MLB Player News

The Astros pulled Garcia (elbow) off his minor-league rehab assignment this week, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Making his way back from May 2023 Tommy John surgery, Garcia made his first rehab start June 28 in the rookie-level Florida Complex League and his second July 4 with Double-A Corpus Christi. He didn't bounce back well from his start with Corpus Christi and hadn't throw a bullpen session since the outing, with the Astros having limited him to playing catch. While Garcia doesn't seem to be dealing with a major setback, he'll have to restart a 30-day rehab window once the team feels he's ready for game action. Clearly, a return from the 60-day injured list won't be in the forecast anytime soon for Garcia.

The Astros sent Caratini (hip) to the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment.

Caratini has been shelved since late June with a left hip flexor strain but has been cleared for rehab games. The veteran catcher shouldn't need an extended rehab assignment before being activated from the 10-day injured list, with a return early on in the second half a likely outcome.

The Athletics sent Toro (hamstring) to the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Monday to begin a rehab assignment.

Toro has been sidelined for nearly a month with a right hamstring strain but is finally ready for game action. He shouldn't require more than a few rehab games before returning to the Athletics' active roster. Prior to getting hurt, Toro was serving as Oakland's everyday third baseman and leadoff hitter.

Ruiz (wrist) played seven innings in left field Sunday in a rehab game with Single-A Stockton, going 2-for-3 with an RBI sacrifice fly.

Ruiz had gotten Saturday off after playing a full game at DH on Friday, but he encouragingly put in another robust workload on defense Sunday. Ruiz's mastery over Single-A arms continued as well, as he hit safely for the fourth time in as many rehab games. It's certainly possible Ruiz may be deemed ready for activation coming out of the All-Star break despite not having made any appearances at a higher-level affiliate during his assignment.

Trout (knee) has been swinging a bat as part of his rehab activities and is targeting a return from the 10-day injured list by the end of July, Jill Painter Lopez of the Associated Press reports.

Trout hasn't yet done work in the outfield, but he's anticipating being able to rejoin the Angels at the end of July. The future Hall of Famer hasn't played in a game since going 0-for-3 against Philadelphia on April 29. It's not yet clear if he'll play in any minor-league rehab games prior to rejoining the big club.

Rice went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in a loss to the Orioles on Sunday.

Rice was hitless through four at-bats but came through when it mattered most, swatting a three-run homer in the ninth inning off Baltimore closer Craig Kimbrel to give New York a 5-3 lead. That result didn't hold, as the Orioles plated three runs in the bottom of the frame to pull out the victory, but Rice's heroics still stand out. While the rookie is batting just .228 on the campaign, he's shown a flair for the big moment, batting .280 with runners in scoring position and already adding a three-homer game to his big-league resume.

Holmes (1-4) blew a save and was the pitcher of record in Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Orioles, allowing three unearned runs on two hits and two walks while striking out one batter over two-thirds of an inning.

In a roller-coaster ninth inning, New York scored three runs in the top of the frame to take a 5-3 lead. Holmes entered to try to close things out in the bottom of the inning but couldn't get the job done, giving up three runs, the final two of which came on a Cedric Mullins walk-off double. Though he didn't pitch particularly well, it would be unfair to pin the blame entirely on Holmes for the dramatic defeat, as a two-out error by Anthony Volpe allowed a run to score and kept the frame alive for Mullins' double, which had an xBA of .150, per Statcast -- Alex Verdugo took a terrible route to the ball and pinned the blame on himself for the result after the game, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. It was nonetheless a poor end to the first half of the campaign for Holmes, who has blown two of his past four save chances while giving up five runs (two earned) across four frames during that span.

Green picked up a four out save in Sunday's 8-7 win over the Diamondbacks. He allowed a hit and struck out one in a scoreless outing.

Green was able to help the Blue Jays hang on to the win after they blew a seven-run lead in the fifth. He allowed a two-out single to Christian Walker to put the tying run on base but was able to get Corbin Carroll to fly out to end the game. Green now has piled on four of his six saves this month despite allowing runs in three of his seven appearances. He'll head into the break boasting a sparkling 2.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 24:9 K:BB in 26 innings so far this season.

Kikuchi allowed seven runs on six hits and three walks while striking out six over 4.2 innings Sunday against the Diamondbacks. He did not factor into the decision.

Kikuchi had no trouble getting through four innings and went into the fifth with a 7-0 lead that quickly evaporated. Kikuchi loaded the bases after allowing an infield single and two walks before Ketel Marte took him deep. Kikuchi was left in the game and could not help his own cause. He allowed another walk and a base hit before punching out Christian Walker for the second out of the inning. From there, Kikuchi gave up another run-scoring single and then hit Jake McCarthy before he finally was pulled from the game. Both inherited runners went on to score before the frame concluded. The seven runs allowed were Kikuchi's most in a game this season and he now has not picked up a win since June 11. The lefty will head into the break with a 4.42 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 117:26 K:BB in 106 innings.

Guerrero went 3-for-5 with a solo homer, a double and two runs scored in Sunday's 8-7 win over the Diamondbacks.

After surrendering a 7-0 lead in the fifth, Guerrero swung the momentum back in the Blue Jays direction with a monstrous solo home run to center field in the seventh to put his team back up 8-7 and the score would hold there. The home run was his first this month and his eighth three-hit performance of the year. After a blistering end to June, Guerrero has cooled off a bit in July and is slashing .229/.250/.354 with his one homer, eight RBI and seven runs scored in 50 plate appearances. He'll head into the break slashing .288/.359/.456 and leads the Blue Jays in home runs (14), RBI (55) and runs scored (47) among other batting categories.