MLB Player News

Bleday is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.

The lefty-hitting Bleday will retreat to the bench while southpaw Framber Valdez takes the hill for Houston. Esteury Ruiz will fill in for Bleday in center field.

Brown is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.

The lefty-hitting Brown has now sat out four times in five games, with three of his absences from the lineup coming against right-handed pitchers. Brown appears to be moving into more of a part-time role while Brent Rooker and Tyler Nevin have taken on more playing time at the corner-outfield spots and while Abraham Toro has gained traction at designated hitter. Brown has produced a lowly .534 OPS on the season, including a .542 mark against right-handers.

Soderstrom is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.

With lefty Framber Valdez on the hill for Houston, the lefty-hitting Soderstrom will retreat to the bench. Soderstrom appears to have settled into the strong side of a platoon at first base with the right-handed-hitting J.D. Davis, who will get the starting nod Wednesday.

The Rangers optioned Leiter to Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday.

Texas won't immediately replace Leiter in its rotation, but the rookie right-hander will cede his spot on the 26-man active roster to right-hander Shaun Anderson, who was called up from Round Rock and will provide some length out of the bullpen in the short term. Leiter's demotion comes one day after he failed to escape the second inning in the Rangers' 7-4 loss to the Guardians. He's labored in each of his first three big-league starts, giving up 17 earned runs on 18 hits and six walks while striking out seven across 9.1 innings.

The Rangers selected Anderson's contract from Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesdday.

He'll make his return to the big leagues for the first time since the 2022 season, when he made a one-inning relief appearance for Toronto. After spending the 2023 campaign overseas in Korea, Anderson returned stateside and signed a minor-league deal with Texas in April. He had been working as a starter for Round Rock prior to his promotion, turning in a 2.53 ERA and 1.04 WHIP while striking out 22 over 21.1 innings. Anderson will operate as a long-relief option initially, but he could be called upon to join the rotation if Nathan Eovaldi (groin) or Dane Dunning (shoulder) aren't ready to return from the 15-day injured list by the time the Rangers next require a fifth starter May 25 in Minnesota.

Rutschman went 2-for-4 with a walk and a two-run homer in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.

After Jordan Westburg led off the ninth with an infield hit, Rustchman launched a deep fly ball off Jordan Romano that just cleared the right-field fence, giving the Orioles a 3-2 walk-off victory. Rutschman's now homered in three straight games, totaling four long balls in that span. The 26-year-old backstop is slashing .314/.350/.509 with nine homers, 27 RBI and 24 runs scored through his first 40 games this season.

The Rangers transferred Scherzer (back/arm) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.

Scherzer surprisingly avoided the 60-day IL to begin the season after the Rangers were encouraged enough by his recovery from his Dec. 15 back surgery during spring training to keep the door open for him to make his 2024 debut before May 27. Though Scherzer remained on track to meet the Rangers' goal as recently as a few weeks ago, it became clear that his absence would extend into June after he dealt with a thumb issue coming out of his first rehab start April 24 with Triple-A Round Rock. He hasn't been able to do much activity ever since, but he'll play light catch Wednesday while he contends with a nerve issue in addition to ramping back up from his herniated disc surgery. Fortunately for Scherzer, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com relays that the right-hander has had MRIs on his triceps, elbow and neck that all returned clean, so the nerve problem is believed to be something that he'll be able to manage. The Rangers will wait and see how he responds to playing catch Wednesday before mapping out his throwing progression any futher.

Kikuchi didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against Baltimore, allowing one run on six hits and a walk in 4.1 innings. He struck out nine.

Kikuchi needed 88 pitches to record 11 outs, though he limited Baltimore to one run on Jordan Westburg's lead-off homer in the first while recording nine strikeouts for the third time this season. Kikuchi had gone at least six innings in his previous six starts -- he's 2-3 on the year with a 2.60 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 55:10 K:BB across 52 innings. The left-hander is currently on track to face the White Sox at home in his next start.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Blanco won't appeal his 10-game suspension, which will go into effect beginning with Wednesday's contest versus the Athletics, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Blanco received the 10-game ban earlier Wednesday after he was ejected in the fourth inning of his start in Tuesday's 2-1 extra-inning win over Oakland for violating the prohibitions on foreign substances. When he spoke to the media after the game, Blanco implied through an interpreter that he would appeal any suspension, but he's since accepted the banishment and won't be eligible to pitch again until May 26. The Astros won't be able to replace Blanco on the 26-man roster and will have to get by with a shorthanded pitching staff for the time being, though Jose Urquidy could soon return from the 15-day injured list to provide reinforcement for the rotation.

Rocchio is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

Gabriel Arias will take over at shortstop while Rocchio sits out the series finale. Rocchio lifted his batting average up to .208 after going 2-for-9 at the plate while he started each of the past three games.