MLB Player News

Matz experienced soreness following Sunday's rehab start and will receive a second opinion on his lower-back strain in the next few days, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The left-hander initially suffered the injury during his start in Detroit on April 30. Prior to the aggravation, he was closing in on his return to the Cardinals, as Sunday was his third rehab start. It's unclear how much longer Matz will be sidelined, but there should be more clarity once he's further evaluated.

Scherzer (back/thumb) will return from the injured list and start against the Royals on Saturday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic reports.

Scherzer has been on the injured list all season while recovering from offseason back surgery and battling thumb/forearm injuries throughout his rehab process. However, after experiencing no issues following his latest rehab start at Triple-A Round Rock, the 39-year-old veteran has officially been given the green light to return to the Rangers' rotation. He posted a 4.91 ERA and 1.18 WHIP alongside a 17:3 K:BB through 11 innings during his assignment, and it's unclear if the right-hander will be working under any restrictions during his return to a big-league mound.

Eldridge is slashing .271/.330/.492 with nine home runs and a 26.4 percent strikeout rate in 44 games for Single-A San Jose.

There are always going to be some strikeouts with the 6-foot-7 slugger, but Eldridge hits the ball as hard as anyone at Single-A (36.5 Hard%) and has gotten the ball in the air a good amount (39.2 percent groundball rate), which is a great combination. The 19-year-old scrapped pitching before the season to focus solely on developing as a first baseman and figures to get promoted to High-A sometime this summer.

Bubic (elbow) made his most recent rehab start Friday with Triple-A Omaha, working four innings while striking out three and allowing two runs on four hits and three walks.

The outing was Bubic's fourth with Omaha and the 10th overall of his rehab assignment, which has now been extended another 10 days on two occasions after he exhausted his initial 30-day rehab window. His second 10-day extension period will come to an end June 26, at which point the Royals are likely to activate Bubic from the 60-day injured list. Kansas City doesn't seem to have a spot available in its rotation for Bubic at the moment, so he'll presumably be optioned to Omaha once activated. Bubic has posted a 2.16 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 15:6 K:BB in 16.2 innings through his first four starts with Omaha.

The Red Sox optioned Criswell to Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Criswell will give up his active roster spot to Chris Martin (personal), who's being activated from the 15-day IL. Criswell posted a 4.15 ERA across 52.0 innings with Boston and should be one of the first options the Red Sox look at if a starter were to get injured.

Burrows (elbow) began a rehab assignment Monday in the rookie-level Florida Complex League, covering 1.1 innings while allowing three earned runs on one hit and two walks.

Burrows' appearance was his first in affiliated ball since April 8, 2023, as the right-hander had been shut down ever since undergoing Tommy John surgery later that month. He currently resides on Triple-A Indianapolis' 60-day injured list and will eventually rejoin the Pirates' top affiliate once he completes an extended rehab assignment in the lower levels of the minors. Expect Burrows to remain in Florida for at least another week or two while he continues to build up his pitch count and looks to regain his pre-surgery command and velocity.

Gray (elbow) is expected to throw 75-to-80 pitches in his rehab start with Double-A Harrisburg on Wednesday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

The 26-year-old made his second rehab start Friday and allowed one run over four innings. Nationals manager Dave Martinez didn't specify whether Wednesday could be Gray's final rehab outing, but the skipper previously indicated the right-hander may need up to five starts in the minors before being activated from the injured list.

The Astros placed Verlander on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, retroactive to Sunday, due to neck discomfort.

Manager Joe Espada said earlier Tuesday that the veteran right-hander was progressing slower than expected from the neck discomfort that scratched him from Saturday's scheduled start, and he'll be sidelined for at least a couple turns through the rotation. Verlander is without an official timeline for return, but he'll be eligible to be activated from the injured list at the start of July.

Oviedo (elbow) resumed throwing from 75 feet earlier this month, MLB.com reports.

Oviedo is likely to gradually increase his throwing distance off flat ground for at least another week or two before potentially graduating to throwing bullpen sessions. He'll miss the entire 2024 season while he continues his recovery from his Dec. 6 Tommy John surgery.

Cavalli is expected to throw three innings at High-A Wilmington on Friday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Cavalli's three-week rehab pause was attributed to rest rather than a setback in his Tommy John recovery. Still, Cavalli will see game action for the first time since May 30 on Friday, returning to Wilmington to continue his assignment. It's likely he won't be ready for reinstatement until closer to the All-Star break.