MLB Player News

Howard (oblique) has increased his throwing distance to 90 feet, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Howard resumed playing catch last week, and he's been able to increase his volume and intensity since then. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that he's hopeful that the southpaw will be able to increase his throwing distance to 120 feet by the end of the week.

Akin (COVID-19 injured list) will throw a side session Wednesday after he cleared the league's health and safety protocols, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Akin spent a week on the COVID-19 IL and is now eligible to rejoin the Orioles, but they'll bring him along slowly since he wasn't able to do much recently. The young lefty posted an 8.19 ERA and 1.80 WHIP across his 13 appearances (eight starts) on the season, so he won't be a lock to reclaim a spot in Baltimore's rotation once reinstated from IL.

Anderson (elbow) will join Triple-A Durham for his next rehab appearance Thursday, the Associated Press reports.

The hard-throwing right-hander was unsurprisingly impressive over two rehab appearances with the Rays' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate, firing a pair of scoreless innings during which he recorded four strikeouts. Triple-A bats will therefore represent a nice bump in competition for the 31-year-old, who continues to track for activation some time in the first half of August.

Abreu was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday.

Abreu was sent down Tuesday, but he'll return to the major-league bullpen a day later. The right-hander has recorded a 1.88 ERA and 0.77 WHIP in 14.1 innings across seven appearances this year, and he should be available mainly as a low-leverage reliever.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton confirmed that Kranick will start Wednesday's game against the Brewers, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Kranick was fully expected to get the ball for the second game of the series after he was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day. With Tyler Anderson having been dealt away to Seattle and Chase De Jong (knee) on the injured list, the Pirates should have room in the rotation for both Kranick and Cody Ponce -- who tossed five scoreless innings in relief in Tuesday's loss -- for the foreseeable future. Over his three prior starts with Pittsburgh this season, Kranick has gone 1-1 with a 5.73 ERA (3.69 FIP) and 1.36 WHIP over 11 innings.

The Astros acquired Garcia from the Marlins on Wednesday in exchange for minor-league outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

De La Cruz isn't a top-tier prospect, but a 24-year-old with an .880 OPS at Triple-A is a decent return for a rental reliever in Garcia, who is signed to an affordable one-year, $1.9 million contract in his final year of arbitration. Prior to being dealt, the 30-year-old right-hander emerged as the Marlins' primary closer this season, converting 15 of 18 save attempts while posting a 3.47 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 8.7 K/9. Unfortunately for his fantasy managers, Garcia's value will take a significant hit moving forward, as he's unlikely to challenge All-Star closer Ryan Pressly for save opportunities in Houston. Instead, Garcia will become a key part of the bridge to the ninth inning.

The Astros designated Pruitt for assignment Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Houston cut Pruitt to make room on the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster for reliever Rafael Montero, who was acquired along with Kendall Graveman from the Mariners on Tuesday. After missing the first three and a half months of the season while recovering from September surgery to repair a fractured elbow, Pruitt struggled to regain form upon being activated from the injured list. In his two appearances out of the Houston bullpen, Pruitt gave up a pair of runs on three hits, including two solo home runs.

The Pirates recalled Kranick from Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday.

Pittsburgh hasn't announced a starting pitcher for Wednesday's game against the Brewers, but the nod will presumably go to Kranick, who would be stepping into the rotation as a replacement for the injured Chase De Jong (knee). Kranick tossed five scoreless innings in his MLB debut June 27 in St. Louis, but he's struggled over his last two outings with the big club. Between those starts, Kranick has covered six frames while giving up seven runs on 11 hits and four walks.

Brasier (concussion) is scheduled to face hitters in live batting practice Sunday at Triple-A Worcester, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.

Brasier has been on the injured list all season with a calf strain and, most recently, a concussion, but he finally looks to be honing in on his 2021 debut. If he checks out fine in the live BP session, Brasier should be able to pitch in some simulated games next week before graduating to minor-league rehab games. Boston is optimistic the right-handed reliever will be ready to return from the 60-day IL around mid-August.

Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said Wednesday that Merryweather's (oblique) return from the 60-day injured list isn't imminent, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports. "It's ups and downs, but right now he's not close," Montoyo said of Merryweather's potential return.

After collecting two saves in the first week of the season and appearing to be in the driver's seat for closing duties with Toronto, Merryweather sustained a severe left oblique strain in mid-April and has been sidelined ever since. Toronto was initially optimistic Merryweather would be back by late June, but he experienced a setback in his recovery that has delayed his target return date. With Merryweather still limited to playing catch at this stage of his recovery, he's realistically at least two more weeks away from pitching for Toronto, in a best-case scenario.