MLB Player News

The Athletics plan to have Montas (shoulder) make his return to the rotation for a start Saturday or Sunday in Houston, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Montas, who hasn't started since July 3 due to right shoulder soreness, will be available to pitch in the Athletics' final series before the All-Star break after he completed a 25-pitch bullpen session Tuesday without incident. The Oakland coaching staff is still weighing whether to give Montas an additional day of rest following the bullpen session, but he's not expected to face any major workload restrictions regardless of if he takes the hill Saturday or Sunday. His upcoming start could be one of his final ones in an Oakland uniform, as Montas should be one of the most sought-after arms ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline.

Milone will pitch behind opener Erik Swanson during the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Nationals, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Milone was initially listed as Seattle's scheduled starter for Wednesday's nightcap, but he'll instead serve as a bulk reliever. The southpaw has posted a 3.60 ERA and 0.70 WHIP in 10 innings over four appearances for the Mariners this year.

Astros general manager James Click said Wednesday that Whitley sustained no structural damage to his right shoulder after exiting his most recent start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Whitley was diagnosed with inflammation in the shoulder immediately after his departure, and that looks to be the extent of the right-hander's injury after follow-up tests revealed nothing else concerning. Click said he's hopeful that Whitley will be ready to resume throwing after a 7-to-10-day shutdown period, so the right-hander is still likely to land on Sugar Land's 7-day injured list. Once he's cleared to resume throwing, Whitley will likely need at least a few days to ramp back up before Sugar Land clears him to return to game action.

Maeda (elbow) said Wednesday that he's hopeful to resume facing hitters in August and added that he will "most likely" work out of the bullpen if he's reinstated from the 60-day injured list this season, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Maeda provided a loose outline for his rehab program one day after he threw the 10th bullpen session of his rehab program for the alternative Tommy John procedure he underwent Sept. 1 of last year. The right-hander threw all fastballs during his 30-pitch workout Tuesday, so he'll first need to incorporate all of his pitches into his side sessions before the Twins clear him to face hitters in live batting practice. Once he's deemed ready for game action, Maeda will likely need most of the 30-day minor-league rehab window to get ramped up and sharpen his command and control following the year-long layoff. Maeda is in the penultimate season of a eight-year, $25 million contract and will likely want to finish the 2022 campaign on the field so that he can enter spring training healthy and ready to compete for a spot in the Minnesota rotation.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Wednesday that Turnbull (elbow) has recently thrown a couple bullpen sessions at the team's extended spring training complex in Lakeland, Fla., Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Detroit isn't closing the door on Turnbull making enough progress over the next month or two to put himself in position to return from the 60-day injured list in September, but the organization's main goal at this stage is to have him available in full capacity for spring training in 2023. Turnbull underwent Tommy John surgery in late July of last year and likely won't have enough time to build up for a starting role if he were to make a late-season return from the IL.

Detmers is listed as the Angels' scheduled starting pitcher for Thursday's game against the Astros in Anaheim.

The Angels' decision to keep Detmers in the rotation for a second straight turn comes as little surprise after the team optioned fellow starter Chase Silseth to Double-A Rocket City over the weekend. With the Angels shortening their rotation to five men this week ahead of the All-Star break, Detmers was able to stick with the big club over Silseth after he struck out seven over six scoreless innings in Baltimore last Friday. Detmers owns a pedestrian 19.8 percent strikeout rate in the majors this season, but he's recaptured his swing-and-miss stuff over his past two outings between the Angels and Triple-A Salt Lake, racking up 21 punchouts over 12 frames.

Manning (shoulder) is scheduled to make his next rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Toledo, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

The Tigers plan to have two of their rehabbing starters pitch for Toledo that day, as Rony Garcia (shoulder) is scheduled to piggyback Manning in the outing. Manning has resided on the injured list since April 20, initially due to right shoulder discomfort. He's had his return date pushed back due to a bout of lightheadedness along with right biceps tendinitis, but Manning was cleared to restart his rehab assignment Tuesday with Single-A Lakeland. In his first game action since May 24, Manning covered two scoreless innings and gave up one hit and one walk. Following his upcoming start Sunday, he's expected to make one or two additional turns through the Toledo rotation following the All-Star break before likely rejoining the Tigers in early August.

Bieber (4-5) picked up the win in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the White Sox, allowing one run on three hits over nine innings in a 4-1 victory. He struck out seven.

The right-hander delivered a Maddux in his first win since June 3, needing only 95 pitches (72 strikes) in his fourth career complete game and first since 2019. Bieber had stumbled to a 4.55 ERA over his prior five starts, but on the season he still sports a 3.24 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 106:25 K:BB through 105.2 innings.

Bradley's string of three consecutive scoreless outings came to an end Tuesday after he allowed two runs in three innings against Double-A Birmingham, but he holds a 1.70 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 88:18 K:BB for the season.

Bradley tossed six scoreless frames in each game of that streak and had given up just two unearned runs in the start before, so he actually had gone 22 straight innings without giving up an earned run before Tuesday. Already a big riser after last year's breakout, Bradley's 2022 performance to this point has cemented his status as one of baseball's top pitching prospects. He'll represent the Rays organization in the Futures Game this weekend.

Cease (8-4) picked up the win in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Guardians, allowing five hits and three walks over 5.2 scoreless innings in a 7-0 victory. He struck out nine.

The right-hander continued an incredible run that has seen him give up one earned run or fewer in nine straight starts. Cease has seen his ERA drop from 4.24 to 2.30 over that stretch, and on the season, he also boasts a 1.24 WHIP and 34.4 percent strikeout rate that is second only to Tampa Bay's Shane McClanahan (36.0 percent) among big-league starting pitchers.