MLB Player News

Rodon (shoulder) will embark on a rehab assignment with Low-A Kannapolis on Saturday, Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald reports.

Rodon has been pitching in extended spring training since the end of April and will likely require a couple stints in the minors before making his 2018 debut with the White Sox after undergoing shoulder surgery in September. If all goes according to plan, Rodon could return to the big leagues near the end of May.

Hamels has been scratched from Thursday's start against the White Sox due to neck stiffness.

Doug Fister will move up in the rotation to start in Hamels' place Thursday, leaving Friday's starter to be determined. The severity of the issue remains unclear at this point.

German will work out of the bullpen during the Yankees' three-game series with the Royals that begins Friday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

After an off-day Monday and a postponement of Wednesday's game against the Nationals, the Yankees opted to deploy a four-man rotation this week, resulting in German's start being skipped. Despite being tagged for six runs in five innings his last time out May 12 against the Athletics, German isn't in any immediate danger of losing his rotation spot with Jordan Montgomery (elbow) unlikely to be activated from the 10-day disabled list until late June. After his brief move to the bullpen over the weekend, German will line up for his next start Tuesday against the Rangers in Texas.

Verlander (5-2) allowed just five hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in a complete-game shutout victory Wednesday over the Angels.

Verlander has lasted eight innings twice -- April 15 against Texas and May 1 against the Yankees -- but Wednesday marked Verlander's first complete game of 2018 and his first shutout since August 26, 2015 with the Tigers. The fastball was dominant for Verlander, as it topped out at 98.4 mph and induced 10 of his 14 swinging strikes. Even at 35 years old, Verlander is proving he still has the velocity to lock down major league lineups. His ERA is down to a ludicrous 1.05 and he'll look to keep his hot start going Wednesday in an interleague battle against the Giants.

Sale (4-1) allowed two runs on two hits and four walks with nine strikeouts through just five innings to pick up the win Wednesday over the A's.

Sale was a bit wild, as he needed 102 pitches to get through just five innings, but he was as nasty as usual. His fastball alone induced 10 swinging strikes in 66 offerings. Sale was, however, touched up for a two-run homer by Marcus Semien, the sixth homer he has allowed in his last six starts. Sale has been extremely effective despite the home run problem -- he owns a 3.07 ERA powered by a ridiculous 56:10 K:BB over 41 innings in those six starts -- but Sale can go from a great pitcher to arguably the best in baseball if he can find a way to keep the ball in the yard. His next start will come Tuesday against the Rays.

Paxton recently dealt with food poisoning but is feeling much better according to manager Scott Servais, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

The southpaw followed up his May 8 no-hitter versus the Blue Jays with a quality start against the Tigers last Sunday, so he's continued to roll along despite apparently dealing with the illness at some point. Manager Scott Servais confirmed the worst is behind Paxton, and that he's putting in his usual work ahead of a scheduled start against the Tigers on Friday.

Blackburn (forearm) will throw to minor-league hitters sometime Thursday according to manager Bob Melvin, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Blackburn was originally set to throw a batting practice session next Monday, but the timetable for him to face hitters appears to have been bumped up. The 24-year-old right-hander has been sidelined since late in spring training, and he's apparently been making steady progress since beginning a throwing program in mid-April.

Lynn (1-4) took the loss against the Cardinals on Wednesday, allowing three runs on four hits and four walks over three innings while striking out five.

While the strikeouts were at least vaguely encouraging, Lynn was once again unable to locate the ball in the strike zone with any consistency, throwing 46 of 82 pitches for strikes in yet another early exit. The right-hander has lasted six innings in only two of his eight starts for the Twins, putting tremendous pressure on the team's bullpen, and barring a drastic turnaround in his 7.0 BB/9, it's hard to see how Lynn can keep his rotation spot much longer. Nonetheless, he's penciled in for his next trip to the mound Tuesday at home against the Tigers.

Bergman pitched seven scoreless innings Wednesday, striking out five and allowing two hits in the loss to the Rangers. He did not factor into the decision.

Called up earlier in the day for a spot start, Bergman was fantastic, taking a perfect game through 4.2 innings and ultimately allowing just two baserunners in all. The 30-year-old hasn't had much success in the majors before and posted a 5.34 ERA with Triple-A Tacoma in 16 starts last season, so the dominant outing certainly comes as a welcome surprise. It's unclear if Bergman will remain with the big-league club going forward, but he may have done enough to earn a second start on the heels of Wednesday's performance.

Lewicki tossed four scoreless innings of relief in Wednesday's 6-0 loss to Cleveland, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out four.

The 26-year-old, just called back up from Triple-A Toledo the day before, was as good as Wednesday's starter Ryan Carpenter was bad, and Lewicki's yeoman efforts gave the rest of the Tigers' bullpen a well-deserved rest. He's been in the rotation this year for Toledo, albeit with a shaky 5.06 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 32 innings, and while this stay in the majors will likely be a brief one, he could have put himself in position for a future spot start with this performance.