MLB Player News

The Guardians activated Cecconi (arm) from the 15-day injured list Friday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

Cecconi has been sidelined for nearly a month with right arm fatigue, but he's been cleared to return after allowing two runs over 3.2 innings in two rehab outings. The right-hander will be used in a relief role down the stretch, and there's a good chance he'll be needed to pitch during Friday's doubleheader against the Tigers.

Bieber (shoulder) was scheduled to throw off flat ground Thursday, but he remains without a timeline for his return to game action, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

The Blue Jays have just 21 games left on their regular-season schedule, and it's looking increasingly likely that if Bieber pitches again this year, it will have to be in the playoffs. The veteran righty was just starting to find his form when he was shut down in late August with teres major inflammation, as he recorded four quality starts in seven outings after the All-Star break with a 2.84 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over 38 innings.

Odle notched a career-high 12 strikeouts while yielding two runs over 4.2 innings Thursday in his final start of the season with High-A Peoria.

It's a fitting end to a season that saw Odle rack up 143 strikeouts over 96 innings between Single-A Palm Beach and Peoria. He also walked 65 batters, so Odle has some work to do from a control perspective, but the 22-year-old right-hander has big-time stuff and has established himself as a legitimate pitching prospect in the Cardinals' revamped system.

Burnes (elbow) could make his season debut for the Diamondbacks on Tuesday in Kansas City, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reports.

Burnes suffered a setback this June in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, but he's progressed well since resuming a throwing program in July. The right-hander tossed two perfect innings on 17 pitches in his first rehab start with Triple-A Reno on Aug. 29, and after throwing a bullpen Tuesday he was slated to work a bridge game Thursday to further build his stamina. It's unclear how many pitches Burnes threw Thursday, but he would be quite limited from a workload perspective if he were activated to face the Royals. Once Burnes is officially tapped to return, he'll be making his first appearance in the big leagues in more than 15 months.

Houck (elbow) will throw a simulated game Friday, MLB.com reports.

This will be the second sim game for Houck, who threw one earlier this week at Boston's training complex in Fort Myers. Pending the outcome of Friday's session, Houck could begin a rehab assignment next week, and a return to the big-league bullpen late in the regular season is still on the table.

Feltner (illness) is listed as the Rockies' probable starter for Friday's game against the Cardinals.

Feltner was scratched ahead of his previous scheduled start last Saturday in Atlanta due to an illness, though he eventually appeared out of the bullpen and yielded just one unearned run over four innings. He's evidently recovered well since then and shouldn't be facing any workload restrictions versus St. Louis.

Pallante (elbow) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Friday's game in Colorado, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Pallante has been shelved for the past two weeks with right elbow inflammation, but he continued to throw while on the IL and has been given clearance to return. The right-hander skipped a rehab assignment, opting instead for facing hitters in a live batting practice situation. Because of this, he could be somewhat limited from a pitch-count perspective against the Rockies.

Mathews allowed one run on four hits and four walks while striking out four batters over five innings in a no-decision against the Dodgers on Thursday.

It wasn't an easy outing for Mathews, as he needed 99 pitches to complete five innings and threw only 52 of those offerings for strikes. He logged just one clean frame but wasn't scored upon until he uncorked a wild pitch to allow a run to cross the plate in the fifth inning. The four walks were a career high, but Mathews would have come away with a second straight victory if Riley O'Brien hadn't blown a save opportunity in the bottom of the ninth. Mathews has shown some flashes during his first five MLB starts but is just 1-2 with a 4.38 ERA and 1.58 WHIP across 24.2 innings. He's slated to make his next start in San Francisco.

Skubal allowed two runs on 10 hits and one walk while striking out six batters over 5.2 innings in a no-decision against St. Louis on Thursday.

Skubal didn't have his best stuff Thursday, as he gave up a season-high 10 hits while logging only one 1-2-3 inning. However, the star hurler showed poise in mostly working around the constant flow of traffic, as the Cardinals were able to plate just two runs against him. Skubal extended his stretch of outings with three or fewer runs allowed to 12, and he's struck out six or more batters 11 times during that span. He has only one win through six starts as a Dodger, but Skubal has been pretty effective, logging a 3.03 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 43:8 K:BB across 35.2 innings since being traded to Los Angeles.

Anderson (0-1) took the loss against the Athletics on Thursday, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three batters over five innings.

Anderson fell behind quickly, giving up a solo homer to the second batter he faced in the game. Though Seattle responded with a three-run bottom of the first inning, the rookie hurler couldn't capitalize, and he trailed by a run when his day was done after five frames. Both the seven hits and four runs Anderson allowed were his most through three big-league starts, and he's found the sledding a bit rough at the MLB level thus far, posting a 5.40 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 11:7 K:BB over 15 innings. He'll look to get into the win column for the first time when he next takes the mound, which is slated to be a home matchup against the Rangers.