MLB Player News

Strickland (shoulder) is progressing in his recovery from a right shoulder strain but isn't yet throwing, per MLB.com.

The details of how Strickland is "progressing" aren't clear, but it's nonetheless the first positive report on the reliever since he landed on the IL with a right shoulder strain July 7. While the injury was considered significant, it didn't require surgery, and there remains a possibility that Strickland could be back with the Angels sometime in September. However, in order for that to happen, he'll likely need to begin a throwing progression in the relatively near future.

Slater (hamstring) has resumed some baseball activities and on-field drills, per MLB.com.

Slater injured his hamstring while running to first base on a groundout Aug. 4 and was tabbed with a 4-to-6 week timeline to return. He's approaching the early end of that timeframe, but it doesn't appear that he'll be ready to be activated right at the four-week mark. It remains feasible, however, for Slater to be activated before the midway point of September.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Judge's timeline for returning to the outfield remains uncertain, per MLB.com.

It was a step forward for Judge to begin throwing from the outfield to the bases Sunday, but the slugger still hasn't done so at full velocity. He'll certainly need to do so before he's cleared to return to playing the outfield in a game for the first time since July 25. Because Judge has been limited to serving as the DH since his return from the IL on Aug. 5, Giancarlo Stanton has had to pick up a glove and log time in right field while also moving in and out of the lineup -- Stanton has started just four of New York's past seven contests.

King (knee) will throw at least one more simulated game before being activated off the injured list, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

King tossed 44 pitches in a three-inning sim game Saturday, so his next sim game will likely take place within the next few days. The right-hander may not need to go on a minor-league rehab assignment before returning to San Diego's rotation, though a concrete plan for his activation hasn't been shared. King has made just one big-league start since May 18 -- he tossed two innings against Boston on Aug. 9 in his return from a shoulder issue but subsequently landed back on the IL due to left knee inflammation.

The Cardinals are expected to select the contract of Prieto on Thursday, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.

The Cardinals acquired Prieto in 2023, and he's spent the last two full seasons at Triple-A. He has a solid .811 OPS across 450 plate appearances, good for 113 wRC+. The team's plans for Prieto are unclear, though they'll need to formally select his contract before the move is official.

Pham went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday against the Cardinals.

Pham slugged the homer in the first inning, his eighth of the season. Three of those long balls have come in his last nine starts, while half have come since Aug. 1. After a dreadful start to the season, Pham is hitting .309 with 20 RBI, 19 runs scored and two stolen bases across 41 contests since the start of July.

Cruz went 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base Thursday against the Cardinals.

Cruz started his third straight game since being activated from the injured list. He has yet to record a hit in nine at-bats, though he has reached base via walk in all three contests. Cruz also swiped his 35th bag Thursday, which is the fourth-highest mark in the league.

Trammell (neck) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday.

Trammell has been sidelined since Aug. 21 after he suffered a concussion and cervical strain. He has made sufficient progress to retake the field and should be activated within the next several days, if everything goes as planned.

White (hip) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday.

White has been on the injured list since Aug. 19, one day after making his third appearance in the majors this season. It's unclear if he'll stick in the White Sox's bullpen upon his activation.

Sasaki (shoulder) completed 3.2 innings in a minor-league rehab outing with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four batters.

Sasaki's third rehab appearance can best be characterized as uneven; he didn't finish with an impressive stat line but did show some promising signs of improvement. Among the positive aspects of the start were the right-hander's four punchouts (he had combined for just two over 5.1 innings across his first two rehab outings) and his fastball velocity, which reached 98.8 mph, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Though Sasaki got only two whiffs on his heater, he did get an impressive seven swings-and-misses on the 31 splitters he threw. It remains to be seen what's next for Sasaki -- though he seems to be near-ready to be activated from the IL from a workload perspective, his stuff doesn't yet appear to be sharp enough to get big-league batters out consistently. There also currently isn't any room in the Dodgers' rotation for Sasaki, so he may remain in the minors for multiple more starts to try to iron out his repertoire further.