MLB Player News

German (shoulder) will begin a minor-league rehab assignment Tuesday, Justin Shackil of SiriusXM reports.

German's shoulder strain has kept him out of game action since the end of July, so it is unlikely that he'll have enough time to build back up as a starter. However, if the right-hander's rehab stint goes well, he could rejoin the Yankees in a relief role before the end of the regular season.

Seabold was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

The righty made his MLB debut in a spot start Saturday, going three innings and allowing two runs on three hits. Barring additional COVID-19 cases in Boston's rotation, Seabold figures to remain with Worcester for the remainder of the season. Nick Pivetta (COVID-19) was activated to fill Seabold's roster spot and start Sunday's game.

Kluber allowed four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six across four innings in the win over the Mets on Saturday. He did not factor into the decision.

Kluber surrendered a home run in the third inning to Javier Baez. He allowed three runs in the second inning, and it took him 82 pitches to get through four frames. The 35-year-old has not thrown more than four innings in his three starts since returning from the 60-day injured list with a shoulder injury. He has a 4.02 ERA and 1.31 WHIP with 72 strikeouts in 65 innings.

Flexen (11-6) took the loss in Saturday's 7-3 defeat at the hands of the Diamondbacks, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings.

Flexen was staked to an early 2-1 lead and was cruising until encountering trouble in the fourth inning, when the first four Diamondbacks reached base and Daulton Varsho later homered. This was the 25-year-old's first start where he surrendered more than three runs since July 27, also his last loss. He'll look to get back on track against Kansas City next weekend.

Whitlock (8-3) allowed one hit and one walk over two scoreless innings to pick up the win over the White Sox on Saturday.

Whitlock bounced back after being part of a spectacular meltdown by the Red Sox five days earlier. Saturday's game took on a similar feel -- Boston jumped to a big lead early, only to let the opponent back in with shoddy fielding and suspect relief pitching -- but Whitlock prevented any late damage in this one. Despite some recent hiccups, Whitlock is viewed as a key piece to Boston's late-game strategy.

Kopech walked one and struck out five over 2.1 scoreless relief innings in Saturday's 9-8 extra-inning loss to Boston.

The White Sox dug into the bullpen early because starter Dylan Cease was tagged for seven runs in the third inning and had shaky command throughout. Kopech has been hammered recently, watching his ERA jump to 4.00 following a stretch in which he allowed 17 runs in 12.2 innings, but showed no such struggles this weekend against Boston. Kopech fanned seven over a combined three scoreless innings Friday and Saturday. With some cracks showing in the rotation, Kopech could be a big multi-inning piece during the postseason.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa said it's uncertain when Rodon will pitch next, Brian Sandalow of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Those were La Russa's comments prior to Friday's win over Boston, which the manager described as "very important" for many reasons. Apparently, the team would like to evaluate how Rodon feels following the start to determine his next outing. That the manager is considering a six-man rotation, per Sandalow, is a sign that he wants to build in an extra day of rest for Rodon, who is 7-2 with a 1.69 ERA with six or more days of rest. The White Sox don't have another open date until Sept. 27, and Rodon is up to 124.2 innings after throwing 42.1 combined over the last two seasons. Questions about his durability arose last month, when Rodon experienced a drop in velocity and missed time due to shoulder fatigue. The left-hander is tentatively scheduled to pitch Friday on six days rest, and by adding Reynaldo Lopez to the rotation, Rodon could get an extra day for the remainder of the season.

Cease didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 9-8 loss to the Red Sox, surrendering seven runs on four hits and five walks over 2.2 innings. He struck out five.

The right-hander tossed only 40 of 71 pitches for strikes in his worst outing of the season, but Cease was taken off the hook for his eighth loss when the White Sox rallied from a 7-2 deficit to tie the score in the fourth inning. Fatigue could be a factor for the 25-year-old, as his 151.1 innings so far in 2021 is a career high and a huge jump from last year's 58.1 IP, but it's only a small increase on his 2019 workload. On the bright side, he did reach 200 strikeouts for the first time with Saturday's performance, and on the year he sports a 4.22 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 202:64 K:BB.

Seabold didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 9-8 extra-inning win over the White Sox, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks over three innings. He failed to strike out a batter.

Making his big-league debut, the right-hander was held to 43 pitches (27 strikes) before getting pulled with Boston ahead 7-2, but the bullpen promptly allowed Chicago to tie things up with a five-run fourth inning. Seabold didn't fool anyone in this outing, but his chances of making another start next week for the Red Sox will depend more on whether Chris Sale or Nick Pivetta will be cleared to come off the COVID-19 list rather than his own performance.

Wells (2-2) took the loss in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader versus Toronto. He allowed four runs on three hits and a walk with one strikeout in 1.1 innings.

The right-hander was able to get the last out in the sixth inning without trouble, but Toronto teed off on him in the seventh, capped by George Springer's go-ahead two-run home run. Wells took his second blown save and second loss of the year after the disastrous outing. He has a 3.86 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 64:11 K:BB across 53.2 innings this year, and Saturday's poor outing ended his 10.2-inning scoreless streak. The 27-year-old will still likely see high-leverage opportunities during the last three weeks of the season.