MLB Player News

Hill (groin) was officially placed on the DL on Thursday, retroactive to May 30.

Hill has been nagged by a groin injury for the past week-and-a-half, keeping him off the mound since May 29. The DL move will allow the A's to bring up a temporary replacement, and Hill will be eligible to return as early as June 14, given the retroactive date. On the year, Hill holds a tidy 2.25 ERA across 64.0 innings. Prior to the groin injury, Hill had gone at least six innings into seven of his last eight starts.

Darvish (shoulder) played catch Thursday and reported no issues, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Darvish exited his start Wednesday with tightness in his throwing shoulder, but he said after the game that he expects to make his next scheduled start. The right-hander is slated to throw his normal bullpen session Friday, and if that goes well he could be officially cleared to start Monday.

Eovaldi (6-2) pitched 5.1 innings, giving up five runs, 10 hits and a walk while striking out four in a no-decision Wednesday against the Angels.

After a ridiculous stretch from April 25 to May 29 in which the right-hander went 5-0, Eovaldi has turned in two ugly performances to begin June. Eovaldi's 1.3 HR/9 has gotten him into trouble, which is surprising considering one of his strengths throughout his career has been the ability to limit home runs. His ERA ballooned to 4.42 and his WHIP to 1.28, both of which put him back in line with his career numbers.

Walker (3-6) was sensational Wednesday, limiting the Indians to three hits while striking out 11 over eight scoreless innings.

The 11 punch-outs tied a career high for Walker and propelled him to his first win in his last seven decisions. Managing to consistently control his pitches has been a problem early in his career, but he displayed pinpoint control Wednesday by throwing strikes on 21 of 27 first pitches, not walking a batter and inducing a ridiculous 17 swinging strikes. The inconsistency from the 23-year-old is enough to drive owners mad, but it's performances like this that remind us of the incredible upside Walker brings to the table. He'll take a 3.48 ERA and 1.14 WHIP into his next start Tuesday against the Rays.

Carrasco (2-1) turned in a losing performance against the Mariners on Wednesday night. He lasted 6.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits while walking one and striking out six.

Except for two costly hanging sliders to Mariners No. 9 hitter Chris Iannetta, Carrasco (hamstring) said he felt good in his second start since coming off the disabled list. The right-hander kept most of Seattle's lineup in check throughout the night, limiting their No. 2-7 hitters to a combined 1-for-18. Owners of Carrasco can be encouraged by the fact he went 1.2 innings and 21 pitchers deeper than he did in his previous start, displaying increased stamina and health. In six starts this season (33.2 innings), the Venezuelan 29-year-old holds a 3.48 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 28:7 BB:K. He'll toe the rubber next against the Royals on Monday.

Darvish, who exited Wednesday's game due to shoulder tightness, indicated after the game that he intends to make his next scheduled start Monday against the Athletics, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

The removal was reportedly precautionary, so Darvish making his next turn certainly shouldn't be ruled out. Those interested should track his progress in the coming days as it should be a good indicator of whether or not he'll be ready to go.

Nolasco was rocked for five runs on 11 hits and a walk in 5.2 innings Wednesday against the Marlins, but was able to avoid taking the loss.

The 33-year-old righty spent the first seven-plus seasons of his career with the Marlins, mostly putting up the same mediocre-to-poor stat lines we've seen from him since he joined the Twins in 2014. Although Nolasco does own a surprisingly shiny 63:13 K:BB in 71.1 innings, he's one of the most hittable starters in baseball and rarely sustains any sort of successful stretch. Indeed, he'd turned in consecutive two-earned-run outings prior to this outing, only to set a new season high in hits allowed. If you're stuck rolling him out in fantasy, you're in a bad place.

Odorizzi (3-3) allowed three runs on five hits, struck out eight and walked one over five innings in a 6-3 victory against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

The right-hander gave up a pair of runs in the second, including a solo homer to Rickie Weeks Jr., and another run in the third, but Odorizzi settled down to retire seven of the last eight batters he faced. He also picked up four strikeouts in the final two frames. The eight punchouts were his most in a game since he recorded 10 in his first outing of the year. Odorizzi will make his next start Tuesday against the Mariners.

Darvish was removed from Wednesday's start against the Astros as a precaution after he began experiencing right shoulder tightness.

Darvish was examined by team doctors in the clubhouse soon after his exit, and fortunately for the right-hander they found no damage in his shoulder. He seems to have dodged a long-term injury, but it's unclear if the ailment is serious enough to warrant his next start to be skipped. The 29-year-old's next start is scheduled for Monday against the Athletics, so his status for that contest should become clearer as that date approaches.

Alvarez (shoulder) will throw 2-to-3 innings at High-A Stockton on Monday, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Monday will mark perhaps the biggest step in the right direction that Alvarez has had during his lengthy recovery from shoulder surgery. He'll toss 2-to-3 frames in a minor league game, which officially starts the clock towards him being activated off the DL within 30 days. Alvarez will gradually have his pitch count increase in each of his rehab outings, but it's unclear if he'll immediately be able to rejoin the A's rotation upon his activation in late-June or early-July.