MLB Player News

Manager Bruce Bochy said Thursday that Gray (forearm) will make another rehab start at Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.

Saturday is expected to be Gray's final outing in the minors before returning from the injured list next week. The 33-year-old has made two appearances since starting up his rehab assignment, giving up two earned runs while striking out three batters over five frames. Because he has yet to last longer than three innings, he'll likely operate under a pitch count during his first few outings back with the Rangers. Otherwise, the team could use him as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen.

The Pirates are not expected to skip any of Skenes' starts in the second half but will likely have him throw a few more "low-volume outings" as a means to manage his workload, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The club is also expected to give Skenes extra rest in between starts a few times in the second half, when possible. Skenes threw 160.1 innings in 2024, and Hiles believes the Pirates' goal is to get the righty into the 190s in 2025, with 200 innings being the cap. It's relatively mild as far as workload limitations go, but it does dampen Skenes' outlook slightly. The right-hander began to see his workload curtailed a bit late in the first half, as he threw fewer than 80 pitches in three of his last four starts and fewer than 90 pitches in the other outing. Prior to that, Skenes had averaged 98.7 pitches per start in his first 16 outings of the season.

Lin was placed on the 7-day injured list at High-A Peoria on Thursday with an undisclosed injury.

It's not clear when Lin was hurt or what injury he's battling, but he had struggled in his last five starts with Peoria, posting a 7.27 ERA and 23:18 K:BB over 17.1 frames. The 6-foot-7 Lin is one of the Cardinals' better pitching prospects, but he's yet to advance past A-ball at 23 years old and is now injured.

Ober (hip) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Friday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Ober landed on the 15-day injured list at the beginning of July with a left hip impingement. He was never shut down from throwing while on the IL, so the big right-hander might require just the one rehab start before potentially rejoining the Twins' rotation next week. Ober holds a disappointing 5.28 ERA in 17 starts for the Twins this season.

Melton, who earned a promotion to Triple-A Toledo in June, could be an option for the Tigers' bullpen down the stretch, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Melton has enjoyed success this season, posting a 3.23 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 10 starts for Double-A Erie, then lowering those figures to 3.06 and 1.12, respectively, through seven appearances (six starts) for Toledo. The 24-year-old righty has shown swing-and-miss stuff as well, recording 93 strikeouts in 71.1 innings across both levels. Detroit may not have a spot for Melton in the rotation this year, though he could be an effective bullpen weapon for the Tigers down the stretch as they make their postseason push, similar to what the team did with Jackson Jobe in 2024. For that to be an option, however, Melton would have to be added to the 40-man roster.

Schmidt shared on a personal social media account that the Tommy John surgery he underwent July 11 was successful, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Schmidt stated in his post that he plans to "focus on healing" as he works to return to competition. The righty hurler was in the midst of a standout campaign before getting hurt, posting a 3.32 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 73:30 K:BB over 78.2 innings spanning 14 games. Though Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he was unsure if Schmidt got the internal brace version of the surgery, per Phillips, the current expectation is that Schmidt probably won't be ready to pitch in a big-league contest again until the 2027 campaign.

O'Loughlin opted out of his minor-league contract with Colorado on Wednesday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

O'Loughlin has spent all season with the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate, where he turned in a 6.91 ERA and 2.11 WHIP across 41.2 innings. Based on his poor resume, the 25-year-old's next opportunity will almost certainly be as minor-league depth.

Sale (ribs) played catch Tuesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Sale appears to be throwing again for the first time since he was diagnosed with a fractured left ribcage nearly a month ago. The left-hander was moved to the 60-day injured list earlier this month, making him ineligible to return until the third full week of August.

Bieber (elbow) struck out five and allowed one hit and one walk over two scoreless innings Tuesday in a rehab start with the Guardians' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate.

Bieber took the mound for his first rehab start since May 31, when he made a 2.1-inning appearance in the ACL before being pulled off his assignment when he experienced soreness in his surgically repaired right elbow. The setback was always viewed as a minor one, and Bieber's excellent showing Tuesday in his return to the hill seemingly alleviates any concern the Guardians might have about his elbow moving forward. Bieber will likely need to complete at least three more rehab starts in the minors before the Guardians clear him to return from the 60-day injured list, perhaps at some point in early or mid-August.

Snell (shoulder) struck out seven and allowed one earned run on three hits and zero walks over three innings in a rehab start Tuesday in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League.

Because the Florida and Arizona Complex Leagues are the only minor-league affiliates in session during the All-Star break, Snell moved down to rookie ball for his second rehab outing after he previously made a two-inning start with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga last Thursday. The veteran southpaw tacked on an inning to his workload Tuesday and settled into a groove toward the end of his start, retiring nine of the final 10 batters he faced. Snell will likely move up to a higher-level affiliate for his third rehab outing, and he may require just one more start in the minors after that before making his return from the 60-day injured list.