MLB Player News

Kluber was diagnosed with a subscapularis strain in his right shoulder and will be shut down from throwing for four weeks, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

The 35-year-old will undergo a second MRI to confirm the diagnosis, but for now he can expect to be sidelined for the foreseeable future. The initial MRI was deemed precautionary when the right-hander exited Tuesday's start after three innings with shoulder tightness, but it appears the issue is more serious. Kluber will require some time to build his arm back up after being shut down for a month, so he'll be unavailable for most of July even if his recovery goes as planned.

German and the Yankees won't play the Blue Jays on Wednesday after the game was postponed due to inclement weather in New York.

The two sides will make up the game as part of a doubleheader Thursday. Expect German to start one of the two games, with Jordan Montgomery likely to start the other contest.

Manoah won't make his MLB debut Wednesday in New York after the Blue Jays-Yankees game was postponed due to inclement weather.

Though the Blue Jays confirmed Manoah would be called up from Triple-A Buffalo to start Wednesday's game, the team never made the transaction official before the contest was postponed. Expect Manoah to get a formal call-up Thursday, when the Blue Jays and Yankees will reconvene for a doubleheader. Manoah will likely take the hill for one of the games, while Robbie Ray presumably starts the other.

Kikuchi (back) was able to play catch without issues before Tuesday's game and is expected to make his next start Sunday against the Rangers, Justice de los Santos of MLB.com reports.

The left-hander exited Monday's win over the Athletics in the seventh inning due to lower-back cramping, but his ability to throw without issues less than 24 hours later has manager Scott Servais optimistic about the pitcher's chances of making his next start on time. Kikuchi actually began experiencing cramping in his hands early in his start versus Oakland, and the discomfort eventually shifted to his lower back the more he threw.

Cleveland recalled McKenzie from Triple-A Columbus ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday against the Tigers.

McKenzie will reclaim a spot in the rotation after Zach Plesac (thumb) was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday. Cleveland plans to demote McKenzie after Wednesday's outing, but he would be eligible to return on four days' rest Monday. Cleveland will have a doubleheader against the White Sox that day, so McKenzie could be designated as the team's 27th man for the twin bill while starting one of the two contests. Over his previous eight outings (seven starts) in the big leagues this season, McKenzie posted a 6.89 ERA and 1.69 WHIP while striking out 44 over 31.1 innings.

The Astros plan to activate Odorizzi (forearm) from the 10-day injured list and have him start Saturday's game against the Padres, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Houston's rotation is inching closer to full health; in addition to Odorizzi, Framber Valdez (finger) will be activated from the IL to start Friday's series opener against San Diego, while Jose Urquidy (shoulder) looks poised to return from the IL to start Monday against the Red Sox. Meanwhile, Lance McCullers was placed on the IL on Wednesday with a sore shoulder, though manager Dusty Baker suggested that the right-hander would likely miss a short period of time. Odorizzi's spot in the rotation should be secure at least until McCullers is reinstated, but the former may need to deliver better results than he showed prior to being shut down with the strained forearm to ensure he stays in the rotation throughout the season. After a delayed start to the season due to signing with Houston until early March, Odorizzi posted a 10.13 ERA and 1.62 WHIP over three short starts before landing on the IL with the arm issue.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Wednesday that Javier would be moved to the bullpen, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

Though Lance McCullers (shoulder) was moved to the 10-day injured list Wednesday, the Astros are expected to return two starters (Framber Valdez and Jake Odorizzi) from the IL this weekend, and another on Monday (Jose Urquidy). Those reinforcements leave no room in the rotation for Javier, whose move to the bullpen was likely sealed after he issued a season-high six walks in 4.2 innings during his last start Sunday against the Rangers. The 24-year-old is probably overqualified for a long-relief role, so if the Astros can't find consistent, high-leverage work for him, Javier could be headed for Triple-A Sugar Land in the near future in order to pick up regular starts.

The Astros plan to activate Valdez (finger) from the 10-day injured list and have him start Friday's game against the Padres, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Houston will get two starters back from the IL this weekend, as Jake Odorizzi (forearm) will be reinstated ahead of Saturday's game. Valdez, meanwhile, will take the rotation spot that belonged to Lance McCullers, who was placed on the IL on Wednesday with a sore shoulder that manager Dusty Baker believes is a short-term concern. The Astros will have some tough decisions to make with their rotation once McCullers is back in the fold, but Valdez should be in good shape to hold down a permanent spot after he delivered a 3.57 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 76 strikeouts in 70.2 innings in 2020. The 27-year-old looked like he would be at risk of missing most of 2021 when he fractured the ring finger on his throwing hand in spring training, but he progressed more rapidly in his recovery than expected and was able to build up for starting duty in just under three months. Valdez covered four innings and tossed 54 pitches in his final rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, so he could be capped at around 75 pitches in his season debut for Houston.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said McCullers will be placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a sore right shoulder, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

Per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, Baker said McCullers received an ultrasound for the shoulder injury, but he wasn't certain whether an MRI would be necessary. In any case, the skipper is optimistic that McCullers' sore shoulder is "short term" in nature, but a clearer timeline for the right-hander's return won't come into focus until he's able to start throwing again. McCullers' temporary shutdown should ease the crowding in Houston's rotation to some degree, as the Astros will get both Framber Valdez (finger) and Jake Odorizzi (forearm) back from the IL for this weekend's series with the Padres.

Groome (lower leg) owns a 10.64 ERA, 2.36 WHIP and 18:10 K:BB over 11 innings in his four starts with High-A Greenville this season.

Groome was lifted in his second start of the season May 11 after being struck in the leg by a line drive, but he's been able to make his last two turns through the rotation. The results haven't been impressive, however, with Groome's poor control particularly standing out. The 22-year-old lefty has posted walk rates north of nine percent in each of his seasons at Low-A or High-A ball, and that trend is on track to continue in 2021.