Red Sox manager Alex Cora indicated Friday that he was not optimistic Fitts (arm) would return before the end of the season, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

Fitts has been sidelined since late August with inflammation in his brachial plexus, which is a bundle of nerves that begin in the spinal cord and extends through the shoulder and arm. He has yet to resume throwing, and there's no indication he'll be cleared to do so anytime soon. If Fitts' season is indeed over, he'll finish with a 5.00 ERA and 40:16 K:BB over 45 innings covering 10 starts and one relief appearance.

Lopez (shoulder) threw 20 pitches off the mound Friday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Lopez will throw five more bullpen sessions over the next couple weeks, and the plan is for the right-hander to face live hitters Sept. 30. Lopez will obviously miss the remainder of the 2025 season if that's the plan, but it sounds like he should be close to fully recovered by spring training next year. While Lopez has said he wants to remain a starter, he now says he'd be open to a return to the bullpen, according to Bowman.

Woodruff's next start will come Wednesday against the Angels, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Friday.

Woodruff last pitched Sept. 6 and was slated to take the mound Saturday against St. Louis. However, the Brewers are moving some starters around, and Woodruff now won't pitch until Wednesday. The 32-year-old didn't make his MLB debut until early July and has thrown 59.2 innings. He threw 67 innings in 2024.

The Phillies designated Manning for assignment Friday.

Manning was removed from the 40-man roster in order to make room for Walker Buehler, who was added to the 40-man and 26-man rosters Friday. Manning was acquired by the Phillies from the Tigers back in July and has been pitching at Double-A Reading, where he has a 10.80 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and 8:7 K:BB across five innings of work.

The Phillies selected Buehler's contract from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Buehler will start Friday's game against the Royals as the Phillies shift to a six-man rotation. The right-hander made one start at Lehigh Valley after being signed to a minor-league contract Aug. 31, allowing two runs (one earned) while striking out five over three innings. He was released by the Red Sox last month after posting a 5.45 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 84:55 K:BB in 112.1 innings. The Phillies will take a look at the 31-year-old down the stretch to evaluate his capacity to help out their pitching staff in the playoffs.

Soraka (shoulder) will be returned from his minor-league rehab assignment, and his next appearance will be for the Cubs, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports Friday.

Soroka threw 2.1 innings with Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, tossing 38 pitches. He's expected to rejoin the big-league roster in the coming days, though it's unclear when exactly the move will come. Considering he's not stretched out to handle a starter's workload and the Cubs have five healthy starters on the active roster, Soroka seems slated for a multi-inning role out of the bullpen. The 27-year-old has started in all 17 of his big-league appearances this season -- 16 with Washington, one with Chicago.

Sandlin has a 6.75 ERA, 1.92 WHIP and 18:12 K:BB in 21.1 innings across 13 appearances for Triple-A Worcester.

Sandlin, who moved to the bullpen after getting promoted from Double-A Portland on July 29, has touched triple digits with his fastball in the past and averaged 97.7 mph while touching 99 mph with the pitch in his most recent appearance Thursday. He leans on his 92-mph cutter and two distinct sliders as his secondaries, with the sliders getting better results than the cutter. Sandlin's stock was trending up after he logged a 3.61 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 17.5 K-BB% in 82.1 innings across 17 appearances at Double-A, but his control has abandoned him, perhaps in part due to the balls and strikes challenge system at Triple-A. Over his last six appearances, Sandlin has struck out six and walked seven over 9.2 innings, so he's unlikely to get a call to the major-league bullpen this year. Sandlin will presumably open 2026 in the Triple-A rotation, but his future may be in relief.

Sears will be recalled from Triple-A El Paso to start Friday's game against the Rockies, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Inserting Sears in for a spot start gives the regular members of the Padres rotation some extra rest, as Dylan Cease will now start the second game of the series Saturday and Yu Darvish will take the ball Sunday. Sears has made three starts for the Padres since arriving in San Diego at the trade deadline, posting a 5.52 ERA and 8:3 K:BB over 14.2 frames.

Kolek didn't factor into the decision Thursday against the Guardians, allowing one run on three hits and no walks in 6.2 innings. He struck out four.

Kolek's Royals career is off to a promising start, as he's now fired at least six innings while conceding two runs or fewer in each of his first three starts for his new team. The three hits allowed matched a season low, and he's riding a streak of seven consecutive outings of at least five frames dating back to his time with San Diego. Kolek is next scheduled to take the mound for a key matchup against the Mariners. Through 99.1 innings, the right-hander owns a 3.71 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 67:28 K:BB.

Williams didn't factor into the decision Thursday against the Royals, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out six.

The right-hander delivered his third consecutive quality start, and he's now tossed at least six frames while yielding two runs or fewer in seven of his 10 appearances since the All-Star break. However, homers and walks do remain an issue for Williams, who got taken deep in his fourth straight start, and he issued at least three free passes for the third time during that span. Williams will take a 3.16 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 152:79 K:BB across 156.2 innings into his next start, which is set to be a tough matchup against the AL Central-leading Tigers.