The Red Sox are expected to select Tolle's contract from Triple-A Worcester and have him start Friday's game against the Pirates, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

After beginning the season at High-A Greenville, Tolle has breezed through the Red Sox's farm system while posting a 3.04 ERA and 0.99 WHIP over 91.2 total innings between three affiliates. With Richard Fitts sidelined with right arm neuritis, the 22-year-old Tolle will now get the chance to fill the hole in the MLB rotation. He'll draw a favorable matchup for his big-league debut at Fenway Park, taking on a Pirates offense that ranks 30th in baseball with a .657 OPS. On a less fortunate note for Tolle, he'll be opposing Pittsburgh ace and NL Cy Young Award candidate Paul Skenes, with that head-to-head matchup perhaps working against Tolle's chances of securing a win in his big-league debut. If the young lefty handles his first test in the majors well, he could be in line to make a few additional starts or bulk-relief appearances with Boston.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Yarbrough (oblique) will be used out of the bullpen once he's activated from the 15-day injured list, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Before landing on the injured list June 22 due to a right oblique strain, Yarbrough had started in eight of his 16 appearances for the Yankees and delivered a 3.90 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 49:17 K:BB in 55.1 innings, but he'll lose his spot in the rotation with New York having gotten strong results from No. 5 starter Cam Schlittler in recent weeks. Yarbrough has pitched well in his own right through three rehab starts with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, with whom he most recently pitched Tuesday and struck out six while allowing two earned runs over 4.2 innings. The lefty will likely be deployed as a long reliever and should be the top choice to enter the rotation if the Yankees lose a starter to an injury at any point in September.

Alexander didn't factor into the decision Thursday against the Rockies, allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk in 5.2 innings. He struck out eight.

Although the three runs allowed were his most since July 24 versus the Athletics, Alexander fanned a season-high eight Thursday. The right-hander fell out one short of qualifying for a quality start, but he's now worked at least 5.1 innings in five consecutive outings. Alexander has proven to be a serviceable member of Houston's rotation, submitting a 2.96 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 41:15 K:BB over 48.2 frames since joining the Astros, though his recent rise in streaming value will likely take a hit with the Yankees looming for his next scheduled appearance.

Povich did not factor into the decision Thursday against the Red Sox, allowing two runs on seven hits and no walks across five innings. He struck out five.

It was a solid outing overall for Povich, with the only damage against him coming via a pair of solo home runs. It's certainly a step in the right direction for the left-hander, who struggled to a 5.06 ERA in four outings (21.1 innings) since rejoining the O's in early August. Povich is currently lined up to face the Padres on the road his next time out.

Crochet allowed two runs on six hits and no walks across six innings in a no-decision Thursday against Baltimore. He struck out seven.

It's the seventh quality start in eight outings for Crochet -- the left-hander's gone 5-1 with a 2.42 ERA and 63 strikeouts across 52 innings in that span. The 26-year-old Crochet's ERA is down to 2.40 on the season with a 1.06 WHIP and an MLB-leading 214 strikeouts through 27 starts (172.1 innings). Crochet will look to keep rolling his next time out, which is tentatively scheduled for next week at home against the Guardians.

The Angels reinstated Anderson from the paternity list prior to his start Thursday against the Astros.

Anderson has given up four earned runs in three of his four starts since the beginning of August and remains in search of his first win since April 18. Although he's due to face an Astros offense that has posted a .655 OPS over their last 10 games, the 35-year-old southpaw should only be viewed as a last resort for fantasy managers in search of streaming options. Jack Kochanowicz was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move.

The Angels optioned Kochanowicz to Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.

The transaction comes one day after Kochanowicz was pummeled for 11 runs (10 earned) over 3.1 innings in a loss to the Rangers. The Angels will have to fill Kochanowicz's rotation spot next week, with Caden Dana among those likely to be under consideration.

Astros manager Joe Espada said Thursday that McCullers is available to pitch out of the bullpen, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Espada described the move as "short-term" and noted that McCullers is an option to start Monday's game against the Angels. Luis Garcia (elbow) is also an option to return from the 60-day injured list start Monday, and the two could be used in tandem if McCullers isn't needed out of the bullpen Thursday versus the Rockies or during the first three games of the series with the Angels over the weekend. In his most recent start this past Friday in Baltimore following his return from the IL, McCullers yielded three runs and walked five over four innings. He's now sitting on a 6.89 ERA in 12 starts this season.

Basso allowed no hits and a walk with no strikeouts over a scoreless inning Wednesday against the Tigers.

Basso made his season debut for the Athletics, tossing a scoreless ninth inning to close out an impressive sweep of the Tigers. The southpaw has spent most of the year sidelined by a left shoulder strain suffered in March, then was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas upon activation Aug. 11 before being recalled ahead of Wednesday's contest. Though a starter by trade, Basso has been working out of the bullpen since returning from injury.

The Red Sox could promote Tolle from Triple-A Worcester to start or make a bulk-relief appearance in Friday's game against the Pirates, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Boston has confirmed that Dustin May will start the second game of the series Saturday, and Lucas Giolito appears on track to start Sunday's series finale, but the club still has an opening in its rotation for Friday after Richard Fitts (arm) was removed from his bulk-relief appearance in Monday's game against the Orioles before landing on the injured list. Kyle Harrison -- who is already on the Red Sox's 40-man roster -- made an abbreviated three-inning start for Worcester on Tuesday to keep him in play for a promotion to the big leagues Friday, but Tolle has established himself as the organization's top pitching prospect this season and may have done enough to make a case for his first MLB call-up. After accruing a 2.93 ERA and racking up 116 punchouts across 76.2 innings through his first 17 outings of the season between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland, the 22-year-old lefty has continued to shine since moving up to Worcester earlier this month. Through three starts at Triple-A, Tolle has accrued a 3.60 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 17:2 K:BB in 15 innings.