MLB Player News

Sale (shoulder) threw from flat ground Tuesday, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

This marks the second consecutive day Sale was able to throw from flat ground. He remains without a specific timetable for his return, but manager Alex Cora confirmed the southpaw will be pitching for the Red Sox sometime in September.

Mejia (elbow) has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Mejia is currently dealing with nerve irritation in his elbow, and it turns out the injury will take more than the remaining five weeks to treat. The 25-year-old wound up making just five appearances for the Twins this season, finishing with a solid 2.01 ERA and 1.16 WHIP across 22.1 innings.

Valdez will receive a second start Friday against the Angels, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic Houston reports.

After impressing in long relief in his MLB debut Aug. 21, Valdez was called upon to fill the fifth spot in the Houston rotation Saturday in Anaheim. He aced his first test as a starter, limiting the Angels to one run on two hits and three walks over five innings to claim his second win in as many outings. Valdez will be rewarded with another start during the upcoming weekend, but will need to continue performing respectably in order to stick in the rotation throughout September. Though Lance McCullers (forearm) is likely ticketed for a relief role once he returns from the 10-day disabled list, there's no shortage of high-quality options the Astros could turn to for spot starts if Valdez can't get the job done.

Rodriguez (ankle) will be activated from the disabled list Saturday to start against the White Sox, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Rodriguez has been cleared to rejoin the big-league rotation after spending around six weeks on the disabled list with an ankle injury. The left-hander looked sharp in a pair of minor-league rehab appearances, striking out 14 across eight scoreless innings for Double-A Portland. Prior to landing on the shelf, he posted a solid 3.44 ERA and 110:32 K:BB across 19 starts (104.2 innings).

Whitley (lat) was placed on the 7-day disabled list Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Whitley was scratched from his scheduled start over the weekend due to the lat issue, and the Astros opted to send him to the disabled list after he showed little improvement. The Astros figure to proceed cautiously with the top prospect seeing as he only recently returned from a month-long stay on the DL due to an oblique injury. The young righty is still planning to pitch somewhere during the fall.

Civale (lat) exited his start with Double-A Akron on Monday after recording just one out.

Civale was diagnosed with a lat injury, though the severity of the issue remains unclear at this point. That said, given how difficult lat injuries can be and how close it is to the end of the season, it wouldn't be surprising if he didn't pitch again for the RubberDucks this year. Prior to suffering the injury, Civale compiled a 3.89 ERA across 21 starts with Akron.

Rodriguez (ankle) allowed two hits and two walks while striking out six over four scoreless innings for Double-A Portland on Monday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Rodriguez, who has been on the disabled list since July 15, was making his second rehab start and added another four innings to his rehab line (eight scoreless innings total). The left-hander likely will be activated to start against the White Sox this weekend.

Meyer recently experienced a setback in his rehab from right shoulder surgery and required a cortisone shot to address the matter, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Angels will table Meyer's throwing program for a few days while they wait for the shot to take effect and hopefully eliminate any discomfort the 28-year-old is experiencing. Meyer isn't slated to return from the 60-day disabled list this season, but should be on pace to enter spring training with few restrictions, if any. It's uncertain, however, if he'll report to camp as a member of the Angels, as the team may want to see positive signs in his recovery before deciding over the winter whether or not to add him back to the 40-man roster. Prior to undergoing surgery last September, Meyer was serviceable in a 13-start sample with Los Angeles, posting a 3.74 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 75 strikeouts in 67.1 innings.

Montas is a candidate to be called up from Triple-A Nashville to make a spot start Thursday against the Mariners, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Daniel Mengden, just recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Monday, was originally slated to draw the start Thursday in place of Sean Manaea (shoulder). However, with Mengden working four innings (64 pitches) out of the bullpen in a loss to the Astros on Monday, that plan is probably scuttled. Montas makes for a solid replacement, considering he logged 10 starts for the Athletics earlier in the season and posted a 5-3 record and 3.75 ERA across 57.2 innings. Lee reports that Mengden would still be a candidate to serve as a long-term replacement for Manaea should the latter be sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Despaigne danced around 10 baserunners (four walks) to limit the Rockies to two runs over four innings while striking out two in a no-decision Monday.

All three of Despaigne's starts with the Angels have lasted just four frames. The veteran swingman posted a respectable 3.5 K/BB ratio over his last two outings, but Monday's 0.5 mark was a step in the wrong direction. Both Tyler Skaggs (groin) and Nick Tropeano (shoulder) are working towards returning from their respective DL stints, putting Despaigne in jeopardy of losing his rotation spot down the stretch. The 31-year-old draws a tough matchup against a red-hot Astros lineup Sunday.