MLB Player News

Urquidy (shoulder) will throw a live batting practice session Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Urquidy has thrown off the mound a few times without issue and is now ready to face hitters for the first time since going down with right shoulder inflammation back in early May. He's eligible for activation at the start of the second half but presumably will require multiple rehab starts before rejoining Houston's rotation.

The Padres promoted Snelling from Single-A Lake Elsinore to High-A Fort Wayne on Tuesday.

Snelling made his High-A debut Sunday, striking out four Lake County batters over five innings while giving up two earned runs on four hits and two walks. Prior to receiving the bump up to Fort Wayne, Snelling had been one of the most dominant pitchers in the California League, logging a 1.57 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 59:13 K:BB in 51.2 innings.

The Twins promoted Raya from High-A Cedar Rapids to Double-A Wichita on Monday.

Raya will make the jump to Double-A after he churned out a 2.94 ERA and 0.93 WHIP while striking out 29.5 percent of the batters he faced. In an effort to manage the 20-year-old's workload, the Twins have limited Raya to 3-to-4-inning starts for most of the season. That trend is expected to continue in Wichita.

Gore (finger) is slated to start Thursday's game against the Reds at Nationals Park.

Gore failed to escape the third inning and was lit up for seven earned runs on six hits and three walks in his most recent start against the Phillies on Saturday, revealing afterward that he dealt with a blister on his left middle finger. The southpaw didn't express any concern about the abrasion forcing him to miss his next start, and the Nationals seemingly aren't worried either. Gore will look to bounce back Thursday from his disastrous outing last week, which caused his ERA to jump from 3.89 to 4.48.

The Astros recalled Bielak from Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Bielak will return to Houston as a replacement for Shawn Dubin, who had previously been called up from Sugar Land on June 18 to fill Bielak's spot on the 26-man active roster. Though he made just one start for Sugar Land during his brief time in the minors, Bielak showed well in that June 24 outing, covering six innings while allowing one earned run on five hits and one walk. Bielak looks poised to re-enter the Houston rotation the next time the team requires a fifth starter Friday versus the Mariners, though he could be needed as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday against the Rockies in the event Framber Valdez needs more time to recover from an ankle injury.

Manoah struck out 10 and gave up one run on three hits and three walks over five innings in a start for Double-A New Hampshire on Sunday.

While this performance was a huge leap forward from his last outing in the Florida Complex League, there were still signs Manoah isn't yet ready to rejoin the Blue Jays rotation. The right-hander threw only 47 of 82 pitches for strikes, and the organization will likely want to see better efficiency from him before considering his reset a success. Per Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic, Manoah was sitting 93-94 mph with his fastball and topped out at 95 mph, a step up from the 92.8 mph he averaged through his first 13 big-league starts this year -- just one of the factors that led to a brutal 6.36 ERA, 1.90 WHIP and 2.1 percent K%-BB%. The Jays have yet to announce when, or at which level, he will make his next start.

Houser is slated to start Wednesday's game against the Cubs at American Family Field.

Houser will pick up another start while the Brewers seemingly plan to maintain a six-man rotation heading into the All-Star break. After spending just under two weeks in the bullpen, Houser re-entered the rotation last Thursday and delivered a quality start in a win over the Mets, striking out five over six innings while yielding two runs on seven hits and one walk.

Soroka is scheduled to start Wednesday's game against the Guardians at Progressive Field.

With Atlanta optioning rookies AJ Smith-Shawver and Jared Shuster to Triple-A Gwinnett within the past two weeks, the team looks as though it'll have rotation spots available for both Soroka and Kolby Allard until Max Fried (forearm) and Kyle Wright (shoulder) return from the injured list at some point after the All-Star break. Soroka rejoined the big club last Friday and delivered what was the best of his three starts this season with Atlanta, as he struck out seven over six innings while allowing three earned runs on five hits and no walks in a win over Miami. He'll draw a favorable road matchup versus the Guardians as he makes his second straight turn through the rotation.

Allard is scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Guardians at Progressive Field.

Allard will make his second straight turn through the rotation, filling the spot that previously belonged to rookie Jared Shuster, who was recently optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. After spending the first three months of the season on the 60-day injured list while recovering from a Grade 2 oblique strain, Allard was activated following two minor-league rehab starts and immediately impressed in his 2023 debut with the big club. Though he took a no-decision last week in his start versus the Twins, Allard struck out eight over 4.2 scoreless innings while allowing just four baserunners. He induced swings and misses on 14 of his 71 pitches, showing the sort of strikeout upside that belies his career 19.0 K% over 237.1 big-league innings. While Allard doesn't have much of a reliable track record to fall back on beyond his previous start, he could make for a decent streaming option Tuesday versus a weak Cleveland offense.

Rodriguez (finger) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Wednesday's game against the Athletics.

After returning Matt Manning from the 60-day IL last week, the Tigers will get two more reinforcements to the rotation in the final week before the All-Star break. Tarik Skubal (elbow) will return from the 60-day IL to start Tuesday's series opener, while Rodriguez returns from a five-week absence to take the hill Wednesday. Before being shelved with a ruptured pulley in his left index finger, Rodriguez had been putting together a Cy Young Award-worthy campaign, cobbling together a 2.13 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 67:16 K:BB in 67.2 innings through his first 11 starts. The veteran southpaw looked sharp in his lone minor-league rehab start last Thursday with Triple-A Toledo, striking out four over 4.1 scoreless frames while scattering three hits and one walk.