MLB Player News

Bradford (elbow) could be ready to make his season debut by early July, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Coming back from a left elbow sprain, Bradford has been throwing off a mound for several weeks and seems to be close to being cleared for a rehab assignment. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said last week that he hoped the southpaw would be stretched out to five innings by July 4, and if that happens, Bradford could be ready to rejoin the big-league rotation at that point. The left-hander held a 3.54 ERA and 70:13 K:BB over 76.1 frames in 2024 and makes for a good stash in deeper fantasy leagues.

Wong will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Mariners.

Though he'll get the start behind the dish in the series finale, Wong doesn't appear to be making a serious push to supplant Carlos Narvaez as the Red Sox's No. 1 catcher. Narvaez has produced a .917 OPS since the beginning of May, while Wong is slashing just .179/.289/.179 over that same stretch of action.

Hamilton will start at second base and bat seventh in Wednesday's game against the Mariners, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Hamilton will pick up his third consecutive start at the keystone and has been an early beneficiary of Sunday's trade that sent Rafael Devers to San Francisco. His playing time could begin to dry up by the weekend, however, as the Red Sox are preparing to welcome another everyday player in Wilyer Abreu (oblique) from the injured list. Abreu's return will create a logjam in the outfield that could result in Roman Anthony seeing more starts at designated hitter and Kristian Campbell moving back to second base.

Narvaez is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game in Seattle.

Narvaez started at catcher in both of the first two games of the series, so he'll get a breather in Wednesday's matinee. Connor Wong will fill in behind the dish and bat ninth for the Red Sox.

Rafaela is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mariners, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

The Red Sox will give Rafaela a breather for the day game after a night game, ending a stretch of 19 consecutive starts for the 24-year-old during which he slashed .310/.347/.521 with four home runs and three stolen bases. Kristian Campbell will step in for Rafaela in center field.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said that McClanahan (triceps) received "very good" news from nerve specialist Dr. Gregory J. Pearl on Tuesday and should resume throwing off a mound "soon," Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

McClanahan was shut down briefly after not feeling 100 percent during a 10-to-12 pitch bullpen session June 7. He resumed flat-ground work Tuesday and the hope is that the lefty "got some good peace of mind" as a result of his meeting with Dr. Pearl, per Cash. Prior to the setback, McClanahan was tracking toward a season debut in late July. It's unclear what a revised timetable looks like, but it now seems unlikely he would be ready before August.

Soto (right triceps strain) was moved to the 60-day minor league injured list at High-A Cedar Rapids.

The Twins organization didn't release new information on his injury, so this could just be a procedural move. However, it likely indicates this is a significant injury. The No. 34 overall pick of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft was off to a promising start at Cedar Rapids, posting a 1.38 ERA and 15:5 K:BB in 13 innings, before suffering the injury in mid-April.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated Tuesday that Weaver (hamstring) could skip a rehab assignment and rejoin the active roster later this week, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Weaver faced hitters Tuesday in a live batting practice session for the first time since straining his left hamstring, with Boone describing the session as "excellent." As long as Weaver recovers well, it sounds like he could be activated from the 15-day injured list later this week. It would be a rapid recovery, as he is just over two weeks into a projected 4-to-6 week timetable. Weaver was serving as the Yankees' closer when he went on the IL, but it's not clear whether he will get that job back upon his return or pitch in a setup role in front of Devin Williams, who boasts a 1.84 ERA and 20:2 K:BB over his last 14.2 innings.

Meyers went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored Tuesday against the Athletics.

Meyers started an offensive barrage for the Astros on Tuesday with a two-RBI single in the first inning. The performance extended his current hitting streak to five games, and he's gone 15-for-50 with three doubles, two RBI, six runs scored and three stolen bases across 14 games since the start of June.

Abreu (oblique) went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored as the designated hitter for Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday.

Abreu initiated a rehab assignment with the WooSox, which MLB.com says will be a brief one. The earliest he can be activated is Friday. The recent trade of Rafael Devers opened up the DH spot for Boston, potentially clearing a logjam in the outfield. Instead of shoehorning Roman Anthony into an existing outfield alignment that includes Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran, one of the four could be used at DH.