MLB Player News

Johnson (elbow) made his season debut for Single-A Augusta on April 11 and has logged a 3.72 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 15:7 K:BB in 9.2 innings through his first four appearances with the affiliate.

Johnson returned from Tommy John surgery in just over 12 months, as he was back in action for Augusta after having the procedure in early April of last year. While the 22-year-old right-hander has been able to make bats miss at a high clip in the early going, he's endured some troubles with his controlling his pitches, though that was an issue even before he underwent reconstructive elbow surgery. Johnson is in the midst of his fifth season in the Atlanta organization after he was drafted out of high school in the 14th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft.

Carrasco (elbow) is making progress and could rejoin the Mets' rotation next week, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Carrasco landed on the injured list a couple weeks ago with a small bone chip in his right elbow. He was given an injection and resumed throwing off a mound late last week. It's not clear yet which exact day Carrasco could return, but he looks like he could avoid a rehab assignment. Once activated, Carrasco would likely bump either Joey Lucchesi or Tylor Megill from the rotation.

Senga's next scheduled start will be Friday against the Rockies, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Senga last pitched on April 26, so he will be starting on eight days' rest. The right-hander has 32 strikeouts over his first 26 major-league innings but has battled control issues with 18 walks. Senga hasn't gone beyond five innings in any of his last three outings.

Manager Buck Showalter confirmed that Verlander (shoulder) is lined up to be activated from the 15-day injured list Thursday to make his season and Mets debut that day in Detroit, Deesha Thosar of Fox Sports reports.

Verlander will be coming off the IL on five days' rest after he made his lone minor-league rehab start for Double-A Binghamton on Friday, when he struck out six over 4.2 scoreless innings. He's been out all season with a low-grade teres major strain in his right shoulder, but he tossed 69 pitches in the outing for Binghamton and shouldn't face any significant restrictions in his 2023 MLB debut.

Lucchesi will start for the Mets on Tuesday in Detroit, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Sherman notes that the team has weather-related concerns for Tuesday's game which will result in pushing Max Scherzer back a day and moving Lucchesi up to Tuesday. The left-hander has made one excellent start and one so-so start since joining the Mets' rotation and makes for a pretty risky streaming option Tuesday even in a favorable matchup.

Varland is tentatively scheduled to start Wednesday for Triple-A St. Paul, but he could instead be called up from the minors that day to start for the Twins in Chicago against the White Sox, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

With Kenta Maeda (triceps) landing on the injured list Saturday and Tyler Mahle (elbow) likely to be deactivated no later than Tuesday, the Twins have two openings in their five-man rotation. Bailey Ober was already summoned from Triple-A to fill in for Maeda this past Saturday, and Varland looks like the next man up to replace Mahle. As Park notes, Varland's pitching schedule is synchronized with Mahle, so the Twins wouldn't have to alter their rotation order to swap Varland in. The 25-year-old right-hander previously impressed in his lone spot start with the big club April 14 against the Yankees (eight strikeouts, three earned runs allowed in six innings), and he's continued to perform well at St. Paul, with whom he's logged a 4.20 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 25:4 K:BB across 15 frames on the season.

Urquidy is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday after he exited Sunday's 4-3 win over the Phillies with a sore right shoulder, Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston reports.

Urquidy captured the win and struck out three while allowing two earned runs on three hits and one walk across 5.1 innings before being lifted from the contest after experiencing pain in the back of his right shoulder. Though the right-hander did some range-of-motion work without issue after exiting the start, the MRI will shed more light on the extent of his injury. Houston has an off day on tap Thursday, so if Urquidy's injury isn't too significant but he still needs more time off between starts, the team could get by with a four-man rotation until a fifth starter is needed again May 9.

Wainwright (groin) covered 5.2 innings and gave up four earned runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out nine Sunday in his rehab start for Triple-A Memphis.

Though he surrendered a three-run home run in the second inning that dinged his final line, Wainwright otherwise looked much sharper in his third rehab outing after he struck out only four batters in 7.1 innings across his first two starts at Double-A Springfield. He finished the day with 89 pitches, spotting 61 of them for strikes. With Wainwright now fully stretched out and faring well in a rehab start, he looks poised to return from the 15-day injured list to make his season debut with the Cardinals during this upcoming weekend's series with the Tigers. Expect either Jake Woodford or Steven Matz to move to the bullpen to open up a rotation spot for Wainwright.

Walker (forearm) is listed as the Phillies' starting pitcher for Monday's road game against the Dodgers.

Walker exited his last start Wednesday against the Mariners with right forearm tightness, an injury that often foreshadows a stint on the injured list. The right-hander surprisingly received good news after being examined a day later, with team doctors determining that Walker didn't even need an MRI. He resumed throwing a bullpen session Friday and checked out fine following the workout, so Walker looks like he'll head into Monday's outing with no restrictions. Walker tentatively lines up for a two-start week, with his second turn set to come against Boston during the upcoming weekend.

Rasmussen allowed three runs on nine hits while striking out three over five innings against the White Sox on Sunday. He did not walk a batter nor did he factor into the decision.

The White Sox got to Rasmussen in the opening frame with a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly. He faced little resistance through the order until the sixth inning, during which he allowed a leadoff base hit before Yasmani Grandal sent one over the wall in center to put the Sox ahead 3-2. Rasmussen's day would conclude abruptly following the home run ball. It was just the second homer he's allowed this year, but he's been knocked around quite a bit, allowing at least eight hits in three of his last four outings while failing to surpass five innings. The 27-year-old has been hit or miss in six starts this season and now owns a 3.66 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 34:9 K:BB over 32 innings. He's lined up to take the mound in a divisional clash with the Yankees next weekend.