MLB Player News

Eovaldi (elbow) threw a simulated game Wednesday, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Eovaldi continues to work through his recovery from August 2016 Tommy John surgery at a fairly brisk clip. Wednesday's development continues to leave open the possibility that the 28-year-old could make a return before the end of the season.

Hamels (9-3) gave up five runs -- four earned -- over six innings Wednesday against Atlanta, striking out five while allowing six hits and two walks in a losing effort.

All the damage against him came in a big second inning by Hamels' old divisional foes. Nonetheless, there's cause for concern with Hamels again (or should we say still?), as he's now allowed four-plus earned runs in four of his last five starts. The veteran lefty should only be deployed with great caution at this point. He'll next face the Mariners, who've put up four runs against Hamels twice already this year.

Boyd (5-9) gave up four runs on seven hits and a pair of walks over six-plus innings Wednesday, suffering a loss against the Royals. He struck out four.

The 26-year-old lefty battled opposing starter Jason Hammel to a 2-2 tie through six, but Boyd came out for the seventh and promptly gave up a pair of doubles before being removed; the bullpen then allowed the game to turn into a 13-2 rout. A star in the minors, Boyd has yet to put it all together at the big-league level, as his 5.93 ERA clearly indicates. He should be deployed with great caution (if at all) down the stretch.

Hammel (8-10) navigated around nine hits and two walks to allow just two runs over six innings Wednesday, striking out six and garnering a victory over Detroit.

While this game ended as a 13-2 rout, Hammel and opposing pitcher Matt Boyd actually pitched to 2-2 impasse through six innings; the Royals broke the tie in the seventh and then truly broke the game open in the eighth, making the bullpen's job easier than the starter's. Although this wasn't Hammel's finest outing, it does mark the fifth consecutive start in which he's pitched six innings and the first time since July 14 that he's allowed more than one walk. With four-year worsts in ERA and WHIP on his ledger, Hammel isn't having a very good 2017, but he's still remained a reliable innings eater who turns in his fair share of quality starts.

McCullers (back) was activated from the 10-day disabled list and confirmed as the starting pitcher for Wednesday's game against the Mariners.

As expected, McCullers will rejoin the Astros' rotation ahead of his first big-league start since landing on the shelf at the end of July. The 23-year-old was able to toss 60 pitches in a five-inning rehab outing last week, followed by a 15-pitch simulated inning in the bullpen, so he shouldn't be facing much of a pitch limit in his first start back. McCullers struggled in July before hitting the DL, but he still owns a respectable 3.92 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 105.2 innings this season.

Gausman has been confirmed as Thursday's starter in the make-up game against the Yankees, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

This is expected, as neither team had a game scheduled Thursday, so the rotations did not require tinkering. Gausman will face Sonny Gray on an extra day of rest. He has a 3.04 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 85 strikeouts and seven wins over his last 13 starts (77 innings).

Gausman's scheduled start Wednesday against the Yankees was postponed, Brendan Kuty of NJ.com reports.

He will presumably take the ball Thursday in the make-up game against Sonny Gray, as neither team was slated to play that day. Make sure he is out of daily lineups.

Gray's scheduled start Wednesday against the Orioles was postponed, Brendan Kuty of NJ.com reports.

He will likely take the ball Thursday in the make-up game. This works perfectly, as neither team was scheduled to play Thursday, so it seems both rotations will remain as is.

Miley will start Friday against the Indians, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

He is the only probable the O's are listing for this weekend, which could signal a return to a five-man rotation in Baltimore. Miley has allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his last seven starts with a 37:19 K:BB in that span (38.2 innings).

Snell allowed six runs on seven hits -- including two homers -- over four innings in a no-decision against the Twins on Wednesday. He struck out seven and did not issue a walk.

The 7:0 K:BB looks good, but Snell was living in the strike zone a bit too much in this one, and Brian Dozier and Ehire Adrianza made him pay with a pair of long balls. He has a respectable 3.92 ERA since the All-Star break even after Wednesday's slip-up, but Snell is still figuring it out at the big-league level and more ups and downs should be expected as he continues along the major-league learning curve. Snell lines up to face the Yankees in his next scheduled start.