MLB Player News

Bassitt tossed five shutout innings for Triple-A Nashville in a rehab start Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bassitt is still not expected back soon, as he needs substantial rehab work on the road back from Tommy John surgery. Expect him to take at least two more starts in the minors, but if he keeps pitching this efficiently, he could be a real asset in Oakland's rotation in June and beyond.

The pectoral injury that forced Carrasco out of Monday's start in the fourth inning is not thought to be serious, Chris Assenheimer of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Carrasco was struggling anyway, as he needed 75 pitches to get through 3.2 innings and allowed five runs in the process. Perhaps the pectoral tightness contributed to his inefficiency, but it currently doesn't look like Carrasco will need to miss any time.

Paxton (forearm) will throw a bullpen session Wednesday or Thursday, a precursor to a rehab assignment, the Seattle Times reports.

Paxton's swift progress has been dubbed "great news" by Mariners manager Scott Servais. If all goes well, he'll likely go on a rehab assignment next weekend, with a chance of returning at some point during Seattle's next road trip, which begins May 23. Considering how scary forearm tightness can be for pitchers -- especially those with electric arms like Paxton -- this swift turnaround should elicit sighs of relief from the lefty's fantasy owners.

Carrasco departed Monday's game due to left pectoral tightness, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

The injury limited Carrasco to just 3.2 innings, but he wasn't sharp at all, needing 75 pitches (including 34 balls) to get that far. Further evaluation will be needed before we know whether he'll need to go on the disabled list, but he should be considered questionable for his next start at this point.

Carrasco was forced to leave Monday's start against Tampa Bay with an apparent injury, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

It was unclear what happened to Carrasco, but he walked off with a trainer after completing just 3.2 innings. He was wild all game long, as he threw just 41 strikes among 75 pitches and walked three batters.

Kluber (back) will throw off a mound Monday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

This is a sign of progress for the former Cy Young winner, although he's only expected to throw 20 pitches or so. This means Kluber is still a ways away from a return to the rotation (or a rehab assignment, for that matter), but the Indians' plans for him should become clearer as he ramps up his activity.

Mejia is temporarily inactive for Triple-A Rochester while he's attending to the birth of his child.

The 23-year-old pitching prospect shouldn't miss too much time with this occurrence. Prior to leaving the team, Mejia held a 4.08 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in three starts with the Red Wings.

Verlander (3-3) allowed four runs (all earned) over six innings and took the loss in Sunday's game against the Angels. He gave up five hits and five walks while striking out seven.

Verlander struggled with his control in this one, walking at least five batters in a game for the second time this season. The veteran's BB/9 is up to 4.66, which would be a career worst and is more than double his rate from 2016. The strikeouts are still there, and Verlander's average fastball is actually up a tick from 93.5 mph in 2016 to 94.8 this season. That suggests that if he can limit the walks moving forward, Verlander could approach his 3.04 ERA, 254 strikeouts and 16 wins from a season ago. He lines up to face the Rangers at home Saturday in his next start.

Quintana allowed three runs on five hits and four walks while striking out five over seven innings in Sunday's 9-3 win over the Padres.

Quintana held San Diego scoreless through six innings while his mates gave him little support once again. The White Sox were leading 1-0 when he served up a three-run homer to Hunter Renfroe in the seventh, putting the left-hander in line for his sixth loss of the season. However, the White Sox posted an eight-run eighth inning, taking Quintana off the hook. It was the 60th no-decision of his career, tops in the majors since 2012. Chicago's ace is 2-1 with a 2.77 ERA over his last four starts after going 0-4 with a 6.17 ERA in his first four starts of the season.

Meyer (2-1) held the Tigers to one run on three hits over 6.1 innings Sunday. He walked two and struck out seven en route to his second win of the season.

This was easily the 27-year-old's best start of the season after he struggled through his first three. Meyer credited his success Sunday to his ability to control his overpowering fastball (61 strikes to 35 balls), something he hasn't been able to do throughout his young career. Given his past struggles, it is too early to recommend the 2011 first-round draft pick as a pitcher to rely on after just one good start, but he's worth monitoring over his next couple of outings just in case something "clicked" Sunday.