MLB Player News

Rodriguez (ankle) will throw live batting practice Wednesday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Rodriguez had encouraging bullpen sessions over the weekend in Baltimore and now moves onto face batters. This could be the final step before the left-hander makes a rehab start. Depending on how many starts the team wants for him, Rodriguez could be back in Boston's rotation by the end of next week.

Baz was traded from the Pirates to the Rays as the player to be named later in the Chris Archer deal, Jon Heyman of FancredSports.com reports.

As expected, the PTBNL in the Archer deal is better than the typical final piece in a deal like this, as Baz was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2017 draft and netted a slightly over-slot $4.1 million bonus. He has struggled with his command/control as a pro, walking 37 batters in 69 innings across stops in the Gulf Coast League and Appalachian League. However, as a 19-year-old with frontline-caliber stuff, it's not that surprising that he is still honing that aspect of pitching. Baz has 50 strikeouts in 45.1 innings in the Appy League this year, and had fanned 12 over 9.2 scoreless innings in his last two starts for Bristol. He slots in behind Brent Honeywell, Brendan McKay and Matthew Liberatore as the fourth-best pitching prospect in a stacked Rays farm system.

Keller (5-5) allowed one run on four hits and two walks across seven innings Monday to earn the win against the Blue Jays. He struck out four.

Keller conceded a solo home run to the second batter he faced, but he got in a groove and silenced the visitors for the rest of the evening. He struggled to throw strikes at times, but he invited plenty of weak contact and got timely outs to minimize the damage against him. Keller has taken his lumps at times this season, but he's now delivered three quality starts in his last five outings to bring his ERA to 3.40. He'll look to continue his recent success this weekend against the White Sox.

Gonzales (12-8) allowed four earned runs on eight hits and three walks over five innings in the Mariners' 7-6 loss to the Athletics on Monday. He struck out four.

That's two consecutive shaky outings for the young lefty, who's dropped three straight decisions overall for the first time all season. Gonzales failed to make it into the sixth inning for the second time in as many starts as well, with some rather uncharacteristic control issues partly to blame Monday. The three free passes that the 26-year-old handed out were his most since a May 28 start versus the Rangers, and the second most he's issued in an outing all season. The one silver lining versus Oakland was that Gonzales completely stayed away from the long ball after having surrendered a combined six home runs across his previous four starts. He'll look to rebound and secure his first win of August in a scheduled turn against the Dodgers next Saturday.

Heaney held the Padres to two runs on four hits while walking one and striking out six over 7.1 innings Monday. He did not factor in the decision in an extra-inning win.

Heaney bounced back after giving up five runs in his last outing, but unlike in that start, he was not given enough run support to pick up the win. The oft-injured southpaw has not only stayed healthy this season (22 starts), but he has also put together fantasy-relevant numbers with a 3.88 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and a career-best 3.7 K/BB ratio over 134.2 innings. Heaney is slated to make his next start on the road against the Rangers this Saturday.

Clevinger (8-7) allowed two runs on five hits and six walks while striking out four across five innings as he notched the win Monday against Cincinnati.

Clevinger gave up two solo homers prior to exiting in the fifth inning with 101 pitches (54 strikes), although he likely would've worked deeper into the game had he not issued a season-high six walks. Despite this, he's thrown the ball well of late, surrendering three or fewer runs in each of his previous five outings. Clevinger owns a 3.38 ERA and 1.23 WHIP with 148 punchouts through 151.2 frames in 2018. His next outing lines up for Sunday against Baltimore.

Severino (15-6) allowed four runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out six across four innings as he was saddled with the loss Monday against the Mets.

Severino gave up two runs in the first inning, and a two-run homer in the fourth prior to being lifted with 98 pitches (64 strikes). Despite picking up the victory his last turn through the rotation, Severino has surrendered three or more runs in his previous seven outings, going 2-4 over that stretch. He'll look to return to form in his next performance, which is slated for Saturday against Toronto.

Lewicki did not factor into the decision in Monday's 9-5 win over the White Sox, as he allowed three earned runs on six hits over 4.2 innings. He walked three and struck out three.

Lewicki recently slid into the starting rotation when the team traded away Mike Fiers, and the 26-year-old righty looked mediocre in this outing. He has a 4.89 ERA for the season, and after posting a 6.10 mark in limited time at the MLB level last year, there isn't reason for optimism. However, Lewicki should stick in the rotation for now, with his next appearance scheduled for Saturday against the Twins on the road.

Blackburn (elbow) played catch Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Blackburn managed to participate in some light throwing for the first time since landing on the disabled list July 8 due to right elbow lateral epicondylitis. After being shut down from pitching for over a month, he'll need to toss a few bullpens and face live hitters before the Athletics can send him out on a rehab assignment, although manager Doug Melvin is hopeful that Blackburn will toe the rubber prior to the conclusion of the 2018 season. More updates on his status should emerge as he continues to take steps in his throwing program.

Montgomery (elbow) was shifted to the 60-day DL on Monday, Marc Carig of The Athletic reports.

This is strictly a housekeeping move since Montgomery has already been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in early June. George Kontos was added to the active roster in a subsequent move.