MLB Player News

The Cardinals recalled Woodford from Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.

St. Louis will bring Woodford aboard as a replacement in the bullpen for the struggling T.J. McFarland, who was designated for assignment in a corresponding transaction. Woodford has been a full-time starter at Memphis this season, so he'll be stretched out enough to serve as a multi-inning relief option while he's with the big club.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said there's a "good chance" Wacha (shoulder) will be activated from the 15-day injured list Sunday against the Yankees, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

In anticipation of Wacha's return, Cora said that Rich Hill -- who started Tuesday against Atlanta -- will be available out of the bullpen for the weekend series rather than returning to the hill Sunday on his standard four days' rest. Assuming Wacha experiences no setbacks with his shoulder during an upcoming bullpen session, he looks like he'll face no restrictions in his start against the Yankees. While making the second start of his rehab assignment at Double-A Portland on Tuesday, Wacha struck out five over 4.1 innings (79 pitches) while allowing two earned runs on four hits and two walks.

The Guardians reinstated Civale (wrist) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start for Wednesday's game in Detroit.

Civale had been sidelined since the All-Star break with a right wrist sprain, but he'll be back in action Wednesday to put the Guardians rotation back at full strength. Since the right-hander tossed four innings and 55 pitches in his lone rehab start at Triple-A Columbus over the weekend, he could face a restricted pitch count Wednesday. Civale is unlikely to face any further workload restrictions in any of his starts to follow.

Seattle manager Scott Servais said Wednesday that Flexen will shift to the bullpen, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

The Mariners foreshadowed Flexen's move to a relief role during their 1-0 win over the Yankees in 13 innings Tuesday, when he was spotted warming up in the bullpen late in the contest. Flexen wasn't ultimately needed to enter the game, but the Mariners will opt to shorten their rotation to five men after he was lit up for five runs over six innings in his most recent start Saturday against the Angels. Seattle could look to bring Flexen back into the rotation later in the season if workload concerns crop up for rookie George Kirby, but for the time being, the veteran right-hander will retain little fantasy value while he likely handles a low-leverage multi-inning role out of the bullpen.

Rodriguez (lat) threw 25 pitches off a mound Wednesday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Rodriguez's throwing session Wednesday marked the first time that he's thrown off a full mound since landing on the injured list in early June; Kubatko notes that the right-hander threw off a half-mound Monday. Though the 22-year-old was shut down for several weeks after sustaining his injury June 1, the Orioles are optimistic that he'll be able to return to action for Triple-A Norfolk before the end of the season.

The Athletics placed Blackburn on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with an inflamed right middle finger, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Blackburn had been scheduled to start Wednesday's series finale with the Angels, but the finger injury forced the Athletics to scrap those plans. The All-Star right-hander may been dealing with the issue for multiple starts, as he had posted an 8.79 ERA and 1.67 WHIP over 14.1 innings in his three outings since making his first appearance in the Midsummer Classic. JP Sears, one of the players the Athletics acquired in last week's trade that sent Frankie Montas to the Yankees, was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas and will pick up a spot start Wednesday in Blackburn's stead.

Sears was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Sears was dealt from the Yankees to the Athletics last week, and he allowed a run on four hits and no walks while striking out five in 4.2 innings during his first start at Las Vegas. Sears made seven appearances (two starts) for the Yankees earlier in the year and posted a 2.05 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 22 innings. The Athletics placed Paul Blackburn (finger) on the injured list Wednesday, so Sears will step in as the starter for Wednesday's game against the Angels.

Ynoa was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday.

Ynoa will make his way back to Gwinnett after being called up Sunday, failing to appear in a game before being sent down. The move opens a spot in Atlanta's bullpen for Kirby Yates (elbow), who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list Wednesday.

Toussaint is scheduled to start Wednesday's game against the Athletics, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Angels have yet to permanently settle on a sixth starter, but Toussaint will get the latest chance to stake his claim to the role after the Halos optioned Janson Junk to Triple-A Salt Lake over the weekend. Los Angeles also recently deployed a pairing of Jaime Barria and Mike Mayers in a tandem start last weekend, and either of those two pitchers could get a look in the rotation at some point if Toussaint isn't able to capitalize on Wednesday's start. Toussaint has worked in long relief in both of his first two outings with the Angels, covering 8.1 innings in total and striking out nine while allowing four earned runs on four hits and seven walks.

May (elbow) struck out eight over five innings Tuesday in his rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He allowed one earned run on three hits and one walk.

The 24-year-old built up to 68 pitches (45 strikes) in his fifth rehab start, looking good once again as he makes his return from Tommy John surgery. Through four outings at Triple-A and one in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League, May has turned in a 1.69 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 26:5 K:BB in 16 innings. While the Dodgers weren't expected to immediately have a rotation spot available for May once he was activated from the 60-day injured list, Clayton Kershaw's (back) recent move to the IL and uncertain timeline to return seemingly sets up May to rejoin Los Angeles in a starting role. May will likely make one final rehab start for Oklahoma City early next week before potentially coming off the IL for his 2022 Dodgers debut during next weekend's series versus the Marlins.