MLB Player News

The Blue Jays reinstated Manoah (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Sunday versus the Nationals in Washington.

Manoah will be making his 2024 season debut for the Blue Jays after he opened the campaign on the shelf with right shoulder inflammation before completing a five-start minor-league rehab assignment between stops at Single-A Dunedin and Triple-A Buffalo. The right-hander was far from sharp over the course of the minor-league assignment -- he posted an 8.69 ERA, 1.98 WHIP and 28:11 K:BB across 19.2 frames -- but he finished off his stint at Buffalo in dominant fashion, tossing six innings of one-run ball while striking out 12 and issuing just two walks this past Tuesday. The Blue Jays are hopeful that Manoah can eventually regain the form that made him a third-place finisher in the 2022 American League Cy Young Award balloting, but his fantasy managers may want to tread carefully before activating him. Much like the entirety of his rehab assignment prior to Tuesday, Manoah struggled mightily with his command and control during his time with the Blue Jays and various minor-league affiliates in a disastrous 2023 season.

Kelly (shoulder) was reinstated from the 7-day injured list Friday and struck out one over a scoreless inning of relief in Triple-A Round Rock's 13-1 win over Albuquerque.

Kelly was shelved for just under a month with a shoulder injury before he returned to action for Round Rock earlier this week. The southpaw has made four appearances out of the Triple-A bullpen this season, striking out six while allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks over 3.2 innings.

Lynch was recalled from Triple-A Omaha and is starting Sunday against the Rangers.

The left-hander is taking the rotation spot of Alec Marsh (elbow), who is making a rehab start Sunday and could return from the 15-day injured list later this week. Lynch missed out on Kansas City's season-opening rotation after he posted a 2.77 ERA during spring training, though he hasn't pitched particularly well at Omaha in 2024 with a 5.86 ERA, 1.76 WHIP and 22:9 K:BB across 27.2 innings. He'll be taking the hill on three days' rest after tossing four innings for Omaha on Wednesday, so Lynch could struggle to hit the five innings he would need to qualify for a win.

Woo (elbow) struck out six and allowed three hits and no walks over five shutout innings in his third rehab start Saturday with Triple-A Tacoma.

Woo was about as sharp as the Mariners could have hoped in what was likely the final start of his rehab assignment, as he built up to 66 pitches (44 strikes) while making quick work of the Triple-A Sacramento lineup. Provided Woo experiences no complications with his right elbow during a bullpen session within the next couple of days, he should be cleared to return from the 15-day injured list to make his 2024 Mariners debut later this week. Emerson Hancock has been filling in as the Mariners' No. 5 starter while Woo has been out, but Seattle could have room in the rotation for both hurlers if George Kirby (knee) is forced to the 15-day IL. Woo is likely to be activated to start either Thursday in Minnesota or Friday at home versus the Athletics.

Littell allowed one run on six hits while striking out seven over six innings in a no-decision against the Mets on Saturday.

The only run Littell allowed on the night came across in the first inning when the right-hander allowed a leadoff double to Brandon Nimmo to open the frame followed by an RBI single from Starling Marte. From there, Littell went on to retire 10 of the next 11 batters he faced, with six of those batters going down on strikeouts. It marked the fourth start this season in which he's allowed one run or fewer, and he's now gone six innings in three straight, posting a 20:0 K:BB over that stretch.

Javier (neck) allowed three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three across 3.1 innings in a rehab outing with Double-A Corpus Christi on Saturday, MLB.com reports.

The results weren't overly impressive, but it was otherwise a successful outing for Javier, as he was slated to throw roughly 65 pitches in the outing and met that goal (68 pitches). Assuming no news of a setback emerges, he could rejoin the Astros' rotation at some point in the upcoming week.

Bradley (pectoral) allowed one earned run across six innings while striking out eight and walking two in a rehab outing with Triple-A Durham on Friday, MLB.com reports.

Bradley made his second rehab start with Durham and ramped up to 94 total pitches. He's looked good in each outing and will be up with the Rays shortly. It's possible Bradley's next start will come with Tampa Bay, but it looks like a near certainty he'll be activated for his season debut by mid-May.

Valdez (1-1) took the loss against Seattle on Saturday, allowing five runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out three batters over 5.1 innings.

Valdez turned in his worst start of the campaign, as the five runs and nine hits he allowed were both season-worst marks while he recorded a season-low three punchouts. The left-hander also gave up his first two homers of the year, with Cal Raleigh's two-run shot in the sixth inning resulting in the hurler getting the hook. Since being activated from the injured list April 27 following a near month-long absence due to an elbow injury, Valdez has surrendered seven runs on 14 hits across 10.1 frames over two starts.

Gilbert (3-0) earned the win in Saturday's 5-0 victory over Houston, allowing two hits and four walks while striking out six batters over eight scoreless innings.

Gilbert tied a season-high mark with four walks, but that didn't hurt him since he gave up just a pair of hits (both singles). The right-hander notched his fifth straight quality start and lowered his season ERA to 1.69, fifth lowest among qualified MLB pitchers. Gilbert also ranks fifth among qualified starters with a 0.79 WHIP and has registered a 50:13 K:BB through 48 innings on the campaign.

Wacha (1-4) took the loss against Texas on Saturday, allowing seven runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out three batters over 3.2 innings.

Wacha exited with two outs in the fourth inning after giving up singles to four of the final five batters he faced. The seven runs were a season high for the right-hander, while his three punchouts tied a season low. Wacha was doing fine with a 3.81 ERA through his first five starts this season, but that number has since ballooned to 5.50 as a result of the veteran hurler giving up 11 earned runs over 9.1 innings across his past two appearances.