MLB Player News

The Red Sox reinstated Gray (hamstring) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday in Detroit.

Left-hander Alec Gamboa was optioned to Triple-A Worcester to make room on the 26-man active roster for Gray, who ended up missing the minimum 15 days after being shelved April 21 due to a right hamstring strain. He was never shut down from throwing during his time on the IL and didn't require a rehab assignment prior to being activated. Gray should be ready to handle a normal workload as he takes the hill for Boston for the sixth time this season, after going 2-1 with a 4.30 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 13:5 K:BB in 23 innings over his first five starts.

McCullers was removed from his start Wednesday against the Dodgers in the top of the third inning after he appeared to be contending with a blister on his pitching hand, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports. He was charged with six earned runs on four hits and three walks over 2.2 innings prior to his departure.

McCullers was visited on the mound by manager Joe Espada and a team trainer at one point during his start, and though he was able to stay in the game, he continued to struggle with his control before the Astros pulled him from the contest. In addition to issuing three free passes, McCullers threw three wild pitches and found the strike zone on just 39 of his 70 pitches overall. Even if McCullers checks out fine on the health front and is ready to make his next start, the Astros may have to begin to consider moving him out of the rotation. After the disastrous outing Wednesday, McCullers's ERA now sits at 7.41 over 34 innings on the season.

Ryan (elbow) is listed as the Twins' scheduled starting pitcher for Saturday's game in Cleveland, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Ryan threw only nine pitches in his last outing Sunday against the Blue Jays before being removed due to right elbow soreness. After an MRI returned negative, Ryan was scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday, and he must have gotten through that workout without issue in order to be cleared to start Saturday. Ryan has collected a 3.72 ERA and 40:10 K:BB over 38.2 innings this season.

The Angels optioned Aldegheri to Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday.

Aldegheri made what turned out to be just a spot start in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the White Sox, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks over four innings. He will return to the rotation at Salt Lake, where he's posted a 7.77 ERA and 23:13 K:BB over 24.1 frames this season.

The Angels activated Manoah (finger) from the 15-day injured list Wednesday.

Manoah has been out all season after losing a fingernail during his final Cactus League outing. The right-hander struggled in his lone rehab start with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, yielding six runs (five earned) on seven hits and two walks over 4.1 frames. Manoah is listed as an available reliever on the lineup card for Wednesday's game versus the White Sox, per Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register, so the Angels seemingly plan to utilize him in the bullpen. The Angels will have an opening in the rotation during next week's series in Cleveland, so it's possible that Manoah receives a look as a starter or bulk reliever if he isn't needed out of the bullpen during the team's next four games.

Skubal is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery Wednesday in Los Angeles to remove bone chips from his left elbow, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Renowned arm specialist Dr. Neal ElAttrache is slated to perform the operation on Skubal, who relayed Monday that he had been battling the elbow issue intermittently since before spring training, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Neither Skubal nor the Tigers were willing to offer a timeline for the two-time Cy Young Award winner's return to the rotation, but the initial hope is that he'll be able to return to action in two months. A more precise target date for Skubal's return should come into focus once he's cleared to begin a throwing program a few weeks after the procedure is completed. Though he had seen his velocity drop and his strikeout rate tail off to begin 2026, he'd still been pitching at an ace-like level prior to hitting the shelf, posting a 2.70 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 45:6 K:BB in 43.1 innings through his first seven starts.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Tuesday that Imai (arm) will rejoin the rotation next week versus the Mariners, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

If Imai is kept on a schedule of five days of rest in between starts, he'll be in line to start Monday's series opener. He made his second rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Sugar Land, allowing one run on one hit with a 3:5 K:BB over three innings. Imai, who is coming back from fatigue in his pitching arm, threw 63 pitches Tuesday, so he will not be ready for a full workload in his first start back with the big club.

Scherzer said Wednesday that he's been unable to ramp up his throwing due to lingering right forearm discomfort, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

Scherzer landed on the 15-day injured list early last week with forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation. The ankle injury is no longer bothering him, but the nagging forearm issue is preventing Scherzer from advancing in his rehab. He's undergone MRIs that have come back clean, but the veteran righty is still seeking answers for why his forearm is still giving him trouble, noting that he will "talk to more doctors and figure it out."

Rodon (elbow) appears on track to return from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday's game against the Brewers in Milwaukee, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

The Yankees haven't officially confirmed Rodon's next step, but manager Aaron Boone previously said that the left-hander's next start could be in the majors once Rodon made the third appearance of his rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. After posting a 0.93 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and 12:1 K:BB in 9.2 innings between his first two rehab outings with High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset, Rodon wasn't able to maintain that level of form with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, as he struck out four while yielding six runs (five earned) on seven hits and two walks over 6.1 innings. More important than Rodon's results was the fact that he built up to 83 pitches in the outing, which indicates that he's ready to handle a typical starter's workload. The Yankees have seemingly already cleared the way for Rodon to rejoin the rotation by optioning Elmer Rodriguez -- who had been serving as the club's No. 5 starter -- to Triple-A following Tuesday's 7-4 win over the Rangers.

Williams (5-2) took the loss Tuesday against the Royals, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks with seven strikeouts across six innings.

After he was tagged for six runs over six innings against the Blue Jays on April 24, Williams pitched a season-high 7.2 innings of one-run ball against Tampa Bay last week. Williams' ERA has ballooned from 2.12 to 3.28 with the two bad outings sandwiched around his dominant start against the Rays. Williams served up a pair of homers to lefties Isaac Collins and Michael Massey at the bottom of the Royals' lineup Tuesday. Through 49.1 innings, Williams has an MLB-best 60 strikeouts, though walks (21 issued) remain a problem for the right-hander. He's in line to face the Twins at home Sunday.