MLB Player News

Sale (5-1) was charged with the loss against the Orioles on Tuesday after surrendering three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out six across 5.1 innings.

Sale blanked the Orioles through the first five frames, but trouble struck in the sixth inning when a two-run homer by Ryan Mountcastle blemished the scoreboard. It marked the first time all season the southpaw allowed as many as three runs, leading to his first loss. Sale, who missed the first four months of the season due to Tommy John surgery, has put up solid numbers in his eight appearances, pitching to the tune of a 2.90 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. He'll look to rebound during his next projected start Sunday at Washington.

Singer was removed from Tuesday's start against Cleveland with right upper arm discomfort, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Singer surrendered three runs on three hits and a walk during the first inning, and he was lifted with the injury after recording only two outs. The right-hander lined up to start the final game of the regular season Sunday against the Twins, but his availability for his final turn through the rotation is now unclear.

Taillon was removed during the third inning of Tuesday's start against the Blue Jays after appearing to aggravate his right ankle injury, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Taillon was sidelined the past three weeks with a right ankle tendon injury before being activated for Tuesday's outing, and he appeared to aggravate the injury and exited with an athletic trainer after recording only seven outs. He allowed one run on one hit with two strikeouts and a walk before leaving the game, and he won't factor in the decision. More importantly, the right-hander's availability is now up in the air for the final turn through the rotation as well as a potential postseason run.

Ober was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, ending his 2021 season, Brandon Warne of Access Twins reports.

Ober lined up for one final start of the season this week, but his rookie campaign will instead come to an unceremonious end due to the hip issue. The 26-year-old had a strong showing in his first taste of the majors with a 4.19 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 96:19 K:BB across 92.1 innings (20 starts). He'll have more than four months to get healthy before the start of spring training, where he should have an inside track to a rotation spot for 2022.

Manager Alex Cora said that Whitlock (pectoral) made about 60 throws while playing catch Tuesday and that the right-hander could be activated from the 10-day injured list during the upcoming weekend series against the Nationals, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Cora noted that Whitlock is not expected to be ready to be activated when first eligible Thursday. So long as the right-hander is indeed able to return during the final regular-season series in Washington, he should be a candidate to log high-leverage postseason innings should Boston qualify. Whitlock posted an impressive 1.99 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 79:17 K:BB to go along with three saves and 15 holds before moving to the IL with a pectoral strain Sept. 21.

Manager Dusty Baker said Tuesday that Greinke (neck) will "probably not" make another regular-season start and that that there is a "distinct possibility" the right-hander works out of the bullpen during the playoffs, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Astros previously expressed hope that Greinke would return to the starting rotation by the end of the regular season, but Baker's latest update suggests that he may be unlikely to return before the playoffs. Greinke struggled severely in his last three starts before landing on the IL last Friday, allowing 18 earned runs on 19 hits and six walks across 13 innings. WIth those woes in mind, it's easy to see why Houston thinks the seasoned right-hander could be better suited for a bullpen role during the postseason. Per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Greinke is expected to make a rehab outing with Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday before his next steps are determined.

The Twins plan to reinstate Ryan from the bereavement list to make his final start of the season Thursday against the Tigers, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Minnesota may wait all the way until Thursday before adding Ryan back to the 28-man active roster, but the rookie right-hander shouldn't be subject to any major restrictions for what will be his final outing of 2021. He dazzled his last time out Sept. 22 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, covering five innings and giving up two runs while striking out 11 en route to collecting his second win in four starts.

Ryu (neck) was activated from the injured list as expected ahead of his scheduled start Tuesday against the Yankees.

Ryu will wind up missing just a single turn in the rotation due to a neck strain, an issue which was seemingly a minor one. The trip to the injured list may have been as much about clearing his head as anything, as the lefty owns an 8.10 ERA over his last eight starts and was particularly poor in his last two, giving up a combined 12 runs in just 4.1 innings of work. The Blue Jays will need Ryu to be at his best Tuesday, as they trail the Yankees by two games for the first wild-card spot and trail the Red Sox by one game for the second.

Kikuchi's turn in the rotation is being skipped Tuesday and he may not make another start this season.

Tyler Anderson is starting Tuesday on short rest while top prospect Matt Brash was called up to piggyback Anderson. Logan Gilbert is listed as Wednesday's starter, so all signs point to Kikuchi moving to the bullpen over the final few games of the season. The 30-year-old lefty has a 7.82 ERA, 2.29 WHIP and 14:9 K:BB in 12.2 innings over his last four starts.

Anderson is scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Athletics in Seattle, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Seattle looks set to shorten its rotation to four men for the final week of the season as it attempts to secure a wild-card berth. The struggling Yusei Kikuchi is expected to move to the bullpen, while Anderson will return to the hill on three days' rest to take the hill Tuesday. In his last start Saturday against the Angels, Anderson was blasted for nine runs over two innings, but because the lefty tossed only 54 pitches in that outing, he may not face significant restrictions with his workload versus Oakland.