MLB Player News

Rasmussen (personal) was reinstated from the paternity list Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Rasmussen was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday in anticipation of the birth of his first child and is now ready to return to the team. The 27-year-old righty holds a minuscule 1.59 ERA and 0.53 WHIP over his last five starts.

Toussaint was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday.

Toussaint will be sent down to the minors as a corresponding move to the return of Michael Lorenzen from the injured list. The 26-year-old righty holds a 4.62 ERA and 1.34 WHIP on the season and could make a return to the big leagues if the Angels' pitching depth takes a hit before the end of the season.

Lorenzen (shoulder) was reinstated from the 60-day injured list ahead of Friday's start against the Astros.

Lorenzen was on the 60-day IL since early July due to a right shoulder strain, but he recently made three rehab appearances and posted a 7.11 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 12.2 innings. The right-hander lasted six innings during his most recent rehab outing, so it's unlikely that he'll face significant restrictions during Friday's start.

Sears (5-2) took the loss Thursday against the White Sox, allowing six runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out two in two innings.

Sears got off to a rough start as the first two batters he faced, Elvis Andrus and Yoan Moncada, welcomed him with back-to-back homers. In the second, Andrus singled in a run and Moncada launched a three-run shot to give Chicago an early 6-0 lead. Sears had allowed only three home runs in his first 49.1 innings this season but allowed three more Thursday before recording five outs. The poor showing ballooned his ERA from 2.37 to 3.33 for the season. His next start will likely come in the middle of next week on the road against the Rangers.

Cease (14-6) earned the victory Thursday in Oakland, striking out nine over six scoreless innings while allowing three hits and two walks in a 14-2 win.

Cease made it look easy, allowing just one baserunner to reach second base. He's allowed only four hits and four walks while fanning 16 over 15 scoreless innings in September, and during Thursday's outing he passed the 200-strikeout mark for the second consecutive season. The 26-year-old's ERA has dropped to 2.06 for the year and he's certainly in contention for the American League Cy Young award. His next start will likely come in the middle of next week against Colorado.

Cortes (groin) allowed two runs on two hits while striking out two in four innings in a 4-3 loss Thursday against Minnesota. He did not factor into the decision.

In his first outing since Aug. 21, Cortes retired the first 12 batters he faced before giving up consecutive hits to start the fifth. The lefty did not make any rehab starts and it's not surprising that he was removed after throwing 58 pitches. He's allowed two or fewer walks in 15 of his 24 starts this season and has a career-best 5.7 percent walk rate on the year. With New York using a six-man rotation and two upcoming off days, his next start likely won't be until next weekend in Milwaukee.

Gray allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out seven in six innings in a 4-3 win Thursday against the Yankees. He did not factor into the decision.

Miguel Andujar took Gray deep for a two-run shot in the second inning to account for the scoring against Gray. All the other hits he allowed were singles with only one runner reaching scoring position. He's allowed two runs or fewer in eight of his nine starts in the second half and has a 2.27 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 51:17 K:BB in 47.2 innings in that span. His next start will likely be in the middle of next week against Kansas City.

Wentz was recalled from Triple-A Toledo on Thursday.

The 24-year-old was previously announced as the starter for Friday's series opener in Kansas City, and Detroit has now officially added him to the big-league roster. Wentz made his MLB debut in May and allowed six runs over 2.2 innings, but he delivered four scoreless frames in his next outing before returning to the minors.

Ober (groin) will continue his rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul and make his third rehab start Sunday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Ober has made two starts in Single-A Fort Myers and put up a 1.29 ERA and 0.71 WHIP over seven innings with six strikeouts. He will be limited to about 80 pitches in Sunday's outing and should be able to rejoin the Twins within the next week or two.

Sandoval allowed one run on six hits and one walk over five innings but did not factor in the decision against Detroit on Wednesday. He struck out four batters.

Sandoval was solid in the outing, giving up only one run on a Spencer Torkelson homer. The lefty hurler did labor somewhat with 87 pitches over five innings, but he was in line for the win until the Tigers staged a ninth-inning comeback. Sandoval has allowed two or fewer earned runs in each of his past seven starts, posting a 1.67 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 40:14 K:BB across 43 innings during that stretch.