MLB Player News

Heaney will receive an extra day of rest and start in Oakland on Friday, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

Heaney had been expected to start the finale of the Angels' current series against San Francisco on Thursday, but he'll instead travel across the bay to battle the Athletics on Friday. The team has yet to announce a starter for Thursday.

Dunning was recalled from the White Sox's alternate training site Wednesday.

The transaction was anticipated as Dunning will serve as the starting pitcher Wednesday against the Tigers. The right-hander missed the 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and will be making his major-league debut Wednesday. He posted a 2.76 ERA and 1.29 WHIP over 62 innings in 11 starts with Double-A Birmingham in 2018.

Kaprielian was optioned to Oakland's alternate camp site Wednesday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The A's need a fresh reliever after Tuesday's starter (Frankie Montas) pitched just 1.2 innings before giving way to the bullpen, so Kaprielian will swap roster spots with Paul Blackburn. Kaprielian made one appearance during his time with the big club, allowing one run across two innings of relief.

Blackburn was recalled from Oakland's alternate camp site Wednesday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Blackburn will provide the A's with a fresh bullpen arm after Tuesday's starter (Frankie Montas) recorded just five outs before exiting. The righty appeared in four games for the A's in 2019 and allowed 13 runs across 11 innings. James Kaprielian was optioned in a corresponding move.

Mize's contract was officially purchased ahead of his start Wednesday against the White Sox.

This was a formality, as this start had already confirmed, Mize just needed to be added to the 40-man roster. The only concern with Mize as a pitching prospect has been his inability to hold up in the second half in back-to-back seasons, dating back to college, but that should be a non-issue in this shortened season. He doesn't have quite the strikeout juice that some of the game's other elite pitching prospects possess, but this is a decent matchup on paper, as he faces a righty-heavy White Sox lineup.

Morton (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Tuesday described by manager Kevin Cash as "pretty intense", the Associated Press reports.

The right-hander is also slated to play catch Wednesday, continuing his steady progression toward a return. Morton has been able to get through multiple catch and bullpen sessions consistently over the last several days without setbacks, so he appears to be trending toward possible activation in the coming days.

Manager Scott Servais said after Kikuchi (neck) completed a bullpen session Tuesday that he's "pretty confident' the left-hander will be ready to start Thursday against the Dodgers, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Barring a setback in the next 24 hours, Kikuchi will be ready to make his first start since Aug. 7 after neck spasms prevented him from making his last scheduled turn Friday in Houston. Kikuchi has posted a 5.28 ERA through his three outings this season, but a big uptick in velocity from 2019 to go with strong underlying numbers (2.23 FIP, 16.1 K-BB%, 57.5 GB%) could make the southpaw worthy of a pickup if he's sitting on the waiver wire.

The Twins activated Hill (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list and will have him start Wednesday's game against the Brewers, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Hill ended up missing three turns through the Minnesota rotation due to left shoulder fatigue, but the Twins will give him the green light to return after he checked out fine during a 60-pitch bullpen session over the weekend. The southpaw's only start this season came back on July 29, when he rolled to a win over the Cardinals while tossing five scoreless frames.

Gonzales didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Dodgers, giving up one run on five hits over seven innings. He struck out a season-high nine without walking a batter.

The southpaw found himself locked in a pitcher's duel with Tony Gonsolin, and while Gonzales did come away with his third quality start in five outings, the Mariners couldn't scrape together enough offense to get him into the win column. Gonzales will take a 3.34 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 26:3 K:BB through 29.2 innings into his next start, currently scheduled for Aug. 25 in San Diego.

Maeda pitched eight innings against Milwaukee on Tuesday, allowing one run on one hit and two walks while striking out 12. He did not factor in the decision.

Maeda carried a no-hit bid into the ninth inning, only to have Eric Sogard spoil the effort with a leadoff single. Worse yet, Maeda ended up with a no-decision in spite of his masterful performance when the Minnesota bullpen failed to preserve a three-run lead following the right-hander's departure. Nonetheless, Maeda continued an already-strong start to his tenure with the Twins, notching a season-high 12 strikeouts while registering his fourth consecutive quality start. As evidence of his dominance, he induced 26 swinging strikes and didn't allow a runner to get past first base in his eight frames. The 32-year-old lowered his ERA to 2.27 on the campaign and now sports a 33:6 K:BB across 31.2 innings. His next start will come on the road against Kansas City on Thursday.