MLB Player News

Gray was placed on the 15-day DL Sunday due to a strained right trapezius.

Gray had yet another shaky outing Friday, allowing four earned runs on six hits and four walks to bring his ERA up to 6.19 on the year. After opening the season with four straight quality starts, Gray has been unable to return to early-season form, but it now appears that an injury may have been in play. The Oakland ace will be given a couple weeks on the shelf to heal his ailing back, while the team will recall lefty Daniel Coulombe to take his spot on the roster. Gray had been scheduled to make his next start Wednesday in Seattle, but the A's have yet to announce an official replacement option.

Darvish is scheduled to make his 2016 debut with the Rangers on Saturday, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Darvish has now made four rehab starts, increasing his workload by an inning each time out. A .125 opponent batting average through 14 minor league innings is certainly promising, so the Rangers will elect to bring back one of the organization's top pitchers in short order. Barring any setbacks, owners that took a chance on Darvish should be able to count on roughly four months of utility.

Rodriguez (knee) will make a rehab start Tuesday for Triple-A Pawtucket, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports.

Rodriguez tossed another bullpen session at Fenway Park on Sunday, marking yet another successful workout for the southpaw. If Tuesday's start confirms his health, Rodriguez will soon return to consideration for the fifth starter's job in Boston.

Rodriguez (knee) was fitted for a new knee brace, which he tested out in a bullpen session Friday and during a pitching-fielding practice workout Saturday, the Boston Globe reports.

Boston manager John Farrell said Rodriguez fared well in both sessions and that the brace gave the young left-hander some confidence. He'll next throw a bullpen session Monday, and the club hopes to have him make a rehab start Tuesday.

Gausman allowed just one run with six strikeouts and one walk across 6.2 innings Saturday at the Angels.

Although the O's ultimately won the game, 3-1, they waited until the ninth inning to score, eliminating Gausman's chances of securing his first win of the season. Despite his 0-1 record, he has pitched extremely well since joining the rotation, as his 2.70 ERA will reflect, and will look to earn that elusive first victory Friday at Cleveland.

Smyly (2-5) allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five over 6.1 innings to take the loss Saturday at the Tigers.

Smyly gave up a pair of homers to account for the three runs he allowed in the Rays' loss. He's now thrown seven quality starts over his last eight outings, and he boasts a 3.54 ERA to go along with a 1.04 WHIP. He'll make his next start Thursday against the Marlins.

Smyly has been working on his mechanics since his last start, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The report comes via Rays manager Kevin Cash, who added that he expects the extra work his southpaw has been putting in to be reflected in the quality of Saturday's performance against the Tigers. The 26-year-old was touched for 10 hits and six earned runs over five frames in his last start versus the Mariners. He also gave up another two homers in that outing, bringing his season total to seven in 49.2 innings.

McCullers (0-1) struck out seven and surrendered five hits, two earned runs and three walks over six innings in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Rangers.

The young right-hander paid dearly for his only mistake of the night, as the two-run double he gave up to Prince Fielder ended up being the difference in the game. Still, the effort was a marked improvement over McCullers' first start of the season, when he was blasted for five earned runs over 4.2 innings against the Red Sox. The 22-year-old was still shaky with his control -- as evidenced by him giving up a trio of walks for the second time in two starts -- but he was also able to induce 14 swinging strikes. He'll try his luck again at home next Thursday versus a dangerous Orioles lineup.

Quintana (5-3) struck out five and surrendered eight hits and four earned runs over 6.1 innings in Friday's 4-1 loss to the Royals.

The talented southpaw ran into some difficulties as the game went on and received precious little run support from his offense. Quintana wasn't bad overall -- throwing 63 of 91 pitches for strikes and securing first-pitch strikes on 18 of 26 hitters -- but the sixth inning was his undoing, as he surrendered RBI doubles to Paulo Orlando and Lorenzo Cain, along with a run-scoring single to Kendrys Morales during the frame. The 27-year-old has seen his ERA rise after his last two starts, during which he's surrendered 13 hits and six earned runs over 13.1 innings. However, Quintana has also notably received only two total runs of support during that span. He'll face off with Corey Kluber and the Indians in his next start Wednesday.

Kluber (3-5) struck out six and surrendered five hits, two earned runs and two walks in Friday's 4-2 victory over the Red Sox.

The 30-year-old's rollercoaster season was on an upswing again Friday, as he extracted a measure of revenge against the club that touched him up for nine hits and four earned runs in his first start of the season. Kluber was able to largely neutralize one of the most dangerous offenses in baseball by throwing 66 of 105 pitches for strikes, and inducing 12 swinging strikes in the process. The former Cy Young winner has sandwiched a complete-game shutout of the Tigers and Friday's quality start around a pair of outings against the Astros and Twins in which he gave up a combined 12 hits, nine earned runs and six walks over 9.1 innings. He'll try to put a second consecutive productive effort together when he faces the White Sox in Chicago next Wednesday.