MLB Player News

Rodon (back) advanced his throwing to 90 feet Wednesday without issue, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

The cortisone injection for Rodon's chronic back issue seems to have done the trick, as he's thrown multiple times in the last several days without any problems and plans for a second injection have been scuttled. Rodon will continue to ramp up his throwing program in the coming days and will eventually try things from the mound if he continues to progress.

Bradley will start for the Rays on Thursday in New York against the Mets, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Ideally, the Rays would probably like to keep Bradley in the minors a little longer as he works on his pitch mix and getting used to a traditional five-day schedule. However, with the big-league club's rotation hit hard by injuries, the team doesn't have much of a choice here. While Bradley struggled lately at Triple-A Durham, he was excellent in his three starts with the Rays earlier this season and will have a shot to remain in the rotation for the long haul.

Severino (lat) will make his season debut for the Yankees on Sunday in Cincinnati, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

Severino went only 3.1 innings in each of his two rehab starts, maxing out at 58 pitches in his last outing Tuesday with Double-A Somerset. That means he'll surely be on a relatively limited pitch count in his season debut, making him a fairly iffy fantasy option at Great American Ball Park. Still, the Yankees and fantasy managers will be happy to get Severino back -- perhaps for the long haul -- if he can manage to avoid more injuries.

Martin announced Wednesday that he underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

The White Sox talked Martin up as a rotation candidate this spring, but he got sent to Triple-A Charlotte before Opening Day and his forearm/elbow began barking after just three starts with the affiliate. Given that Tommy John surgery usually entails a recovery timeline of 14-to-16 months, the 26-year-old will likely be sidelined until well into the second half of the 2024 season.

Rodriguez (4-3) took the loss Wednesday, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks over five innings against the Pirates. He struck out five.

Rodriguez matched a season high with four runs allowed Wednesday after he'd allowed just two runs over his previous six starts (41.2 innings). The 30-year-old left-hander still sports a sparkling 2.06 ERA with a 0.86 WHIP and 52:12 K:BB through 56.2 innings this season. Rodriguez will look to get back on track in his next outing, tentatively scheduled for next week in Kansas City.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said Rucinski is no longer lined up to start Sunday's game in Houston and is instead expected to take the hill Monday in Seattle, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Oakland will use Thursday's off day to reshuffle the rotation, with Kyle Muller moving ahead of Rucinski in the pitching order to stick on a four-day rest schedule between starts. As a result of the change, Rucinski will miss out on a two-start week, though it's unlikely many fantasy managers were including him in lineups after he's gone 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA, 2.28 WHIP and 6:14 K:BB in 18 innings through his first four outings. Though he's tentatively in line to get the start Monday in Seattle, Rucinski could be the odd man out of the rotation as soon as Paul Blackburn (finger) is cleared to return from the 15-day injured list.

Tampa Bay optioned Chirinos to Triple-A Durham on Wednesday.

Chirinos gets the boot from the 26-man active roster after allowing three runs over 4.2 innings in Tuesday's win over the Mets. The Rays added Zack Burdi from Triple-A Durham to provide a fresh arm in the bullpen in the short term, but Tampa Bay will need to bring in another pitcher to fill Chirinos' turn in the rotation in the coming days. Both Taj Bradley and Cooper Criswell could be in store for call-ups from Triple-A Durham in the near future with replacements in the rotation needed for both Chirinos and Drew Rasmussen (elbow).

The Guardians promoted Cantillo from Double-A Akron to Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Cantillo has been electric with Akron so far this season, posting a 1.85 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 35 punchouts over 24.1 innings . The left-hander will now move one step closer to the big leagues and look to remain just as effective at the next level.

Castillo (2-2) took the loss Tuesday, coughing up seven runs (five earned) on six hits -- including three home runs -- and two walks over five innings as the Mariners were downed 9-4 by the Red Sox. He struck out six.

Boston jumped on the right-hander for four runs in the first inning, and after he'd seemed to right the ship, Castillo gave up three more in the fifth. All six hits off him went for extra bases, with Justin Turner, Triston Casas and Jarren Duran all taking him deep. After a great start to the season, Castillo has fallen into a funk, going five straight outings without recording a quality start and posting a 5.67 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over that stretch despite a 32:7 K:BB through 27 innings. He'll get a golden opportunity to turn things around in his next trip to the mound, however, as he's likely to face the A's at home early next week.

Gausman didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Yankees, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out 10.

The veteran right-hander fanned double-digit batters for the fourth time in nine starts, but Gausman exited with the score tied 3-3 and had no chance to earn his third win. The quality start was his fourth in his last five outings and seventh of the year, and he'll take a 3.27 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 77:9 K:BB through 55 innings into his next start, likely to come at home this weekend against the Orioles.