MLB Player News

Valdez was called up from Triple-A Fresno on Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Valdez will swap places with fellow left-hander Cionel Perez, who was optioned to the minors in a corresponding move. The 24-year-old Valdez was scheduled to start for the Grizzlies on Tuesday, so he should be available to pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen for the Astros. He owns a 4.11 ERA across 103 innings between Double- and Triple-A this season.

Kopech was called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday to start against the Twins.

As expected, Kopech was summoned from the minors ahead of his highly-anticipated big-league debut. The flamethrowing 22-year-old compiled a 3.70 ERA and 170:60 K:BB across 24 starts (126.1 innings) with the Knights prior to earning a promotion. Kopech has struggled with his command at times, but he's shown improvement over his last seven starts, walking just four while striking out 59. Even if his ERA and WHIP aren't stellar in his first go around with the White Sox, he has the potential to provide a serious strikeout boost to fantasy owners over the stretch run.

Nicasio (knee) was slated to get a second opinion on his inflamed right knee Monday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Nicasio hit the disabled list Aug. 3 with a recurrence of the knee swelling he'd experienced earlier in the season, and he's been without a timetable for return since. The veteran right-hander has logged 42 innings across 46 appearances so far this season in a setup role in front of closer Edwin Diaz, compiling 19 holds but also taking six losses and blowing six leads along the way. More information on Nicasio's status is likely to be available in the coming days, with the possibility that he's officially shut down for the rest of the season still in play.

Chirinos is not likely to return to the starting rotation this season, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

When asked Monday, manager Kevin Cash cast doubt on the prospect of Chirinos being used as anything other than an emergency starter with respect to being a part of the rotation. The 24-year-old has essentially been logging a starter's workload in recent appearances anyhow, as he's worked at least five innings as the long man on "bullpen days" in his last three appearances. Chirinos has had mixed success in that role thus far, looking sharp against the White Sox and Orioles before getting touched up for five earned runs on nine hits and a walk over six innings versus the Red Sox last Friday.

Cole threw five innings in a no-decision against Seattle on Monday, yielding three runs (two earned) on seven hits, striking out seven and walking two in Houston's 7-4 defeat.

Cole wasn't at his most efficient in this contest, as he needed 99 pitches to make it through his five innings, but he did manage to rack up seven strikeouts over that time to bring his total up to a career-high 226 through 164.2 innings. He was in line for his 12th win of the season before his bullpen relinquished a 4-3 lead. Cole continues to post excellent overall numbers in his first year in Houston, as he now boasts a 2.73 ERA and 1.01 WHIP on the season to go along with the gaudy strikeout numbers.

Kluber (16-6) gave up three runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out six in 6.1 innings Monday in Boston. He picked up the win.

He is now tied with Max Scherzer and Luis Severino for the MLB lead with 16 wins. With five-plus weeks remaining, Kluber could realistically reach the 20-win mark for the first time in his career, even though his 8.6 K/9 and 3.26 FIP are his worst such marks since 2013. He lines up to start Saturday in Kansas City.

Giolito (9-9) gave up three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six in six innings Monday against the Twins. He picked up the win.

He now has quality starts in six of his last eight outings, with a couple blowup starts mixed in. Giolito has lowered his ERA from 6.93 to 6.08 over that stretch, and while he is still a pretty risky play, he can be used in strategic spot starts against weaker lineups down the stretch. Such a matchup is on tap when he faces the Tigers in Detroit on Sunday.

Rodriguez (ankle) will make one more rehab start before rejoining the big-league rotation, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

The talented southpaw did everything he could in his first rehab start to expedite his return to the majors, throwing four scoreless innings Monday for Double-A Portland, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out eight against Double-A New Hampshire. He threw 63 pitches in this outing and will likely try to up that total in his final tuneup. Assuming this timeline holds, Rodriguez could return to Boston's rotation on Aug. 30 or Aug. 31 on the road against the White Sox, or the team could give him a couple extra days and wait for rosters to expand in September.

Rodriguez (ankle) threw four scoreless innings Monday for Double-A Portland, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out eight against Double-A New Hampshire.

He threw 63 pitches (39 strikes) in this excellent rehab start, and reached the four-inning threshold the team had been targeting. Unless the Red Sox knew internally that Rodriguez would be making more than one rehab start regardless of how he pitched in his first one, it seems like he could be making his next start in the big leagues. He had been shut down since July 14 with a severe right ankle sprain. The Red Sox need a spot starter Friday in Tampa Bay, but Rodriguez wouldn't be ready to start until Saturday at the earliest. When he does return, he will likely take Brian Johnson's spot in the rotation.

Paxton (forearm) played catch from 100 feet Monday and may be able to return for next week's series against the A's, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

It was already reported that Paxton threw from roughly 90-to-100 feet, but the notion that next weekend's series in Oakland is the target date is new information. There is no official plan yet for Paxton's next step, but it sounds like he is less than two weeks away from returning, barring any setbacks.