MLB Player News

Mejia is getting a second opinion on his arm injury Saturday, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Mejia was placed on the disabled list Friday with what was then called a left wrist strain. He's receiving a second opinion as the club is unsure whether the issue is with his wrist or his biceps. His recovery timeline should become more clear after further tests.

Rodriguez (ankle) threw off a mound Friday in Baltimore, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports.

Manager Alex Cora was clearly impressed after watching Rodriguez throw. "What I saw today, it's not even about the ankle anymore, it's about him getting repetitions -- his arm looks great," Cora said of Rodriguez, who sprained his ankle covering first base in the middle of July. "He was good, he was really good actually. He was able to repeat his delivery, his stuff was electric, he had good movement." The next step for the left-hander is to throw a bullpen session Sunday followed by live batting practice when the team is in Philadelphia next week. If all goes well, Rodriguez will make a rehab start, most likely the weekend of Aug. 24-26. If he needs just one rehab start, Rodriguez could be back in the rotation by the end of the month.

Cease allowed one run on two hits and five walks while striking out six over 5.2 innings for Double-A Birmingham on Friday.

Cease ran a scoreless streak to 24 innings before permitting a second-inning run. The 22-year-old right-hander has produced better results at Double-A than he did in his previous stop at High-A Winston-Salem, although command remains a weakness. He's up to a career-high 118 innings and is on schedule to reach Triple-A next season. If Cease avoids injury, he should be part of the White Sox rotation in 2020.

Cole (10-5) allowed four runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five over 7.1 innings in Friday's loss to the Mariners.

The loss was Cole's third straight, as he fell victim to Houston's inconsistent offense. Normally this team is one of the most potent in the majors; however, since the All-Star break the Astros' .228 batting average ranks 27th and their 77 runs scored are tied for 26th. Injuries have played a role in that: Carlos Correa just returned from a back injury while Jose Altuve (knee) and George Springer (thumb) remain on the disabled list. Cole and the other starters have suffered declining support. In the right-hander's last three starts, spanning 18 innings, he's received four runs of support. Cole will look to break his three-start losing streak Wednesday at home against the Rockies.

Rodon didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 1-0 win over Cleveland, scattering four hits and two walks over eight scoreless innings while striking out five.

The southpaw has now delivered six straight quality starts, and Rodon has posted a 1.27 ERA and 0.96 WHIP during his streak, although his record over that stretch is only 2-0. He'll look to stay locked in Wednesday in Detroit.

Bieber didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 1-0 loss to the White Sox, tossing 6.2 scoreless innings and allowing three hits and two walks while striking out eight.

It was his best performance since he shut down the Tigers for seven innings back on June 22. Bieber sometimes catches too much of the plate for his own good at this stage of his career, but his 39:9 K:BB in 39.1 innings since the beginning of July is excellent. The rookie will take a 4.24 ERA into his next outing Wednesday in Cincinnati.

Snell (13-5) struck out six in five perfect innings in a win over the Blue Jays on Friday.

Snell was pulled after throwing five innings and 47 pitches (33 strikes) as he was making just his second start since coming off the disabled list. Snell ranks second in the AL in ERA (2.18) and batting average against (.184) while sporting an excellent 1.03 WHIP. His next start will come against the Yankees in New York, and it's possible he may still be on a pitch limit.

Bundy allowed eight runs (seven earned) in five innings Friday against the Red Sox but did not factor into the decision. He gave up eight hits (including two home runs) and four walks, striking out just three.

The outing was one of Bundy's poorest of the season (though nothing is likely to beat his seven-run, no-out showing against the Royals back on May 8). He was in trouble from the start, giving up a three-run homer to Xander Bogaerts in the top of the first. He gave up two more runs in the fourth and was removed in the top of the sixth after following up a leadoff homer by Brock Holt with a single and a walk. Bundy has now allowed at least five earned runs in four of his last six outings, posting a 7.71 ERA over that stretch. He'll attempt to right the ship either Wednesday against the Mets or Friday against the Indians.

Eovaldi was lucky to escape with a no-decision Friday against the Orioles after allowing eight runs (four earned) on 10 hits and two walks in just 2.2 innings. He allowed one homer and didn't strike out a single batter.

It was a surprising change of fortunes for Eovaldi, who threw 15 scoreless innings over his first two starts with the Red Sox. He escaped a jam in the first inning despite allowing three baserunners but was not so lucky in the next two frames, allowing four runs in each, giving up 11 baserunners in total. The fact that all four runs in the third inning followed a Jackie Bradley error prevented the outing from having an even greater effect on Eovaldi's and his fantasy owners' ERAs, but it still caused his ERA to shoot up from 3.38 to 3.74. He'll look to put his poor showing behind him Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Lewicki will move into the Tigers' starting rotation, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Lewicki was recalled from the minors earlier this week following the trade of Mike Fiers and made a three-inning appearance as a reliever Wednesday. The Tigers have yet to officially announce his first start, but if he takes Jacob Turner's spot in the rotation -- who is now designated for assignment -- he lines up to pitch against the White Sox on Monday.