MLB Player News

The Mariners optioned Mastrobuoni to Triple-A Tacoma on Monday.

Mastrobuoni was designated as the Mariners' 27th man for Sunday's 7-3 loss to the Mets in the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa. and did not appear in the contest. He's heading back to Tacoma as the Mariners return to a standard 26-man active roster ahead of Monday's series opener in Philadelphia.

Garcia (elbow) struck out six and allowed one earned run on six hits and one walk over 4.2 innings in a rehab start Wednesday with Triple-A Sugar Land.

Garcia has been built up slowly during his rehab assignment, which began July 7 in the rookie-level Florida Complex League and has included seven starts over four affiliates in total. The right-hander looks to be rapidly closing in on a return from the 60-day injured list, as he's looked sharp over his three outings since moving his assignment to Sugar Land. Over those starts, Garcia has turned in a 3.18 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 15:3 K:BB in 11.1 innings. After Garcia got stretched out to 77 pitches in Wednesday's start, Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that the 28-year-old will likely require just one more appearance in the minors before coming off the IL, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Brown added that Lance McCullers (finger) is on track to beat Garcia back from the IL, but the Astros could have starting spots available for both pitchers if they elect to move Jason Alexander or Spencer Arrighetti to the bullpen and expand the rotation to six men. Garcia last pitched in the big leagues May 1, 2023, as he underwent Tommy John surgery later that month and then hit some snags in the recovery process that have further delayed him.

General manager Dana Brown suggested Sunday that Alvarez (hand) could be activated from the 60-day injured list at some point during the upcoming weekend, though the 28-year-old is more likely to return when Houston begins a 10-game homestand Aug. 26, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Alvarez is slated to kick off a rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday, marking the slugger's first game action since he landed on the IL on May 5 due to what was later revealed to be a small fracture in his right hand. Despite being shelved for more than three months, Alvarez isn't expected to require a lengthy rehab assignment. The Astros plan to have Alvarez serve as Corpus Christi's designated hitter Tuesday, take Wednesday off, and then return to the Double-A lineup to play back-to-back games Thursday and Friday. Alvarez will be reassessed after those three games, and while it's feasible that he could rejoin the Astros for the final contest or two of the weekend series in Baltimore, he's more likely to stay behind in Texas before making his return to the Houston lineup early next week. Though Alvarez's power output could be compromised a bit coming off the hand injury, his eventual addition should provide a lift to the Astros offense down the stretch.

Gomez is scheduled to start Monday's game in Atlanta.

The 25-year-old right-hander will draw a second straight turn through the White Sox rotation after he delivered an excellent performance in his first MLB start this past Tuesday against the Tigers. Gomez collected the win in an 89-pitch outing, striking out seven batters and inducing 16 swinging strikes while permitting one run and allowing four runners to reach base over five innings. Gomez's limited track record in the big leagues makes him a risky fantasy option ahead of what shapes up as a two-start week, but he had found some success at the Triple-A level prior to his call-up last week. Gomez had posted a 2.12 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 64:21 K:BB in 46.2 innings with the White Sox's top affiliate in Charlotte.

Schultz (knee) is progressing, and the White Sox are aiming for him to return in late August, MLB.com reports.

Schultz has been out since July 20 due to discomfort in his right knee, and the team is taking a cautious approach to his return. It was reported that he has made progress, although it is unclear what that has entailed. The White Sox also announced that Schultz will pitch in the Arizona Fall League.

Alexander struck out four and allowed three earned runs on five hits and one walk over 2.1 innings in relief in Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Royals.

The veteran southpaw made a 4.1-inning bulk-relief appearance in his most recent outing Monday against the Tigers, but he was available for a more traditional bullpen role during the White Sox's weekend series in Kansas City. Alexander could be a candidate to make additional starts or bulk-relief appearances over the final six weeks of the season if another opening in the rotation emerges, but for now, the White Sox appear content to proceed with Yoendrys Gomez as their No. 5 starter.

Baldwin went 3-for-4 with a double in Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Royals.

Baldwin has seen his playing time fluctuate since late July and has started 12 of the White Sox's last 14 games. However, the recent returns of Miguel Vargas and Chase Meidroth from the injured list has created some crowding in the infield, which looks as though it will result in Baldwin seeing most of his opportunities in the outfield moving forward. He's still been included in the lineup in three of the last five games while alternating starts with Mike Tauchman, but his playing time may be hard to trust so long as the rest of the lineup remains healthy.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora acknowledged Sunday that Campbell has been productive at Triple-A Worcester of late, but the skipper suggested that the 23-year-old still has work to do before earning another promotion to the majors, Jenn McCaffrey of The Athletic reports. "The same things that he struggled here [in the majors] with -- pitch recognition, covering certain shapes of fastballs," Cora said. "That's something that is hard, because he's not going to get that down there. The [velocity] here is harder. It's faster. Locations are on point here."

Campbell is hitting .323 with a .943 OPS in 26 games for Worcester since the All-Star break, but Cora outlined the areas where the infielder can improve. While an injury to another infielder could open the door for Campbell to rejoin the big club, the rookie otherwise might have to wait until the roster expands in September before getting another call-up to Boston.

Orioles manager Tony Mansolino confirmed prior to Sunday's 12-0 win over the Astros that Jackson will serve as the team's No. 3 catcher behind Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo moving forward, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Widely regarded as one of the organization's top prospects, Basallo was called up from Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday and entered the lineup at designated hitter for the series finale with Houston. While Rutschman is likely to see the bulk of the starts behind the plate for the rest of the season, Mansolino indicated that Basallo will be the top choice to handle catching duties when Rutschman needs a day off or is deployed as a DH. With that in mind, Jackson -- who had been serving as Rutschman's top understudy -- appears likely to see his already limited opportunities dwindle further over the final six weeks of the season. Jackson is slashing .227/.292/.591 with three home runs, four RBI and 11 runs over 48 plate appearances for Baltimore since being acquired from the Yankees on July 6.

Sosa went 1-for-5 with a solo home run Sunday against the Royals.

Sosa went deep in his first at-bat of the game to tally his 15th home run of the season. That continued his power tear in August, as Sosa now has six home runs, nine RBI and nine runs scored across 15 games played. Sosa has recently flipped from playing second base to first base, but he should be in for regular at-bats down the stretch unless the White Sox decide to give Curtis Mead additional playing time.