MLB Player News

Sale (shoulder) will serve as Boston's "opener" against Toronto on Tuesday. He will be limited to two innings or 40 pitches, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Sale will continue to rebuild his arm strength without the benefit of a minor-league rehab assignment, so he'll instead make an appearance with the Red Sox. The left-hander was only able to make one start during the month of August due to separate stints on the DL with shoulder inflammation. Once he's gotten in his work, Nathan Eovaldi will enter the game for Boston. Manager Alex Cora added that Sale will "build up an inning at a time every five days," so he's expected to pitch three innings Sunday versus the Mets if all goes well.

Bassitt was called up from Triple-A Nashville prior to his expected start against Texas on Friday.

As expected, Bassitt rejoined the big-league roster ahead of his outing versus the Rangers, which will mark just his second appearance for Oakland since early July. On the year, he's logged a 3.19 ERA and 1.34 WHIP with 28 strikeouts across 36.2 innings (seven starts) for the club.

Cease was named Minor-League Pitcher of the Year by MLB Pipeline, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Cease, 22, went 12-2 with a 2.40 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 124 innings between High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. The right-hander ranked fourth among minor-league starters in wins, fourth in strikeout rate (32.5 percent), sixth in batting average allowed (.189) and 12th in strikeouts (160). ''We could not be more pleased with his development,'' general manager Rick Hahn said. ''Not only did Dylan take the ball every fifth day and answer the bell every time when we wanted him to start, but he dominated and seemingly got a little bit stronger as the season went on.'' Hahn alluded to Cease's dominant nine-start run to close out his season at Birmingham, when he went 3-0 with a 0.94 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 13.4 K/9.

Bieber (9-3) allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out six across 6.1 innings to earn the win Thursday against the Blue Jays.

All four of the runs against Bieber came in the fourth inning, when he allowed four of the first five batters he faced to reach base. Otherwise, it was an impressive outing for him as 15 of his 19 outs came on either groundballs or strikeouts, greatly limiting the Blue Jays' chance to do damage. The performance was a welcomed change for Bieber, as he had failed to record a quality start in three of his past four starts.

Severino (17-7) got the loss Wednesday, allowing six runs (five earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out three over 2.2 innings against the Athletics.

It was a disastrous outing for the 24-year-old, and he wasn't helped by some miscommunications that led to two wild pitches and two passed balls in the first inning. It's a continuation of a troubling trend, as Severino is now sporting an unsightly 6.83 ERA over 55.1 innings in his last 11 starts. He still sports a 3.52 ERA and 202:42 K:BB in 173.2 thanks to a terrific first half, but he's now fallen short of a quality start in nine of 11 starts. He'll look to get back on track Tuesday in Minnesota.

Kopech (1-1) took the loss Wednesday as the Tigers tamed the White Sox 10-2, coughing up seven runs on nine hits -- including four home runs -- and a walk over 3.1 innings while striking out six.

The rookie was catching far too much of the plate on the night, and in total six of Detroit's nine hits went for extra bases. Chalk it up as a learning experience for Kopech, who still has a strong 15:2 K:BB through his first 14.1 big-league innings. He'll next take the mound Tuesday in Kansas City.

Glasnow (1-5) was hit with the loss Wednesday against the Blue Jays, allowing seven runs on five hits and two walks while recording just two outs. He struck out two.

Glasnow just didn't have it in this one, as the young right-hander couldn't make it out of the first inning. He issued a leadoff walk before allowing four of the next five batters to reach via singles, putting the Blue Jays up 3-0. Glasnow then proceeded to serve up a three-run homer to Aledmys Diaz. The 25-year-old was almost out of the inning, but a wild pitch allowed Billy McKinney to reach base on a strike out and Glasnow was subsequently pulled having thrown 39 pitches. The disaster outing raised his ERA from 3.95 to 4.64. Glasnow look to right the ship in his next start, which will come at home against the Indians.

Valdez (3-1) got the win Wednesday, allowing one run on five hits and three walks while striking out five over 5.1 innings against the Twins.

Valdez didn't fool many hitters, inducing just six swings and misses, and he only threw first-pitch strikes to six of the 22 batters he faced, but he largely silenced Minnesota's bats on his way to picking up his third win in four outings. The young lefty has allowed either one or zero earned runs in every appearance to work toward a stellar 1.37 ERA over 19.2 innings, and he figures to continue seeing ample opportunities to pick up wins pitching in front of the potent Houston lineup. He'll look to keep rolling Tuesday in Detroit.

Odorizzi (5-10) took the loss Wednesday, allowing five runs on four hits and four walks while striking out four over 4.2 innings against the Astros.

Odorizzi was tagged for a pair of two-run home runs and didn't have great control, with four walks and a hit by pitch. The 28-year-old has taken the loss in three consecutive outings and now sees his ERA sit at 4.57. He'll also carry a 1.36 WHIP and 148:61 K:BB across 147.2 innings into another tough matchup Wednesday against the Yankees.

Keller (7-6) took the loss Wednesday against the Indians, allowing three runs (one earned) on 11 hits and one walk while striking out five across seven innings.

The Indians tagged Keller for a season-high 11 hits, though only two went for extra bases and the right-hander was able to limit the damage. A pair of costly errors and an impressive outing from his counterpart (Corey Kluber) left Keller with his first loss since Aug. 7. He now owns a 1.97 ERA and 23:6 K:BB over his last five starts (32 innings). Next up is a home matchup against the White Sox.