MLB Player News

Smith (elbow) threw 21 pitches to teammates during a batting-practice session Wednesday, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

The live BP session was the final box checked before the Red Sox send Smith out on a rehabilitation assignment set to begin Saturday at Double-A Portland. The right-hander will then join Triple-A Pawtucket when the PawSox return from their current road trip. Pitchers normally get 30 days on their rehab clock, but hurlers coming off Tommy John elbow surgery can tack another 30 days on top of that. The Red Sox are hoping Smith doesn't need all that time to get up to Boston.

Colome worked around a walk and a wild pitch to throw a scoreless ninth inning for his 32nd save Wednesday in Houston.

While many bullpens underwent overhauls at the trade deadline, Tampa Bay felt comfortable leaving Colome in the ninth inning role. His K/9 fell to an underwhelming 7.43 with this zero-strikeout effort, but Colome has been effective nonetheless with 32 saves in 37 chances.

Stanek, who was called up from Triple-A Durham on Monday, recently developed a splitter to go along with his 100 mph fastball, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

The 26-year-old right-hander worked on the pitch with Durham pitching coach Kyle Snyder over the last several weeks before being summoned, choosing to focus on the splitter as opposed to the slider that he'd previously utilized. While he'd also played around with the splitter last offseason and in spring training, he didn't hone in on perfecting it until returning to Durham following a rough initial major-league stint earlier this season. Stanek has been mowing down hitters with the Bulls, compiling a 47:14 K:BB over 35.2 innings.

Pruitt (6-2) allowed five hits and one walk while striking out three over 6.1 shutout innings to beat the Astros on Wednesday.

Pruitt shut down a Houston offense that came in scoring a league-high 5.93 runs per game while handing Dallas Keuchel his first loss of the season. This was a surprising result to say the least for a rookie that started the year in the bullpen and had never pitched more than five innings in a major league game before. He got lit up for five runs in five innings at Yankee Stadium in his last start, so this outing likely wasn't enough to keep Pruitt in the rotation with Jake Odorizzi's (back) return imminent.

Kelly (hamstring) struck out one in a scoreless inning got Triple-A Pawtucket on Wednesday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Kelly looked sharp in his first rehab appearance for the Paw Sox, and it looks like he should be back with the big club by Friday. The righty flamethrower, who has been out since July 12, will likely factor back into the setup mix upon his activation. However, that setup mix got a bit more crowded while Kelly was sidelined. Boston added reliever Addison Reed to join Kelly and Matt Barnes as potential eighth-inning bridges.

Maurer will be used to spell Royals closer Kelvin Herrera, but will function mainly from a setup role with his new team, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

With the additions of Maurer and Ryan Buchter, manager Ned Yost has a deadly late-inning arsenal in his bullpen. "We've got a lot of guys who could fill a lot of roles," Yost said. Even without defining roles, the skipper made clear that Herrera -- who's 35-for-41 in save chances over the past two years in Kansas City -- is the clear-cut closer. That said, Maurer -- who notched a career-high 20 saves with San Diego before being traded -- loses a serious chunk of his fantasy value moving forward.

Lopez earned the White Sox organization's pitcher of the month for July, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports.

Lopez delivered a month of starts that suggests he's ready for a promotion from Triple-A Charlotte to Chicago. He posted a 2.10 ERA and struck out 38 batters over 30 innings. General manager Rick Hahn said earlier this week that the right-hander was forcing the issue. Lopez is currently among the leaders in the International League in strikeouts (122, third), K/9 (9.5, third) and innings (116, fifth).

Scribner is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Athletics, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Scribner will enter the Angels' starting rotation in place of Jesse Chavez, who was recently shifted to the bullpen after struggling to a 5.24 ERA through 21 starts. The 26-year-old has only appeared out of the bullpen in the majors, but he's compiled a 4.39 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 17 starts (92.1 innings) for Triple-A Salt Lake this season. It's unclear if he'll make more than one start at this point; that could depend on how he pitches Friday.

Loup walked the only batter he faced in Wednesday's game against the White Sox, failing to capitalize on the chance to notch his fourth hold of the year.

The left-handed specialist maintained a 2.70 ERA and 1.39 WHIP through his first 33 appearances this season. Loup has since posted an 8.76 ERA with a 1.78 WHIP in 14 games. He looked like a contender to rack up holds early in the campaign, but that's since faded, making him unserviceable in all formats.

Chavez will shift from the starting rotation to the bullpen, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 33-year-old has struggled mightily as a starter this season -- compiling a 5.24 ERA and 86:40 K:BB through 113.1 innings (21 starts) -- so the Angels will move him to the bullpen as rookie Troy Scribner gets a shot in the starting rotation. Chavez spent all of 2016 as a reliever, though he posted an unimpressive 4.43 ERA across 67 innings. He'll provide length out of the bullpen, and with his high ERA and low strikeout rates, he won't carry much fantasy value.