MLB Player News

Waldichuk (elbow) threw 25 pitches against live hitters Monday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Waldichuk continues to advance in his rehab, and he's now scheduled to throw a sim game before potentially being sent out on a rehab assignment, per Gallegos. The southpaw figures to get a day or two off before his scheduled sim game.

Cole (elbow) threw on flat ground again Saturday, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the session went "really well," Max Goodman of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Cole has been playing catch on flat ground for about three weeks, extending his throwing distance up to 120 feet. Boone indicated early last week that the ace hurler is getting close to throwing off a mound, and that could happen as soon as this week. If Cole continues to progress without setbacks, he could feasibly be ready to join the Yankees' rotation when he's eligible to come off the 60-day IL in late May.

After Monday's game against the Cardinals was postponed due to inclement weather, Maeda will start in Wednesday's contest, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The Tigers will roll with Jack Flaherty in the first game Tuesday, while Matt Manning is pencilled in to start the second contest as the 27th man. Maeda holds an 0-1 record over five starts this season, posting a 5.96 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 17:7 K:BB over 22.2 frames.

The Tigers could call Manning up from Triple-A Toledo to start one game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Cardinals, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Manning's next turn with Toledo falls Tuesday, so he's an obvious option to start for the big club instead. He's previously made two starts with the Tigers this season, giving up four runs while turning in a 10:6 K:BB over 12.1 innings.

Maeda and the Tigers won't play Monday against the Cardinals after the game was postponed due to inclement weather in Detroit.

The game will be made up as part of a traditional doubleheader Tuesday. Jack Flaherty will stay on turn to start the first game Tuesday and Matt Manning is expected to come up to start the second game. Maeda's next start is being pushed back to Wednesday.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde confirmed Monday that Means (forearm) will be activated from the 15-day injured list later this week and will rejoin the rotation, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Hyde didn't divulge which day Means will pitch, but he would be on regular rest for Friday's series opener in Cincinnati. Means saved his best rehab start for last, as he struck out eight while allowing just one hit and one walk over seven scoreless innings for Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday. The left-hander got his pitch count up to 95 in the outing, so he should be ready for a typical workload in his first start with the Orioles. With both Means and Kyle Bradish (elbow) set to return from the IL this week, Albert Suarez and Cole Irvin would appear most at risk of losing out on starting roles if the Orioles elect to maintain a five-man rotation.

High-A Lansing will activate Morales (shoulder) from its 7-day injured list Tuesday, baseball writer Francys Romero reports.

Morales opened the season on the IL with an previously unknown issue, but Romero's report relays that the 21-year-old right-hander was still working through some shoulder discomfort that had cropped up late in the 2023 campaign. The injury ultimately cost Morales just under a month of game action, but the Athletics were likely planning to limit his innings count in 2024 anyway. Morales made just two starts for Lansing last season, giving up three earned runs on six hits and three walks while striking out eight over 7.2 innings.

Arrighetti is slated to start Thursday's game against the Guardians at Minute Maid Park.

With Justin Verlander recently returning from the injured list, Arrighetti looked like a candidate to lose out on a rotation spot, but Houston is ultimately keeping the rookie around as their No. 5 starter after the club instead chose to option J.P. France to Triple-A Sugar Land last week. Arrighetti likely doesn't have a long leash with Houston, however, as he's posted a 10.97 ERA and 2.34 WHIP in 10.2 innings through his first three big-league outings.

The Royals recalled Bowlan from Triple-A Omaha ahead of his scheduled start Monday in Toronto.

Kansas City optioned right-handed reliever Will Klein to Triple-A to clear a spot on the 26-man active roster for Bowlan, who will be joining the rotation as a replacement for the injured Alec Marsh (elbow). Bowlan had covered at least five innings in each of his last three starts with Omaha and owns a 2.57 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 21:5 K:BB across 21 frames at the Triple-A level for the season.

Houck didn't factor into the decision in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Cubs, allowing one run on four hits and zero walks while striking out nine over 6.2 innings.

Houck kept the Cubs off the scoreboard until Matt Mervis scratched an RBI-single off him with two outs in the seventh, which wound up being the last batter he faced. Sunday was already his third start this season with at least nine strikeouts and zero walks. The 28-year-old boasts a 1.60 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 41:5 K:BB in 39.1 innings and projects for a road start against the Twins his next time out.