Santander (shoulder) won't begin his rehab assignment as scheduled Tuesday due to lower-back tightness, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The injury doesn't appear to be a serious setback, but it's a worrying development given that the veteran outfielder has already been sidelined more than three months. According to Mitch Bannon of The Athletic, there's optimism Santander will be in the lineup with Triple-A Buffalo before the end of the week.

Walter will undergo surgery on his left elbow this week, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

The specifics on the nature of the procedure aren't clear, but more should be known after the surgery takes place. Walter was terrific this season when healthy for the Astros, collecting a 3.35 ERA and 52:4 K:BB over 53.2 innings covering nine starts. If it's UCL surgery that the 29-year-old needs, he would likely be out until the 2027 season.

Rooney will undergo surgery on his left elbow this week, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Rooney had already been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season, and now the lefty has opted for surgery. It's unclear what specific type of procedure he will have, but it could certainly affect his availability for the start of the 2026 season.

The Astros recalled France from Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday.

France allowed one run over five innings in his last start at Sugar Land. He had pitched in relief in his three appearances prior to that, and the Astros plan to deploy him as a multi-inning reliever.

The Astros optioned VanWey to Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday.

VanWey made one scoreless appearance during his most recent stint in the majors. J.P. France is taking his spot on the roster and in the bullpen.

Higashioka is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game versus the Brewers.

Higashioka had started the last two contests, including a start at designated hitter in Monday's series opener. However, Jonah Heim will draw his second straight start at catcher Tuesday.

Basallo (hand) will start behind the plate Tuesday against the Pirates, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

The rookie backstop exited Saturday's contest after taking a foul tip on his right hand and was held out of the lineup Sunday after X-rays came back negative, but he's good to go Tuesday following Baltimore's team off day. Basallo has yet to find his footing at the plate through his first 16 big-league games and has a .204/.283/.389 slash line with two homers and nine RBI.

Westburg (ankle) could begin a rehab assignment this weekend, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Previous updates on Westburg's recovery from a right ankle sprain suggested that he was likely to have begun playing in rehab games by now. While that hasn't happened, it appears to be around the corner. The infielder could be back on the Orioles' active roster sometime next week. He's been sidelined since late August.

Rutschman (oblique) will take batting practice this weekend, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Rutschman began hitting off a tee this past Friday and will take another big step forward with his hitting progression this weekend. It's not clear whether the Orioles will ask him to go out on a rehab assignment, but either way he would seem to have a good shot to be activated from the 10-day injured list at some point next week. Rutschman has been shelved since mid-August with a right oblique strain.

The Rays transferred Van Belle (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.

The right-hander landed on the injured list over the weekend due to elbow inflammation and will now be sidelined for the rest of the season. The results of Van Belle's MRI have yet to be disclosed, so it's unclear if he's expected to be available for the start of spring training.