MLB Player News

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Gil (back) will likely make a rehab start in five days, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Gil got through a live batting practice session Tuesday with no issues and should be in line for a rehab start Monday or Tuesday. Given that he's been on the shelf for a brief period of time with a lower-back strain, Gil shouldn't need more than one rehab start before being activated from the 15-day injured list, potentially as soon as next weekend. The New York rotation is fluid right now with Clarke Schmidt (lat) also nearing a return and likely to beat Gil back from the IL. The plan is for both Gil and Schmidt to return as starters, but one or both of them could eventually shift to relief later on in September.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Schmidt (lat) will likely make two more rehab starts before being activated from the 60-day injured list, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Schmidt was excellent in his first rehab outing with Double-A Somerset on Friday, striking out six while yielding one run over 3.2 innings. He will move up to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for his second rehab start Wednesday and will receive one more start in the minors early next week. Assuming all goes well, Schmidt should be in line for a return to the New York rotation next weekend in Chicago against the Cubs, though nothing is set in stone yet. The righty has been out since late May with a right lat strain.

Ragans (calf/hamstring) is listed as the Royals' probable starter for Saturday's game against the Astros, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Ragans had to be lifted from his last outing Monday versus the Guardians due to cramping in his left calf and hamstring. However, manager Matt Quatraro said after the game that the lefty was "fine," and it appears he's officially a go for his next scheduled start. Ragans will bring a 3.28 ERA and 187:54 K:BB over 156.1 innings into action Saturday.

The Royals placed Lorenzen on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a strained left hamstring, Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star reports.

Lorenzen suffered the injury during Tuesday's game versus the Guardians while covering first base. He will be eligible to return in mid-September, but a firm timeline for his recovery won't be known until the results of his MRI become available. Alec Marsh is likely to slide into Lorenzen's rotation spot.

The Rangers will recall Leiter from Triple-A Round Rock to start Wednesday versus the White Sox and "intend to give him some runway" in the rotation during September, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The Rangers are essentially turning the page to next season at this point and want to gauge Leiter's readiness for a rotation spot in 2025. Leiter's first three starts at the major-league level have not gone well (16.39 ERA), but the 24-year-old has had an excellent season at Round Rock and has pitched particularly well of late with a 2.37 ERA and 30:6 K:BB over 19 frames covering his last four outings.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Tuesday that it's "going to take a while" for Scherzer (shoulder) to be built back up after he resumes throwing, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

A scheduled rehab start for Scherzer last Friday was pushed back indefinitely, and the pitcher was re-evaluated by team orthopedist Dr. Keith Meister earlier this week. While nothing overly concerning was found during that exam, Scherzer hasn't resumed throwing yet, and it's unclear when that might happen. The Rangers and Scherzer aren't dismissing him returning from the 10-day injured list before the end of the season, but the 40-year-old doesn't look poised to be activated anytime soon. Scherzer has been out since early August with right shoulder fatigue.

Crochet threw four pitches in his start Tuesday against the Rangers before the game was suspended due to inclement weather.

The White Sox and Rangers will resume the suspended game as part of a doubleheader Wednesday, but Crochet isn't expected to be available for either contest after he went through a full warmup before Tuesday's contest was called in the top of the first inning. Per LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune, Chris Flexen is slated to "start" in the resumption of the suspended game Wednesday, while the White Sox are likely to treat the originally scheduled game as a bullpen day. The White Sox haven't revealed when Crochet might pitch next, but assuming he sticks to his usual four-day rest schedule, he would tentatively line up to make his next start Sunday versus the Mets. Crochet has now covered four innings or less in each of his last nine starts, making it difficult to extract much fantasy value from him.

Flexen will be the de facto starter Wednesday for the resumption of Tuesday's suspended game versus the Rangers, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Tuesday's starter, Garrett Crochet, threw only four pitches in the top of the first inning before the game was delayed and eventually suspended. Flexen had been slated to start the regularly scheduled contest Wednesday, but he will now be the first to take the ball in the suspended game and the White Sox will go with a host of relievers in the nightcap.

Maeda is expected to be used as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Mason Englert in Wednesday's game against the Angels, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Maeda hasn't made a start since July 9, but he's essentially maintained a spot in the rotation since the All-Star break while working as a bulk reliever. He's turned in a 4.55 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 26:2 K:BB over 29.2 innings across his seven relief appearances, with his ERA inflated by a rough showing this past Thursday against the Cubs in which he coughed up six runs across five frames. After Wednesday's appearance, Maeda could move into more a flexible multi-inning role out of the bullpen with the Tigers having recently added Triple-A Toledo call-up Ty Madden to the rotation. Additionally, Casey Mize (hamstring) appears poised to return from the 60-day injured list this weekend to give the Tigers another rotation option.

Canning is scheduled to start Wednesday's game against the Tigers at Comerica Park.

For the first time all season, Canning didn't start in his most recent appearance Thursday in Toronto, as he instead worked as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Brock Burke. Though Canning struck out six over six scoreless innings out of the bullpen Thursday, the Angels won't use an opener in front of Canning in Detroit and will instead return him to his normal starting role. Canning enters Wednesday's contest with a 4-11 record, 5.18 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 102:48 K:BB through 139 innings on the season.