MLB Player News

Witt (back) is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Guardians.

Maikel Garcia will get the call at shortstop for the series opener while Witt takes a seat for the third day in a row as he continues to manage low back spasms. Per Anne Rogers of MLB.com, Witt said his back felt "better" after he took part in some running and fielding work earlier Monday, and he plans to wait and see how he responds to those activities before potentially taking some swings Tuesday. The Royals are still viewing Witt as day-to-day and seem optimistic that he'll avoid a stint on the injured list.

Nikhazy (elbow) struck out three batters and allowed one hit and no walks over two scoreless innings Saturday for Triple-A Columbus after being reinstated from the 7-day injured list.

Nikhazy was on the shelf for just over a month due to a left elbow impingement. The left-hander didn't require a rehab assignment prior to rejoining the Columbus rotation, though he was eased back into action Saturday with a light workload.

Valera is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals.

Valera batted out of the two hole in the final two games of the Guardians' weekend series with the Rays, but he'll give way to Nolan Jones in right field and will hit the bench Monday. Since getting called up from Triple-A Columbus last week, Valera has gone 3-for-10 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored through his first five big-league games.

Triple-A St. Paul activated Rodriguez (oblique) from its 7-day injured list Monday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Rodriguez has been sidelined since late July with an oblique strain, but he's returned to St. Paul's active roster following a five-game rehab stint with Single-A Fort Myers. The 22-year-old has had yet another season curtailed by injury, as he's been limited to only 56 contests because of thumb, hip and oblique problems.

Harrison (ankle) made a one-inning start for Triple-A Worcester in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday, striking out two batters while allowing one earned run on two hits and one walk.

Harrison appeared to be a candidate to make a start or bulk-relief appearance with the Red Sox last week, but he sustained a minor ankle injury that may have played a part in him being bypassed for a promotion. The southpaw made enough progress in his recovery from the injury to pitch Sunday for Worcester, though he took on a much more limited workload than he typically handles during his starts.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that Ort (elbow) could return from the 15-day injured list at some point during the postseason in a "best-case scenario," Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Ort was placed on the IL on Friday due to right elbow inflammation, and Brown noted that the 33-year-old will be shut down from throwing for another 12-to-14 days before being re-evaluated prior to the final week of the regular season, per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Though Ort doesn't look like he has a chance at making it back from the IL for Astros' season-ending road trip, he shouldn't require an extensive ramp-up period once he resumes throwing and could be available for the playoffs. Ort has mostly been used in middle relief this season, logging a 4.89 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 49:27 K:BB across 46 innings while nabbing two wins, one save and three holds in 49 appearances.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that Sousa (elbow) could return from the 15-day injured list at some point during the postseason in a "best-case scenario," Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Sousa hasn't resumed throwing since being placed on the injured list Aug. 22 due to a low-grade elbow flexor strain and doesn't appear to have a chance at returning before the end of the regular season. The 30-year-old will likely need to start throwing at some point in late September to put himself in consideration for a spot on the Astros' postseason roster. Before getting hurt, Sousa submitted a 2.84 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 59:15 K:BB in 50.2 innings while collecting five wins, four saves and eight holds over his 44 appearances.

Mahle (shoulder) struck out three batters and allowed two hits and one walk over 2.1 scoreless innings in a rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Round Rock.

After recording just three outs and getting rocked for five earned runs in his first rehab outing with Round Rock on Tuesday, Mahle returned to the hill five days later and fared much better. He pumped in 33 of his 47 pitches for strikes in the efficient performance, though his average fastball velocity of 90.2 miles per hour was about two ticks behind his season-long average prior to landing on the shelf June 15 due to right shoulder fatigue. Though Mahle isn't yet built up enough to handle a traditional starting role, the Rangers could have him return from the 60-day injured list later this week to work as a multi-inning reliever or to be used in tandem with Jacob Latz, who recently transitioned to the rotation after spending most of the season pitching in the bullpen.

Garcia is slated to make his next start Tuesday versus the Blue Jays in Toronto.

Garcia had been lined up to start this past Sunday's series finale versus the Rangers, but the Astros made a late change and instead had Framber Valdez take the hill on normal rest. Though Garcia wasn't dealing with any sort of injury, the Astros likely just wanted to build in more rest for the right-hander, who hadn't pitched in the majors since May 1, 2023 before he was activated from the 60-day injured list last week. After delivering a quality start and picking up a win over the Angels in his 2025 debut for the Astros last Monday, Garcia will draw a tougher test Tuesday in a road matchup with the Blue Jays, who sit atop the American League standings with an 82-61 record.

Ragans (shoulder) struck out seven and allowed one earned run on two hits and one walk across three innings in a rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Omaha.

Pitching in a game setting for the first time since June 5, Ragans had been expected to cover just two frames Sunday, but he ended up tacking on an extra inning to his workload after retiring six of the first seven batters he faced. Ultimately, Ragans tossed 45 pitches (34 strikes) in the rehab start, inducing 12 swings and misses while flashing a fastball that sat around 95 miles per hour. Ragans will likely need two more rehab outings to build his pitch count up to a typical starter's workload, though it's possible the Royals pull him off the minor-league assignment earlier than that if they're content with him making an abbreviated start or two in the big leagues upon his return from the 60-day injured list.