MLB Player News

Fitts left Monday's game against the Orioles with an apparent arm injury, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports. He allowed three runs on two hits and three walks while striking out six over four innings before exiting.

Fitts came back out for the sixth inning but was removed after tossing one pitch. He'll presumably be taken to the clubhouse to be evaluated further. Steven Matz was called upon to replace Fitts.

President of baseball operations Chris Young said Tuesday that the Rangers are optimistic that Gray (shoulder) is dealing with symptoms that are more consistent with the neurologic version of thoracic outlet syndrome rather than the more significant vascular version, which would expedite the right-hander's return to the mound, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports. "The primary symptoms normally are nerve-related," Young said of Gray's condition. "I don't want to put the cart before the horse because every patient is different. But our hope is that whatever it is, it's minor and, after 15 days, he'll be ready [to return from the injured list.] But we still have some diagnostics to get through before we have a clear idea on the prognosis."

The Rangers deactivated Gray on Aug. 17 due to right shoulder nerve irritation, though the team had an underlying concern that the 33-year-old would be lost for the season since the symptoms he was experiencing were consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome, which could necessitate surgery. Gray was scheduled to visit a vascular specialist in Dallas last week, and assuming the doctor's evaluation of the right-hander's condition aligns with the early assessment by the Rangers' medical team, Gray could be cleared to address his shoulder issue with treatments such as Botox injections, which would numb the nerve and enable him to return after missing close to the minimum 15 days. Prior to his recent placement on the IL, Gray had spent the first four months on the shelf while recovering from a fractured wrist. He rejoined the Rangers in late July as a reliever and had struggled to a 7.71 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 14 innings over six appearances before the shoulder problem cropped up.

Mahle (shoulder) recently resumed throwing off a mound and could advance to throwing live batting practice in the near future, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Grant noted that Mahle hasn't been cleared to throw breaking pitches during his bullpen sessions, so he'll need to make use of his full arsenal before he eventually advances to facing live hitters and then heads out on a rehab assignment. Mahle had turned in a 2.56 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 77 innings over his 14 starts prior to landing on the injured list June 15 due to right shoulder fatigue. He still has a realistic chance at returning before the end of the season, but he may not have sufficient time to get fully stretched out for a starting role and could wind up pitching out of the bullpen.

Baez isn't in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Athletics, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Baez will begin Monday's matchup on the bench, which allows Trey Sweeney to start at shortstop and Wenceel Perez to man center field. Baez appears to be in need of a reset after going 4-for-22 with two RBI, two runs scored and seven strikeouts over his last seven games.

Jung will start at third base and bat seventh in Monday's game against the Angels.

The Rangers benched Jung for four out of five games from Aug. 17 through this past Thursday, but he appears to have taken back control of the primary starting gig at third base from Cody Freeman. Jung will pick up his fourth consecutive start Monday after he went 4-for-10 with one home run, one walk, four runs and two RBI during the Rangers' weekend sweep of the Guardians.

Perkins (shoulder) received a subacromial injection Monday and is without a timetable for a return, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Perkins was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday due to a strained right shoulder, and the club is still uncertain as to how much time he'll miss. Whether he's able to pitch again this season should become more apparent when/if he's cleared to begin a throwing program. Osvaldo Bido is expected to replace Perkins in the rotation in Tuesday's game against the Tigers.

Duran is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Angels.

Duran will head to the bench for the series opener, but he had started in each of the last three contests and should be in store for an uptick in playing time after Marcus Semien (foot) was deactivated Saturday with a likely season-ending injury. Josh Smith will cover second base Monday, but if the Rangers prefer to use the versatile Smith in the outfield while Evan Carter (wrist) is on the shelf, Duran could have a fairly clear path to making regular starts at the keystone.

Higashioka is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Angels.

After starting at catcher or designated hitter in each of the previous three games, Higashioka looks to be receiving a breather Monday. Jonah Heim will fill in for him behind the plate in the series opener.

Kavadas will start at first base and bat eighth in Monday's game against the Rangers.

Kavadas will remain in the lineup for a second straight game and could see the bulk of the starts at first base against right-handed pitching after the Angels placed Nolan Schanuel (wrist) on the 10-day injured list Sunday. Over his 114 career plate appearances in the majors, Kavadas owns an unremarkable .180/.281/.320 slash line and a monstrous 38.6 percent strikeout rate, but the 26-year-old had displayed excellent pop at Triple-A Salt Lake this season (23 home runs in 105 games).

Moore is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rangers.

Moore will head to the bench for the third time in five games while Luis Rengifo picks up a start at second base. The Angels are currently running a three-man rotation of Moore, Rengifo and Yoan Moncada between the keystone and third base, but Moncada's playing time appears to be the most stable of the trio at the moment. Moore is slashing just .184/.273/.224 with a 30.9 percent strikeout rate since the beginning of August and could begin to play second fiddle to Rengifo at second base on a more frequent basis if he's unable to improve his production at the plate.