MLB Player News

Morel (abdomen) will start in left field and bat cleanup Wednesday against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Morel is back in the starting nine for the first time since Sunday, when he exited the Rays' 4-3 loss to the Cubs early due to an abdominal contusion. He drew a walk in a pinch-hit appearance during Tuesday's 6-5 loss and will now check back into the lineup to make a rare start against a right-handed pitcher (Kevin Gausman).

Finnegan (groin) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Thursday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Finnegan has missed most of September with a right adductor strain but has been cleared to test things out in a game setting. Given his brief absence, it could be the only rehab appearance Finnegan needs before returning to the Tigers' active roster. He's made 12 scoreless appearances and recorded four saves since being acquired by Detroit at the trade deadline.

Lukes is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

With southpaw Ian Seymour toeing the rubber, the left-handed-hitting Lukes will hit the bench after he started in right field in both of the first two contests of the series. Addison Barger will shift from third base to cover right field in Lukes' stead Wednesday.

Varsho is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

With lefty Ian Seymour on the hill for Tampa Bay, Varsho will be joined on the bench by fellow left-handed batters Nathan Lukes, Joey Loperfido and Andres Gimenez as the Blue Jays stack the lineup with right-handed bats. Myles Straw will spell Varsho in center field.

Gimenez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

After making starts out of the middle infield in each of the Blue Jays' last eight games, the left-handed-hitting Gimenez will retreat to the bench while the Rays send southpaw Ian Seymour to the bump. Toronto will go with Davis Schneider at second base and Ernie Clement at shortstop Wednesday.

Mahle (shoulder) will be reinstated from the 60-day injured list to start Friday's game against the Marlins in Arlington, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Mahle will be making his first appearance in the majors since early June, as the right-hander has been shelved for more than three months due to a right shoulder strain. He made three rehab starts, going four shutout innings with six strikeouts in his most recent outing with Triple-A Round Rock last Friday. Mahle threw only 52 pitches in that start, so he will have a limited workload Friday.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that Tolle will be used out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Connelly Early is remaining in the rotation and Kyle Harrison will join the rotation this weekend, leaving Tolle to fill a relief role the rest of the way. All three of Tolle's appearances for the Red Sox to this point have come as a starter, and he's posted a 7.84 ERA and 12:6 K:BB over 10.1 innings.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that Abreu (calf) isn't ready to return from the 10-day injured list, but the skipper is "hopeful" that the outfielder will be ready for activation at some point during the team's weekend series at Tampa Bay, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

MLB.com reported Saturday that Abreu was running at about 85 percent intensity as he works his way back from a right calf strain. Per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, Cora noted that Abreu was scheduled to do some sprinting Wednesday, so if the 26-year-old is able to run at closer to 100 percent speed in that workout, it could be enough for him to return to action this weekend. The Red Sox have been leaning on a committee of Rob Refsnyder, Nate Eaton and Nick Sogard in right field while the 2024 Gold Glove Award winner has been on the shelf.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Harrison will start Saturday's game against the Rays in Tampa, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Harrison will move into the rotation as a replacement for rookie lefty Payton Tolle, whom Cora said would be used in the bullpen for the remainder of the season. After getting called up from Triple-A Worcester last week, Harrison made his Red Sox debut out of the bullpen Sept. 10 in Sacramento, striking out two over three scoreless innings. Though he had been serving in a starting role for Worcester, Harrison hadn't covered five frames in an outing since Aug. 19, so the Red Sox may not be counting on the lefty working deep into his start Saturday.

Schneemann is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Detroit.

Schneemann had started the last three games and nine of the last 10 tilts, but he'll begin Wednesday's contest on the bench. Nolan Jones will patrol center field and bat seventh for the Guardians.