MLB Player News

Sale (elbow) will throw two innings Tuesday in what is expected to be his last session before starting a rehab assignment, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Sale is expected to begin his assignment at a lower minor-league level rather than going straight to Triple-A. That being said, all recent reports have been positive and the lefty still appears to be on track for a return sometime in late-July or August.

Wacha won't start Tuesday against Cleveland after the game was postponed due to Tropical Storm Elsa.

Tuesday's game will be made up as part of a doubleheader Wednesday, and Wacha could start one of the games in the twin bill. The right-hander allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five in three innings against the Nationals in his last outing.

Kluber (shoulder) has been throwing from 90 feet for about a week, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

Kluber had previously been throwing from 75 feet, so he is very slowly progressing through a program that projects to allow him to rejoin the Yankees sometime in mid- to late-August. He stated that he will advance to 120 feet "whenever they tell me to" and explained that he doesn't know of an exact return date. Per Meredith Marakovits of YES Network, Kluber is confident that he will be back at some point this season.

Luzardo allowed seven earned runs on six hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch over two-thirds of an inning in a start for Triple-A Las Vegas against Sacramento on Friday.

The final line says it all, and it's probably fair to say the organization may be developing at least some mild concerns about Luzardo at this point. The southpaw simply hasn't been the same, at least not for more than one or two outings at a time, since his late-May return from a fractured pinkie suffered while with the Athletics. Luzardo proved to be a poor fit as a reliever upon being activated, leading to a demotion to the Aviators. While Luzardo's first two outings in Las Vegas went well (one unearned run over 4.2 innings), he's subsequently given up 10 earned runs on 12 hits across the four innings covering his last two starts.

Quantrill allowed three runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings in a no-decision versus Houston on Sunday.

Sunday's outing was the right-hander's longest since he rejoined Cleveland's rotation June 15. Quantrill has still allowed 13 runs in his last 13 innings, but he's likely to continue as a starter while Cleveland's top three pitchers work their way back from injuries. Through 55.2 innings this year, Quantrill has a 4.20 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 42:19 K:BB. He lines up for his next start versus Kansas City.

Sandoval allowed two runs on two hits and five walks while striking out seven over five innings Sunday against the Orioles. He did not factor into the decision.

Sandoval was lucky to surrender only two runs after walking a season-high five batters Sunday. Three of his walks came in the first inning but he was able to strike out DJ Stewart to get out of trouble. Both runs against him came in the sixth inning. Austin Hays led off with a single and then Sandoval walked Trey Mancini which put an end to his day. Both runners would end up scoring off the bat of Ramon Urias as part of a four-run inning for the Orioles. The 24-year-old owns a 3.86 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 53:22 K:BB over 49 innings and lines up for a start in Seattle next weekend.

Whitlock allowed one hit in a scoreless eighth inning to earn the hold in Sunday's 1-0 victory over Oakland.

With Adam Ottavino unavailable to pitch a third consecutive day, manager Alex Cora went with Whitlock to caretake the eighth inning for closer Matt Barnes in the ninth. He worked around a wild pitch that put a man in scoring position by inducing a couple of infield popups to end the frame. He's been one of the better stories in the Red Sox's bullpen: a Rule 5 draft pick emerging as a key component for the team with the best record in the American League. Whitlock is 3-0 with a 0.89 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP and 22 strikeouts over the last 13 outings, spanning 20.1 innings.

Greinke allowed three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out eight over 7.2 innings in Sunday's no-decision against Cleveland.

Greinke allowed two home runs but mostly dazzled Cleveland hitters, who swung and missed 17 times. They had just two hard-hit balls off the right-hander through seven innings before Cleveland chased him in the eighth with a game-tying home run. Greinke, who is 6-1 with a 3.24 ERA over this last 10 starts, will get one more start before the All-Star break, as he's expected to throw Saturday at home against the Yankees.

Flexen (7-3) allowed one earned run on four hits while striking out five across six innings, earning the win Sunday over the Rangers.

Flexen shut out the Rangers through the first five innings, but he allowed a run on three singles in the sixth inning. It was one of Flexen's more dominant performances this season and he didn't walk a single batter for just the third time. The 26-year-old has a 3.80 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in 85.1 innings. He is not a big strikeout threat, posting a low 6.0 K/9. He has been very solid recently, firing a quality start in each of his last five appearances.

Cortes started Game 2 of Sunday's 4-2 doubleheader win over the Mets, allowing one run on two hits with four strikeouts in 3.1 innings. He didn't factor into the decision.

New York didn't ask Cortes to do too much as he only threw 59 pitches and allowed just two baserunners. One of those was a Dominic Smith double in the fourth that prompted his removal, only for reliever Darren O'Day to immediately surrender a two-run home run to Pete Alonso. It was Cortes' eighth appearance and first start of the season, and the successful outing may earn him use in higher leverage situations moving forward.