MLB Player News

Snell (shoulder) is on track to throw a bullpen session Sunday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

He took the first step in his recovery by playing catch Thursday, and plans to increase the distance and intensity over the next two days before Sunday's bullpen session. Snell said his shoulder felt "a lot better" after playing catch. If all goes well, he is expected to slot back into the Rays' rotation Tuesday or Wednesday against the Angels.

Whitley (oblique) said he's close to returning from injury, although the organization has not commented on a possible return date, Jeremy Carranco of the San Antonio Express-News reports.

Whitley said he hasn't felt any pain since he started a throwing program about a week after first sustaining the injury July 6. The right-hander remains the top pitching prospect for the Astros and arguably in MLB, but 2018 has not been kind to him. He missed the first 50 games for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program before missing three weeks due to this injury. The delays will alter his arrival time in Houston, though a late-season callup in 2019 is still possible.

Gibson (5-7) allowed one earned run on four hits and two walks while striking out seven across eight innings to earn the win Thursday against the Red Sox.

Gibson recorded 18 of his 24 outs via either groundball or strikeout, limiting the Red Sox's potent lineup to one extra-base hit. This marks the second time in his past three starts that Gibson has worked eight innings and surrendered only one run. He is in the midst of a career-best season across nearly every statistic, recording a 3.42 ERA and 1.21 WHIP across 129 innings to go along with 126 strikeouts.

Cobb (2-14) allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits and a walk while striking out two across six innings to take the loss Thursday against the Rays.

Cobb worked three innings without surrendering a hit, but things unraveled in the fourth inning as he allowed three hits and two runs. He bounced back to record scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth innings, but was surprisingly brought out again in the seventh inning when he surrendered his final two runs. Despite the decent performance, Cobb wasn't deceptive, generating only six swinging strikes. He has an ugly 6.08 ERA and 1.56 WHIP through 103.2 innings, severely limiting his fantasy value.

Gray will undergo a precautionary X-ray on Thursday, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports.

The righty took a comebacker off his pitching thumb during Thursday's outing against the Royals. Gray's night was finished after five scoreless innings with five strikeouts after taking the comebacker off the thumb and also laboring through a couple of innings. Manager Aaron Boone said that Gray was examined by team doctors, who believe the ball did not hit him directly in the thumb. Regardless, the Yankees will be cautious and send him for X-rays to confirm that there is no significant damage.

Hamels' trade to the Cubs has been agreed upon and is a done deal pending medicals, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.

The Cubs emerged as the leading candidate for Hamels' services this week and moved quickly to get a deal done. Per Passan, the Rangers will eat a large portion of Hamels' remaining salary and receive a haul of minor league prospects, whose names have yet to be disclosed. The deal will be made official once the medicals go through.

Bundy will take the mound against Tampa Bay on Sunday, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Bundy only threw 30 pitches during Wednesday's outing before the game was postponed due to inclement weather. Since he didn't come close to a normal workload, manager Buck Showalter felt comfortable putting him back out there with three days of rest for Sunday's series finale. Yefry Ramirez will now take the hill against the Yankees on Tuesday.

General manager Brian Cashman said German left Thursday's Triple-A start due to biceps tendinitis, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

German was removed from the contest after throwing just one pitch in the second inning. Cashman added that this was just a "preliminary report" so he denied to comment on German's status in any way. The club will likely announce an update on his condition after he's been further evaluated. It's also worth noting the Yankees traded for J.A. Happ on Thursday, so German's path to major-league starts in the short term appears to be closed right now on a couple of levels.

The Cubs are trying to trade for Hamels, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Hamels can veto trades to several teams, but the Cubs aren't one of them, which removes a level of complication. The left-hander has been hit hard over his last five starts, but that apparently hasn't impacted interest in him as the trade deadline approaches.

German exited Thursday's start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with an undisclosed injury, Conor Foley of The Scranton Times-Tribune reports.

Foley also added that German's first pitch of the second inning was a fastball at 89 mph, which prompted a visit by the team trainer. More information should come to light on his status once he's able to be evaluated in the coming hours. This marked German's first start of the year at the Triple-A level after he was optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday.