MLB Player News

The Twins recalled Varland from Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.

Ronny Henriquez will draw the starting assignment for the Twins in Wednesday's game at Tampa Bay, but he's expected to work an inning or two before giving way to Varland, who will likely be deployed in bulk relief, per Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. A decent showing Wednesday could be enough for Varland to stick around with the Twins as part of a six-man rotation. The Twins have just two days off over the final 26 days of the regular season, so the addition of Varland would help provide extra rest for the team's other starters heading into the playoffs.

Garrett (forearm) is scheduled to make a rehab start with Single-A Jupiter on Thursday, Kevin Barral of FishonFirst.com reports.

The left-hander progressed to throwing live batting practice over the weekend and has been deemed ready for game action after a bullpen session Tuesday. Garrett is expected to throw about three innings and/or 50 pitches Thursday in the first of what's likely to be a couple rehab starts. He's been on the shelf since mid-June due to a forearm strain.

Harris (3-3) got the win against the Mariners on Tuesday, firing three scoreless innings during which he allowed two walks and recorded three strikeouts.

Harris took over following a quality start from rookie J.T. Ginn and put together a highly efficient long-relief effort, requiring only 37 pitches to record nine outs. The left-hander helped keep the Mariners at bay and then reaped the rewards when Seth Brown hit a walk-off single, affording Harris the first victory of his current big-league stint. Harris is likely to continue being used in a relief role down the stretch, although multi-inning outings will likely be the norm given he's capable of tolerating the elevated workloads.

The Phillies optioned Phillips to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Wednesday.

Phillips' return to the Phillies' rotation will come to an end after just one start, with the right-hander heading back to the minors after he recorded just two outs while allowing six earned runs on eight hits in Tuesday's 10-9 win over the Blue Jays. The Phillies called up right-hander Nick Nelson from Triple-A to replace Phillips on the active roster and provide the bullpen with a fresh arm in the short term. The team will need to settle on a new fifth starter Sunday in Miami, with Taijuan Walker and Kolby Allard perhaps representing the top candidates to fill the spot vacated by Phillips.

German is slated to start Wednesday's game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

At least temporarily, the Pirates will expand the rotation to a six men, with the addition of German building in an additional day of rest between starts for rookies Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. German tossed six scoreless innings against the Rangers in his lone other start for the Pirates on Aug. 21, but he worked in long relief in his last two appearances, covering 5.2 innings while yielding 10 runs on 11 hits and five walks.

Senzatela (elbow) allowed two hits and struck out three with no walks across four scoreless innings in a rehab start with Double-A Hartford on Tuesday, MLB.com reports.

This outing marked Senzatela's fourth start during his rehab stint and was his most effective. He still built up to only 52 pitches, so he'll likely need at least one more start in the minors before being activated.

Freeland was pulled early from his start Tuesday against Atlanta due to a blister, Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports.

Freeland was effective across five innings, allowing only one earned run while striking out five. However, he was pulled after only 79 pitches due to the blister. Freeland dealt with the same issue in the middle of August and his status for a scheduled outing Sunday against Milwaukee is now unclear.

Sale (16-3) picked up the win Tuesday, allowing six hits over seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 victory over the Rockies. He struck out nine without walking a batter.

The veteran lefty continues his march toward both the NL Cy Young Award and a pitching Triple Crown, generating a whopping 23 swinging strikes among his 93 pitches as he reeled off his fifth straight quality start and 16th of the year. Sale leads the majors with 206 strikeouts, five ahead of Tarik Skubal and Dylan Cease, while his 16 wins are tied for the MLB lead with Skubal. Sale's 2.46 ERA also paces all qualified pitchers, with Skubal once again in second at 2.51. Sale's next victory will tie his previous career high of 17, a mark he last reached in 2017 -- he'll try to pick it up this weekend in a home start against the Blue Jays.

Weathers (finger) tossed three scoreless innings with three strikeouts in his first rehab start with Single-A Jupiter on Tuesday.

Weathers threw 43 pitches in his first game action since he went down with a left index finger strain back in early June. The left-hander figures to require at least one more rehab start, likely at a higher affiliate, before being re-inserted into the Marlins' rotation. Weathers was showing signs of a breakout before getting injured, compiling a 3.55 ERA and 67:20 K:BB over 71 frames covering 13 starts.

Freeland (4-7) took the loss Tuesday as the Rockies fell 3-0 to Atlanta, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits over five innings. He struck out five without walking a batter.

It was a sharp performance from the left-hander, who tossed 55 of 79 pitches for strikes, but he had the misfortune of being matched up with NL Cy Young favorite Chris Sale. Freeland has allowed three runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts, posting a 4.03 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 30:9 K:BB through 38 innings over that stretch. He'll look for a better result in his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come on the road this weekend in Milwaukee.