MLB Player News

Alexander is slated to start Wednesday's game against the Yankees in Houston, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

When he was initially called up from Triple-A Sugar Land on July 24, Alexander looked to be a temporary placeholder in the rotation until the Astros returned multiple rehabbing starting pitchers from the injured list. Much to the delight of the Astros, Alexander has pitched well enough to maintain his spot in the rotation, even though Spencer Arrighetti, Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia have since made their way back from the shelf. Houston has opted to move the struggling Lance McCullers to the bullpen to keep Alexander in the fold as a starter, and the journeyman right-hander should continue making regular turns through the six-man rotation throughout September so long as his performance warrants the opportunity. Since his call-up from Sugar Land, Alexander has produced a 3.18 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 35:10 K:BB in 39.2 innings across seven starts.

Alvarez is hitting .347 with zero home runs, seven steals and more walks (seven) than strikeouts (four) in 16 games for Single-A Inland Empire.

The righty-hitting center fielder slashed .335/.427/.429 with two home runs, 24 steals, a 14 percent walk rate and an 18.6 percent strikeout rate in 55 games in the Arizona Complex League before getting promoted to the 66ers on Aug. 2. Alvarez, 18, is a premium athlete with a projectable 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame, so there's power potential, but he'll need to get the ball in the air more frequently (55.2 percent groundball rate this season).

Manager A.J. Hinch said Monday that Vierling (oblique) has begun a hitting progression but isn't yet ready to head out on a rehab assignment, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports. "He's taking indoor swings and still doing some defensive work. He's just not full-go yet," Hinch said. "Given the time of year and the nature of the injury, a setback would likely end his season, so we have to be very careful."

Detroit still remains hopeful that Vierling will be ready for activation from the 10-day injured list before the end of the season, but he'll likely need to head out on a rehab assignment within the next week or two for a return to the big-league roster to become realistic. Due to a shoulder injury suffered in spring training in addition to his left oblique strain, Vierling has played in just 31 games for Detroit this season, slashing .239/.310/.307 with one home run and two stolen bases across 100 plate appearances.

Sewald (shoulder) threw live batting practice Monday at the Tigers' facility in Florida, MLB.com reports.

Sewald will likely face hitters on one or two more occasions before the Tigers send him out on a minor-league rehab assignment. Acquired from the Guardians on July 31, Sewald has yet to make his Tigers debut while recovering from a moderate teres major strain that he sustained prior to the trade. He's eligible to return from the 60-day injured list Sept. 10 and could be activated shortly after that date.

Urquidy (elbow) struck out three and gave up two hits and no walks over three scoreless innings Tuesday in his rehab appearance with Triple-A Toledo.

Urquidy first began his rehab assignment Aug. 3 with Single-A Lakeland, but because he's working his way back from June 2024 Tommy John surgery, the right-hander has been granted a 10-day extension beyond the standard 30-day rehab window. Though the 30-year-old is expected to get the chance to compete for a rotation spot with Detroit next spring if his $4 million team option for 2026 is picked up, Urquidy will be joining the Tigers as a reliever if he gets activated at any point in September. Through his eight rehab appearances between Lakeland and Toledo, Urquidy has posted a 4.30 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 12:3 K:BB in 14.2 innings.

Yesavage struck out six while giving up two hits and a walk over three scoreless relief innings for Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday.

The usage was particularly interesting when it comes to Yesavage's chances of making his big-league debut in September, as he entered the game as a bulk reliever after Paxton Schultz worked the first inning as an opener. Yesavage wound up tossing 54 pitches (35 strikes) before exiting, and he had little trouble dealing with a Syracuse lineup that featured a mix of rehabbing major leaguers like Francisco Alvarez (thumb/finger) and top Mets hitting prospects like Jett Williams and Carson Benge. Yesavage isn't on the 40-man roster and wasn't added to the 26-man roster before Sept. 1, so he'd need an exemption from the league to be eligible for postseason play, but the Blue Jays appear to be seriously considering having him bolster a faltering big-league bullpen down the stretch. Over four Triple-A appearances, the 22-year-old right-hander sports a 3.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 22:9 K:BB in 14 innings.

The Tigers placed Paddack (personal) on the bereavement list Wednesday.

Paddack will be away from the team anywhere from 3-to-7 days following a death in his family. After Paddack had posted a 2-2 record, 5.40 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 14:5 K:BB in 30 innings over six starts since being acquired in a trade with the Twins on July 28, the Tigers moved him to the bullpen earlier this week. Paddack struggled mightily in his first relief appearance in Tuesday's 12-5 loss to the Mets, covering 1.1 innings while allowing six earned runs on eight hits.

The Tigers recalled Montero from Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday.

He'll join the 28-man active roster as a replacement for Chris Paddack, who was placed on the bereavement list. Montero will give the Tigers bullpen some much-needed length after their relievers had to cover five innings in Tuesday's 12-5 loss to the Mets.

Dingler is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Mets.

Dingler started each of the first two games of the series at catcher, but he'll get a breather during Wednesday's matinee. Jake Rogers will start behind the dish and hit ninth as the Tigers try to avoid the sweep.

Cecconi allowed seven runs on 11 hits and no walks while striking out eight in 5.1 innings against the Red Sox on Tuesday. He did not factor into the decision.

Cecconi allowed a season-worst 11 hits and has now given up at least five runs in three of his last five starts. The Red Sox piled on four runs with six hits in the second and would add another three runs via the long ball. He's given up at least one home run in nine consecutive starts and has allowed 15 total in 11 outings since the start of July. A positive is he didn't issue a walk for a third straight start, and his eight strikeouts was one below his season high. Cecconi will look to rebound in a softer matchup versus Kansas City next week.