MLB Player News

Houser (1-0) earned the win Wednesday, allowing two hits and one walk across 5.1 scoreless innings during a 4-0 win over the Astros. He struck out three.

Houser allowed back-to-back hitters to reach with two outs in the first, but he ended the inning by retiring Jose Abreu. Including Abreu, the right-hander retired 14 straight batters before Mauricio Dubon reached on an error in the sixth. Alex Bregman followed that up with a double, but Joel Payamps was able to keep Houser's ledger clean by getting back-to-back outs to end the threat. When Houser's inducing grounders like he was Wednesday, he's tough to crack, and after struggling in his first two starts of the season, he's tossed 11.1 scoreless innings over his last two outings. Houser holds a modest 14:4 K:BB across four appearances (20 innings).

Pirates manager Derek Shelton confirmed Wednesday that Velasquez (elbow) will return to the rotation this weekend in Seattle, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

The safest bet is that Velasquez will slide into Luis Ortiz's spot Sunday, as Mitch Keller and Roansy Contreras are secure in their roles and currently line up to handle the first two games of the three-game series versus the Mariners. Out since May 5 due to right elbow inflammation, Velasquez tallied four strikeouts over 4.2 scoreless innings in his lone rehab start this past Saturday at Triple-A Indianapolis. He threw 63 pitches in that outing and should be able to handle 80-plus pitches in his return start with Pittsburgh.

Oviedo (3-4) took the loss Wednesday, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks over 5.2 innings against the Rangers. He struck out five.

Three of Oviedo's five strikeouts came in an immaculate fourth inning. However, it wasn't enough to recover from a three-run opening frame as the Pirates fell 3-2. Oviedo had been solid in his previous two outings, allowing just two runs over 11 innings. His ERA now sits at 4.70 with a 1.53 WHIP and 48:25 K:BB through 10 starts (53.2 innings) this season.

Teheran is expected to start for the Brewers on Thursday versus the Giants, barring any issues with his physical Wednesday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Teheran has agreed to terms on a major-league deal with the Brew Crew, but the contract won't be official until he goes through a medical review. Assuming no red flags arise, he'll make his Brewers debut Thursday as a rotation fill-in while the club battles multiple injuries. Teheran last pitched in the majors in 2021 and held a 5.62 ERA and 45:16 K:BB over 40 innings at the Triple-A level this season.

Soroka had his best start this season Tuesday for Triple-A Gwinnett, allowing one run over six innings while striking out eight, and he could join the Atlanta rotation next week, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

The team's current plans call for Dylan Dodd to get called up for Thursday's start while Jared Shuster gets another turn Friday. If Soroka stays on a five-day schedule he would be in line to make his next start Sunday, but he could instead join the big-league roster in Oakland to take the hill Monday or Tuesday. The 25-year-old right-hander last pitched in the majors in August 2020, missing most of the last two seasons while recovering from multiple Achilles tears and other related injuries stemming from his lower-body issues. Through eight starts at Triple-A this year, Soroka has a 4.33 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 35:11 K:BB in 35.1 innings.

Priester has a 1.13 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 19 strikeouts in 24 innings over four May starts for Triple-A Indianapolis.

His 7.1 K/9 over that stretch leaves a lot to be desired, but Priester has averaged six innings per start this month, which in itself is an impressive feat for a 22-year-old pitcher at Triple-A. Priester had a 7.78 ERA and 1.68 WHIP in 19.2 innings across five April starts. He could get a look in the majors sometime this summer if he remains healthy, and the strength of his game will be generating weak contact (56.2 percent groundball rate).

Woodruff (shoulder) said he resumed playing catch Wednesday after he recently took a 4-to-5-day pause in his throwing program, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Woodruff didn't reveal whether the brief hiatus was part of a pre-planned arrangement or the result of a minor setback, but either way, the right-hander continues to eye a late-June return from the 60-day injured list while he recovers from a Grade 2 subscapular strain in his right elbow. Before the Brewers are able to pinpoint a more definitive target date for his return, Woodruff will have to advance to throwing sustained long toss, complete multiple bullpen sessions and live batting practice sessions and likely make at least two minor-league rehab starts.

Velasquez (elbow) returned to Pittsburgh on Wednesday and expects to be activated from the 15-day injured list to make a start at some point during the Pirates' upcoming series in Seattle this weekend, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Velasquez acknowledged that it's not his call when the Pirates choose to activate him, though general manager Ben Cherington told Justice delos Santos of MLB.com that "all signs point to" the right-hander being reinstated from the IL for his next outing. Though Velasquez was initially expected to make two minor-league rehab starts prior to being activated, he looks like he'll be ready to go after striking out four over 4.2 scoreless innings with Triple-A Indianapolis this past Saturday. Velasquez will most likely take back a spot in the Pittsburgh rotation from Luis Ortiz.

Ritchie is scheduled to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery Wednesday to repair a moderate UCL tear in his right elbow, Geoff Pontes of Baseball America reports.

In addition to sidelining Ritchie for the remainder of the 2023 campaign, the upcoming procedure is expected to keep the 19-year-old on the shelf for the majority -- if not all -- of the 2024 minor-league season. A 2022 first-round supplemental pick, Ritchie had turned in a 5.40 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 25:3 K:BB in 13.1 innings over four starts with Single-A Augusta before being deactivated May 11.

Cobb (4-1) got the win over the Twins on Tuesday, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out eight over seven innings.

Cobb surrendered a two-run homer to Byron Buxton in the first and then a solo home run to Michael Taylor in the fifth but otherwise did not allow a single hitter to reach scoring position. He generated 22 chases and tied his season high with eight strikeouts while tossing his third quality start over his last four tries. He's now completed at least seven innings five times this season after managing to do so only three times last year. He's sitting at a 2.17 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 52:14 K:BB over 58 innings and lines up for a road start against the Brewers over the weekend.