MLB Player News

Valdez (3-4) was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock after taking the loss Wednesday against the Pirates, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. He gave up six runs on eight hits across only three innings and had two strikeouts and one walk.

Wednesday's performance made back-to-back poor outings for Valdez, who allowed 11 runs across his last 6.1 innings. The 25-year-old's stint in the starting rotation may have been coming to an end regardless, considering the Astros won't require a fifth starter again until after the All-Star break. Valdez has a 4.57 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 41:19 K:BB over 45.1 major-league innings this season.

Boyd (5-6) allowed four earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out 11 across seven innings to take the loss Wednesday against the Rangers.

Boyd got off to very strong start, striking out five of the first six batters he faced. While his strikeout pace slowed, Boyd managed an impressive 20 swinging strikes on 96 total pitches. However, he was undone by allowing three home runs -- all solo shots -- and has now surrendered at least one homer in five consecutive outings. Boyd's ERA sits at a season-worst mark of 3.72, which he'll try to correct in his next start, currently scheduled for Tuesday at the White Sox.

Bundy (3-10) took the loss Wednesday as the Orioles were downed 10-5 by the Padres, giving up five runs on six hits and three walks over four-plus innings while striking out four.

The right-hander gave up two more long balls, Nos. 18 and 19 on the year in only 84.1 innings (2.03 HR/9), to set the tone for what ended up being a five-homer afternoon for San Diego hitters. Bundy will carry a 4.91 ERA and 90:30 K:BB into his next start Monday in Tampa Bay.

Ramirez (elbow) has extended his rehab assignment, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Ramirez is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, so this allows the right-hander to extend his rehab assignment by another 30 days. As such, the Angels will not activate Ramirez from the injured list before the end of the month, as was originally expected. It's unclear how many additional rehab appearances Ramirez will make before activation, though a return after the All-Star break now seems likely.

Canning is scheduled to make his next start Thursday at home against the Athletics.

Due to an off day Monday, the Angels had the opportunity to reorder their rotation, but they'll elect to break in a new fifth starter (Jaime Barria) for Wednesday's series finale with the Reds rather than waiting until the weekend to do so. As a result, Canning will return to the hill Thursday on five days' rest instead of his normal four and draw a different opponent than fantasy managers may have anticipated heading into the week. The extra day of rest should at least prove beneficial to Canning, who has surrendered 13 runs in 23.1 innings over his last four starts.

Means (shoulder) will be activated from the injured list Friday to start against the Indians, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

As expected, Means has been cleared to rejoin the Orioles this weekend after getting through a bullpen session with no issues Tuesday. It originally wasn't clear which game Means would start, but he'll get the series opener while Andrew Cashner and Gabriel Ynoa start the remaining two games. Prior to landing on the shelf, the southpaw compiled a 2.67 ERA and 1.15 WHIP despite his below-average strikeout rate (20.3 percent).

Carrasco (blood condition) has started playing catch, though the Indians don't yet know when or whether he'll be able to return, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

It's been difficult to get many details on Carrasco's status, as it's a non-baseball medical condition, meaning that the team can't comment on his condition without him disclosing it publicly. He does have a history of heart problems, however, which appear to be connected to his current status.

Heaney (1-1) took the win against Cincinnati on Tuesday, hurling 5.1 innings and giving up one run on five hits and four walks while striking out four.

It was far from an easy outing for Heaney as he once again struggled with his control, allowing four walks and throwing balls on 40 of 101 pitches, but he managed to constantly squeeze out of trouble with the help of a pair of double plays and two runners thrown out on the basepaths (including one at home). Though the 28-year-old has posted an impressive 10.6 K/9 this season, his walk rate (4.1 BB/9) and struggles keeping the ball in the park (eight home runs in 30.2 innings) have held him back considerably. He'll carry a 4.99 ERA and 1.24 WHIP into a home matchup against Oakland on Sunday in his next scheduled start.

Cortes (3-0) earned the win Tuesday versus the Blue Jays after giving up two runs on four hits across 4.1 innings. He had five strikeouts and zero walks.

Cortes followed opener Chad Green and fired four scoreless frames before faltering in the sixth with two runs allowed on three hits. It was still a solid performance for the 24-year-old, who has a 4.10 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 28:6 K:BB over 26.1 innings. According to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic, the Yankees may use an opener for Sunday's game against the Red Sox in London, and Cortes would be a logical candidate to help cover those innings.

Gonzales (9-6) allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits and no walks while striking out four across five innings to earn the win Tuesday against Milwaukee.

Gonzales began and ended his start with trouble, though the run Ryan Braun scored in the first inning was unearned after Braun scored on a throwing error by Kyle Seager. However, Gonzales was also tagged in the fifth frame, allowing a solo home run and three consecutive singles before escaping with only two earned runs. Though he generated only two swinging strikes, Gonzales limited the damage by inducing seven groundball outs. After imploding to allow 16 earned runs across two starts in late May and early June, Gonzales has responded to allow two or fewer earned runs across his last four outings. He'll look to keep that run going in his next start, currently scheduled for Sunday at Houston.