MLB Player News

Imai (arm) will make his next rehab appearance Tuesday or Wednesday with Triple-A Sugar Land, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The Japanese right-hander made his first rehab appearance with Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday, allowing five runs over two innings. Imai struggled to a 7.27 ERA and a 13:11 K:BB in his first three MLB starts before landing on the shelf, so he's likely to need another rehab start or two after next week's outing.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Friday that Rodon's (elbow) next rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre could be his last, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Rodon has looked sharp in his first two rehab outings, allowing just one run with a 12:1 K:BB over 9.2 innings. The left-hander got his pitch count built up to 75 his last time out and will get stretched out a bit more Tuesday. If all goes well, Rodon will make his season debut as soon as May 10 on the road in Milwaukee. Rodon is coming back from offseason surgery to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur in his left elbow.

The Tigers announced Friday that Verlander (hip) isn't yet asymptomatic and remains without an official timeline to begin a rehab assignment, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Verlander will throw another bullpen session soon and seems to be trending in the right direction as he works his way back from left hip inflammation. However, the 43-year-old is still feeling some soreness, and until that goes away, he won't be cleared to pitch in games. Verlander missed all of April with the injury.

Povich was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk and will start Friday's game against the Yankees.

The left-hander is filling the rotation spot vacated by Trevor Rogers, who recently landed on the injured list due to an illness. Povich has pitched well in his two major-league outings (one start) this year, giving up three earned runs with a 7:3 K:BB across 12.1 innings. Rogers isn't expected to be out for long, so Povich may stay up with the big club for only a couple turns through the rotation.

Gray (hamstring) is throwing a live batting-practice session Friday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

The right-hander landed on the shelf April 21 with a strained right hamstring, but he was only briefly shut down from throwing and is quickly back to facing live hitters. Gray will be eligible to be reinstated from the injured list next week, and he appears on track to rejoin Boston's rotation after spending close to the 15-day minimum on the shelf.

The Red Sox recalled Bennett from Triple-A Worcester on Friday.

Bennett is set to make his major-league debut Friday with a start against the Astros. The left-hander is filling the rotation spot vacated by Garrett Crochet (shoulder) and could earn additional turns with Sonny Gray (hamstring) also sidelined. Acquired from the Nationals over the offseason, Bennett has yielded just three runs (two earned) with a 16:3 K:BB over his first 21 innings with Worcester this season.

Medina (1-1) earned the win Thursday against Kansas City. He allowed three hits and two walks while striking out one over 2.2 scoreless innings of relief.

Entering for Jeffrey Springs (hip) in the fourth inning, Medina allowed some traffic but ultimately earned the win. After primarily operating as a starter across 149.2 regular-season innings in 2023 and 2024, the right-hander has worked exclusively out of the bullpen in 2026 after missing all of 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Through nine appearances, Medina owns a 2.13 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and an 11:7 K:BB across 12.2 innings.

Gausman (2-2) took the loss against Minnesota on Thursday, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two batters over 5.2 innings.

Gausman began the game with three scoreless frames, during which he retired nine of the 10 batters he faced. However, he then allowed a two-run homer in the fourth inning. After tossing a perfect fifth, Gausman gave up a pair of runs on a solo homer, a walk and a single in the sixth before being pulled with two outs. That snapped the veteran hurler's string of two straight quality starts, and the defeat also ended a stretch of two consecutive victories. Gausman gave up four runs in an outing for the first time this season Thursday, but he still holds strong season stats with a 3.10 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 40:8 K:BB through 40.2 frames.

Ober (3-1) earned the win over Toronto on Thursday, allowing one run on four hits and two walks while striking out two batters over six innings.

He yielded just one extra-base hit -- a fourth-inning solo homer by Dalton Varsho. While Ober was far from overpowering with nine whiffs and just two punchouts, he got the job done en route to his third straight quality start. The right-hander recorded a 5.49 ERA through his first four outings this season, but during the aforementioned three-game stretch, he's yielded just three earned runs over 18.1 frames to bring that ERA down to 3.55. Ober has been all over the place in terms of punchouts this season -- he's registered as many as 10 and as few as one in an outing -- and his overall 6.9 K/9 isn't going to generate much buzz, but his overall numbers have indicated a bounce-back campaign after he posted a career-worst 5.10 ERA and 1.30 WHIP across 146.1 frames last year.

Springs (hip) is expected to be available for his next scheduled start, Jason Burke of SI.com reports.

Springs exited Thursday's 6-3 win over the Royals in the fourth inning due to right hip soreness, but manager Mark Kotsay noted after the contest that the pitcher's removal was precautionary. Kotsay explained that Springs was likely able to continue, and he "made the decision" for his starter, removing him from the game, but the manager doesn't "see any reason for him to miss a start." Springs is projected to face Philadelphia on the road early next week.