MLB Player News

The Tigers promoted Mize from High-A Lakeland to Double-A Erie on Thursday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

The Florida State League proved to be no challenge for Mize, who allowed just one run on seven hits and one walk over 26 innings while striking out 25. He'll face a stiffer test as he makes the move to the Eastern League, with his Erie debut set to come Sunday. Mize will occupy the same rotation as another hyped Tigers pitching prospect in Matt Manning, perhaps giving Erie the best 1-2 starter combination of any Double-A squad.

Cole, who is starting Thursday against the Indians, is confident he's cleaned up his mechanical indicators that led to the worst start of his career last week, David Barron of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Rangers teed off on Cole starting with a five-run first inning and chased him after 4.1 innings and nine runs allowed. Cole felt he was tipping his pitches and worked to clean up his mechanics between starts. "I obviously didn't ask (the Rangers) if they knew what was coming, but I had kind of a gut feeling, and some of the guys on our team kind of identified what they could potentially be seeing," he said. "I had changed my set position a little bit from last year and actually anticipated maybe a little bit of a an adjustment period, and unfortunately it all came crashing down in one game." While the start against Texas was a bad one, Cole was able to rebound somewhat over the latter half of the outing.

Giolito (hamstring) will throw a side session Friday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Manager Rick Renteria said the right-hander will need at least one more session after Friday before management decides he's ready to return. Giolito, who threw a side session earlier this week, said he is pain-free.

Rodriguez (2-2) picked up the win in Wednesday's 11-4 victory over the Tigers, giving up one run on two hits and three walks over six innings while striking out seven.

The southpaw blanked Detroit for five innings before finally getting touched for a run in the sixth on a Niko Goodrum sacrifice fly. Rodriguez has delivered quality starts in two of his last three outings, and he'll take a 5.88 ERA and 28:10 K:BB through 26 innings into his next start Monday, at home against the A's.

Means (3-2) picked up the win Wednesday, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over five innings while striking out six in a 4-3 victory over the White Sox.

The southpaw needed 92 pitches (56 strikes) to get 15 outs, and that inefficiency might be the only thing standing between Means and a regular spot in the Baltimore rotation given his 1.74 ERA and 23:6 K:BB through 20.2 innings. For now the 26-year-old rookie will return to a long-relief role, but there are any number of candidates he could replace if the club elects to give Means a longer look.

Snell (2-2) allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks across 3.1 innings during a loss to the Royals on Wednesday.

In his first game back since fracturing his toe, Snell wasn't particularly sharp and was lifted after 65 pitches. He had yielded one run and struck out 33 in his last 19 innings prior to the injury. His most impressive marks are his 0.92 WHIP, .204 batting average against and 39 strikeouts in 28.1 total innings this season. He should get another crack at the Royals in his next start on the road Tuesday, and Snell figures to be available for 80-plus pitches this time around.

Luzardo (shoulder) threw from 90 feet Wednesday and remains on track to return in 4-to-6 weeks, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Luzardo's session apparently went off without a hitch and marked the first time he threw since being shut down last month. The promising prospect is fully expected to make his regular-season major-league debut at some point in 2019 after wowing in spring with an 0.93 ERA, .176 BAA and 15:4 K:BB across four Cactus League appearances.

Verlander (4-0) gave up one run on four hits with no walks while striking out eight through eight innings in a win over the Twins on Wednesday.

It was a terrific start for Verlander as he rode 13 swinging strikes to eight strikeouts and another victory. The 36-year-old has given up a home run in every start this season and has a ridiculous 16 percent HR/FB ratio. The right-hander has been dominant otherwise with a 2.61 ERA, 10.9 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 through six starts. Verlander will look to stay hot in his next start Monday in Minnesota.

Heaney (elbow) will throw a bullpen session Wednesday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Wednesday's bullpen session will be Heaney's first since he received a cortisone injection at the beginning of April. The southpaw still needs to build his arm strength back up, but he could seemingly return in mid-May if he continues to progress through his rehab with no setbacks.

Carrasco was diagnosed with a bruised left knee after exiting his start Tuesday against the Marlins and is expected to make his next scheduled turn Sunday in Houston, Tom Withers of the Associated Press reports.

Carrasco looked like he might have sustained a serious injury when he stumbled while attempting to reel in an off-target throw to first base in the fourth inning of Tuesday's start. Though the right-hander was able to stay in the game to finish out the inning, he limped to the dugout after completing the frame and was pulled from the contest. Fortunately, an MRI conducted after the game cleared him of any structural damage, so Carrasco should be good to go for the weekend if he's able to complete his usual between-starts bullpen session without incident.