MLB Player News

Rasmussen (elbow) is progressing well in his recovery from the hybrid internal brace procedure he underwent July 24, 2023 and is scheduled to pitch in a game at extended spring training May 20, MLB.com reports.

Rasmussen already had two Tommy John surgeries on his resume before opting for the brace procedure last July, and he's seemingly bounced back from his latest elbow operation as well as the Rays could have hoped less than 10 months into his recovery. Since the Rays have already pinpointed a target date for him to pitch in a game -- albeit in a controlled environment -- Rasmussen is seemingly at the point in his rehab that he's facing hitters in live batting practice. The 28-year-old is likely targeting a return from the 60-day injured list in August or September.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Tuesday that the Rays are "likely" to place Pepiot on the 15-day injured list after the right-hander took a 107.5 mile-per-hour line drive off his left leg in Sunday's 7-6 extra-inning win over the Mets, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

He'll likely be replaced in the Tampa Bay rotation by Taj Bradley (pectoral), who is on track to return from the IL to start this weekend against the Yankees. Pepiot isn't dealing with any structural damage to his leg after both an X-ray and CT scan came back negative, so he could be ready to return from the IL in the minimum 15 days once any lingering pain and soreness subsides. Over his seven starts this season, Pepiot has gone 3-2 with a 3.68 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 41:11 K:BB across 36.2 innings.

Hudson (0-6) took the loss Tuesday against the Giants, allowing four runs on five hits and five walks while striking out two over 3.2 innings.

Hudson was all over the place Tuesday night, tying his season-high in walks while needing 95 pitches to complete 11 outs. The 29-year-old found a way to keep the Giants off the board for three innings before being tagged with four runs in the fourth. Hudson has given up at least four runs in four of his last five starts and is struggling to a 6.35 ERA, 1.79 WHIP and 20:22 K:BB in 34 innings. He lines up for a daunting matchup at home against the Rangers over the weekend.

Yamamoto improved to 4-1 in Tuesday's 8-2 win over the Marlins, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out five over eight innings.

Yamamoto gave up a first-pitch home run to Jazz Chisholm to open up the game and his only other blemish on the night came from another solo home run by Bryan De La Cruz in the sixth. He was incredibly efficient, needing 97 pitches to navigate through eight innings. It was his first time pitching past six innings as a major leaguer and he's now won four straight decisions since suffering a loss in his debut on March 21 versus the Padres in the Seoul Series. Removing the shaky outing in Korea, Yamamoto owns a 1.76 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 45:7 K:BB in 41 innings this season. He'll look to keep rolling next week in a projected road matchup against the Giants.

Leiter will be called up from Triple-A Round Rock and is scheduled to start the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Athletics.

Leiter will be making his second start of the season for the Rangers. He allowed seven runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out three over 3.2 innings in his MLB debut April 18 against the Tigers. He'll likely get at least one more start while Nathan Eovaldi (groin) is on 15-day injured list.

Mikolas (2-5) took the loss Tuesday against the Mets, allowing six runs on nine hits while striking out three over four innings.

Mikolas coasted through four innings unscathed before the Mets' offense finally came alive in the fifth. They chased him for six runs on six hits, highlighted by a Brandon Nimmo three-run homer, and he was pulled before even recording an out in the inning. After a promising start, Tuesday's outing ended up being a total disaster for Mikolas, the fourth time this year he's given up five or more runs. The 35-year-old now owns a 6.43 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 32:7 K:BB in 42 innings and lines up for a weekend start on the road against the Brewers.

Butto (1-2) got the win Tuesday over the Cardinals, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three over five innings.

Butto got off to a rocky start, surrendering a leadoff home run to Brendan Donovan and another two runs in the opening frame. He was able to settle in the rest of the way, tossing four shutout innings despite having shaky command all night. Butto only threw 47 out of 89 pitches for strikes and walked multiple batters for a fourth straight start while his three punchouts were a season low. Butto owns a 3.00 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 34:17 K:BB in 33 innings and tentatively lines up for a rough start against the Phillies early next week.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that Miller (shoulder) is coming up on a minor-league rehab assignment "pretty quickly," Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Miller threw a bullpen session Monday, his second since being placed on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder April 13. Roberts noted that the right-hander's velocity was "good" in the session and sounded optimistic about Miller's progress in his recovery from the injury. The second-year hurler will make at least one minor-league rehab start, though it's still unclear how many more bullpens he'll throw before he reaches that point.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated last week that May (elbow) is getting close to throwing off a mound, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

May has been rehabbing from the right flexor tendon and UCL reconstruction revision surgery he underwent last July, and advancing to mound work will be a major step in his recovery. The right-hander has had two elbow surgeries in the past three years, so the organization is likely to be conservative in setting a timeline for his eventual return to game action. If his rehab continues to go smoothly, May could be ready to join Los Angeles sometime after the All-Star break, though there's no guarantee that the Dodgers will let him throw in big-league games this season.

Kershaw (shoulder) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Tuesday, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

This was the second bullpen session Kershaw has thrown since undergoing shoulder surgery last November. The southpaw hurled 15 pitches in his initial bullpen Friday and increased that amount to 20 pitches Tuesday. He's throwing only fastballs at this point, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated that the results have been "really encouraging" so far. Kershaw could next advance to including breaking pitches in his mound work and ramping up to more pitches as he slowly works his way back to game action. The future Hall of Famer isn't expected to make his season debut for the Dodgers until after the All-Star break.