MLB Player News

Civale (finger) is throwing from 105 feet, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

Civale has been on the IL since June 24 with a sprained right middle finger. He was initially slated to miss 4-5 weeks, so he figures to still be a week or two away from a rehab assignment. Friday's update marks the first word of him throwing since suffering the injury, and the next step will likely be for him to throw a bullpen session. An early August return to the Cleveland rotation remains the most likely scenario.

Bassitt is no longer starting Friday against Cleveland, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The A's will send Sean Manaea to the mound Friday and follow him with Frankie Montas on Saturday. The shuffle could be due to Bassitt throwing 24 pitches in Tuesday's All-Star Game, though the club has yet to comment on the change. Per Martin Gallegos of MLB.com, manager Bob Melvin said that Bassitt has an "excellent chance" of starting Sunday's series finale.

Montgomery will be the starting pitcher for Friday's game against Boston, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

There were previously question marks on whether Friday's game would be played after Thursday's matchup was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns within the Yankees' clubhouse. The two clubs wound up getting the green light to take the field, and it will be the left-handed Montgomery opening the set for New York. While he enters Friday on a three-start losing streak, he punched out nine during a quality start against Seattle in his last outing before the break.

Rodriguez will start Friday's game against the Yankees, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Rodriguez was slated to start Thursday before that contest was postponed, and he'll simply be pushed back a day to start Friday. The left-hander has a 5.52 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 104:21 K:BB across 89.2 innings this season and will attempt to turn things around in the second half.

Ober won't start during the three-game series against the Tigers this weekend, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

The right-hander was originally penciled in as Saturday's starter, but he'll be pushed back following the postponement of Friday's doubleheader. Charlie Barnes and Kenta Maeda will start in Saturday's twin bill, while J.A. Happ pitches Sunday. The Twins have another doubleheader on tap Monday versus the White Sox, so Ober should be back on the mound before too long.

Hancock did not pitch in the Futures Game due to a shoulder injury, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto says the injury is minor and there is no structural damage. Hancock last pitched June 25 and dealt with a minor shoulder injury earlier this season as well. He has a 2.42 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 25:11 K:BB in 26 innings through seven appearances at High-A.

Maeda won't pitch in Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader against the Tigers since it was postponed due to inclement weather, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Neither game of the twin bill will be played with rain in the forecast all day. One of the contests will be made up via a doubleheader Saturday, while the other game is pushed to Aug. 30. According to Dan Hayes of The Athletic, Maeda will simply be pushed back a day and start Game 2 of Saturday's twin bill.

Urena won't start the first game of Friday's doubleheader against the Twins after it was postponed due to inclement weather, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Urena was poised to start the first game out of the All-Star break for Detroit, but the twin bill was called off due to rain. One of the contests will be made up via a doubleheader Saturday, while the other will be played Aug. 30. The Tigers haven't announced their updated pitching plans, but Urena should still pitch at some point against Minnesota this weekend.

Luzardo allowed seven earned runs on seven hits, four walks and three hit batsman over 4.2 innings in Triple-A Las Vegas' loss to Reno on Wednesday. He struck out one.

The red flags surrounding Luzardo abound at this point, as he surprisingly can't even seem to get hitters out consistently at the Triple-A level after pitching his way into a demotion from the Athletics in the latter part of June. Luzardo has now allowed seven earned runs apiece in two of his last three starts, and the fact he threw just 50 of 96 pitches for strikes Wednesday while plunking a trio of batters perfectly encapsulates how shaky matters are for him at the moment. The young southpaw had offered some reason for optimism when he gave up just one unearned run over 4.1 innings in the start prior to Wednesday's, but the regression versus Reno was a stark reminder of how long a path he may now have to get back to the major-league club.

Means (shoulder) threw three innings and 74 pitches in his rehab outing with Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday, Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com reports.

This outing was Means' second rehab outing, and he utilized the appearance to increase his pitch count. Means has been out since June 6, though reports suggest he could work up to 90 pitches upon his return to the big-league rotation. He remains on track to be activated at some point during the team's series with the Rays beginning July 19.