MLB Player News

Valdez was called up to start Thursday's game against the Rangers, Hunter Atkins of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Valdez had a respectable but unremarkable 4.57 ERA in 45.1 innings in the first half, starting four games and appearing in a further 14 in relief. He appears to be the Astros' fifth starter for now, though a trade acquisition by the end of the month remains possible.

McClanahan has posted a 0.31 ERA in five starts (29.1 innings) since being promoted to High-A Charlotte.

Drafted last year with the 31st overall pick, McClanahan joined his first full-season affiliate to begin 2019 and needed only 11 appearances to earn a promotion to High-A. He seems ready for another new challenge. Overall, McClanahan has a 106:35 K:BB and .184 BAA in 82.1 innings. The 22-year-old lefty has a good fastball and two viable secondaries, with decent command. He's among the more notable prospect risers on the pitching side this season.

Mize (shoulder) allowed one hit and two walks over a scoreless two-thirds of an inning during his rehab start at High-A Lakeland on Wednesday, Emily Waldon of The Athletic reports.

The real issue for Mize was his pitch count, as the 32 pitches in less than an inning is a worrying prospect for his first rehab start. The 22-year-old was expected to throw four innings or about 60 pitches, but the laborious first frame led to an early removal rather than risking a setback, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com. Mize figures to require another rehab outing before returning from the 7-day injured list.

Civale landed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Columbus with right shoulder tightness Wednesday.

It's not yet clear how much time Civale is expected to miss. The 24-year-old threw six scoreless innings in his big-league debut back in late June and has a 1.63 ERA in five starts for Columbus.

Valdez is expected to be called up to start Thursday's game against the Rangers, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

With Jose Urquidy getting sent to Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday, the Astros have a gap in the rotation. Valdez is in line to start Thursday and has big-league experience this season, so he's the logical choice. He hasn't been particularly effective in 45.1 major-league innings this season, recording a 4.57 ERA. His 20.8 percent strikeout rate and 9.6 percent walk rate are each slightly worse than average, though his 59.4 percent groundball rate is strong.

Urquidy was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Urquidy struggled in two shorts starts in his first taste of big-league action, allowing seven runs on 14 hits in just six innings of work, though his 8:1 K:BB does at least provide some cause for optimism. The Astros will need a starter for Thursday's game against the Rangers, with Framber Valdez looking likely to get the call.

Manager Scott Servais confirmed that Milone would likely be deployed behind an opener in the southpaw's next scheduled turn through the rotation July 17 in Oakland, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Milone will cover the bulk of the innings for the Mariners' fifth game of the All-Star break, though he'll likely be out of the bullpen in an emergency in the first game of the second half Friday against the Angels. The Mariners' decision to continue using Milone as a non-traditional starter comes as little surprise, given that he's turned in a 3.21 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .198/.219/.406 slash line over his 28 innings of relief.

Stroman (pectoral) said he'll throw a bullpen session Friday before the Blue Jays determine whether he's fit to start Sunday against the Yankees, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Stroman experienced a pectoral cramp in his left (non-throwing) shoulder during his June 29 start against the Royals, prompting the Blue Jays to skip his final turn in the rotation before the All-Star break. While meeting with reporters Monday, Stroman sounded confident that he would be cleared to return for Sunday's game.

Oaks (hip) started a throwing program Sunday, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Oaks underwent hip surgery in March, and he's finally been given the green light to resume throwing. He still has a long road ahead of him, but this is a big step in the right direction.

Suarez allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four over 3.1 innings Sunday, though he didn't factor into the decision.

The two runs Suarez allowed came off a two-run shot by Tony Kemp in the second inning. In the fourth, he walked Max Stassi before hitting Kemp, ending his afternoon. The rookie lefty owns a 5.40 ERA with a 30:13 K:BB in 28.1 innings this season. It's unclear if he'll stick with the rotation after the All-Star break or head back to Triple-A Salt Lake.