, but the Yankees' plans for that contest are now unclear.

The Yankees optioned Heaney to the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Wednesday, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

After being moved out of the rotation in late August, Heaney didn't notice dramatically better results while working out of the bullpen. In seven relief appearances spanning 9.2 innings, Heaney served up 11 runs on 18 hits and one walk while striking out 10. He had gone unused since Sept. 18 and wasn't expected to factor back into the bullpen mix the rest of the way while the Yankees look to secure a wild-card berth.

The Royals placed Singer on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with right upper arm inflammation, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Kansas City has little on the line with five games left in the season, so it makes sense for the club to shut down Singer, who exited his outing Tuesday against Cleveland with the injury. Follow-up scans cleared Singer of any structural damage to his arm, so he'll seemingly be in store for a normal offseason once the soreness and discomfort subsides. He'll conclude his second big-league campaign with a 5-10 record, 4.91 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 131:53 K:BB in 128.1 innings over 27 starts.

Ryan (personal) was activated from the bereavement list Wednesday, Brandon Warne of Access Twins reports.

Ryan will make his final start of the season during Thursday's series finale against Detroit, and he'll rejoin the active roster after spending just under a week away from the team. The right-hander has recorded a 2.45 ERA and 0.59 WHIP in 22 innings across his first four major-league starts.

Greinke (neck) is scheduled to make a rehab appearance for Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

The upcoming appearance in the minors effectively rules Greinke out from starting in any of the Astros' final five games of the regular season, but provided his injured neck responds fine to Thursday's outing, he looks like he'll be good to go for the playoffs. The bigger question is what kind of role Greinke will fill for Houston during its upcoming postseason run. Per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, manager Dusty Baker said Tuesday that it's a "distinct possibility" Greinke works out of the bullpen in October, as Houston already has a number of starters available who have been outperforming the veteran righty of late. Over his final three starts before landing on the shelf, Greinke was blasted for 19 runs (18 earned) on 19 hits -- including five home runs -- and six walks while recording only eight strikeouts in 13 frames.

Gil is working out of the bullpen at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in case he is needed in that role this week or in the postseason at the big-league level, Conor Foley of The Scranton Times-Tribune reports.

New York's top pitching prospect wasn't going to crack a potential postseason rotation, but he could be of service in relief if he can have success in that role at Triple-A. Through two relief appearances at Triple-A, Gil has one dominant outing where he struck out six in two scoreless innings and one outing where he gave up two runs and only got one out, so the results are mixed. He will be in competition for a starting spot with the big club in spring training.

Urquidy did not factor in the decision against Tampa Bay on Tuesday, pitching five innings and allowing two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six.

Urquidy was stung by a first-inning two-run home run off the bat of Yandy Diaz, but the right-hander didn't give up any additional runs in the start. He was outdueled by Michael Wacha, who did not allow a hit in his five frames, but Urquidy was ultimately taken off the hook when Houston came alive in the second half of the contest. Urquidy has pitched relatively well in September, posting a 4.18 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 21:5 K:BB across 23.2 innings. His next appearance could come in the postseason, though it's unclear if he'll be used as a starter or a reliever.

Wacha did not factor in the decision against Houston on Tuesday despite pitching five hitless and scoreless innings. He allowed two walks while striking out six.

Wacha sat at only 61 pitches through five frames, but manager Kevin Cash chose to pull him and go to the bullpen. The move ultimately failed, as Houston tallied four runs over the final four innings to pull out the victory. Despite the disappointing outcome, it was a superb effort by the right-hander, as he notched his first scoreless outing since late July. Wacha has allowed two or fewer earned runs in five of his past six outings, posting a 3.38 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 34:6 K:BB across 29.1 innings over that span. It's unclear if he'll have a rotation spot or be used out of the bullpen in the postseason.

Civale allowed four runs on four hits and one walk while striking out three over 5.1 innings against Kansas City on Tuesday. He did not factor in the decision.

The right-hander was considerably better than his last time out, when he gave up seven earned runs over 1.2 frames. However, he was stung by a pair of long balls and has now served up nine homers over his past 16 innings. Over that span, he has also allowed 16 earned runs, pushing his season ERA from 3.25 to 4.02. Civale isn't likely to make another start this season; if he doesn't get into another game, he'll finish the campaign with a career-best 11 wins over 20 starts.

Anderson got a no-decision in Tuesday's 4-2 win over Oakland, allowing one run on two hits with two strikeouts in four innings.

Manager Scott Servais opted to go with a shortened rotation during the season's final week. The goal was clearly for Anderson to go as deep as possible with a limited pitch count as the lefty tossed 40 of 46 pitches for strikes after he was chased early from his last start.