MLB Player News

Blackburn will start Monday's game against the Giants, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Athletics' initial schedule listed Blackburn as the Tuesday starter for this week, but he'll move up a day following the trade of Sonny Gray to the Yankees earlier Monday. Since Blackburn last pitched July 26, he'll still have his normal four days of rest between starts, so he shouldn't face any restrictions with his pitch count. With quality starts in four of his five turns with the Athletics, Blackburn has been an excellent innings eater, but his fantasy appeal has been limited by a porous 3.4 K/9 over that span. The lack of strikeouts certainly won't help his chances of maintaining his sterling 2.25 ERA going forward.

The Yankees agreed to trade Kaprielian to the A's on Monday along with Jorge Mateo and Dustin Fowler in exchange for Sonny Gray, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.

Injuries have dimmed Kaprielian's prospect star considerably -- he battled elbow issues for roughly a year before ultimately undergoing Tommy John surgery in April -- but he has shown flashes of brilliance when on the mound with three plus pitches and strong command. While he's not too far off from resuming a throwing program, the A's figure to be cautious with his recovery, and thus a return to competitive action during the first few months of 2018 is not a lock.

Blackburn is expected to start for the A's on Monday in the place of the recently traded Sonny Gray, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Gray was scheduled to start Monday night against the Giants, but after he was shipped off to the Yankees prior to the trade deadline, Blackburn will start in his stead. Afterward, he seems like a logical candidate to remain in Oakland's rotation. If this news holds up, Blackburn will line up to face Matt Cain in Monday's series opener.

Gray was traded to the Yankees on Monday in exchange for prospects Dustin Fowler (knee), Jorge Mateo, James Kaprelian (elbow) and international signing bonus pool money, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.

The Yankees were considered the frontrunner for Gray's services, but now the deal is official. After a tough 2016 campaign, the right-hander has a 3.43 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 97 innings this season, and he's an especially appealing arm thanks to his remaining years of team control. He'll slot right into the Yankees' rotation for the stretch run, although it's unclear when he'll make his first start in pinstripes.

Gray will be traded to the Yankees prior to the trade deadline Monday, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.

After weeks of negotiation, it appears the A's and Yankees were finally able to strike a deal. No word has come forth as to the exact pieces of the deal, though things should become clear once the trade officially goes through. Gray will slot right into the Yankees' rotation, potentially pushing Jordan Montgomery out of a starting role.

The Tigers said they will not be trading Verlander before Monday's deadline and will examine his market during the winter, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

It appears nothing significant has materialized, so unless Detroit is overwhelmed in the waning hours before the 4 p.m. EDT cutoff, Verlander will remain a Tiger. The club and his fantasy owners can only hope his Sunday gem (six scoreless innings) is a sign of better things to come in the second half.

Montgomery (7-6) lasted just 2.2 innings Sunday against the Rays, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five en route to the loss.

Outside of a 1-2-3 second inning, Montgomery's day was rough to say the least. Both the first and the third frames were high-stress innings for Montgomery, and the fact that he threw just 40 of his 71 pitches for strikes certainly didn't help his cause. A bright spot in all of this is that the 24-year-old didn't allow a home run for the second outing in a row, although his home run rate still is a tad to high for comfort since he allowed at least one longball in the each of the eight starts prior. Montgomery will take a 4.15 ERA into his next scheduled start Friday in Cleveland.

Rodon allowed a single run on six hits and two walks while striking out nine batters through 6.2 innings during Sunday's win over Cleveland. He didn't factor into the decision.

Rodon fanned 11 Cubs through just four innings in his last start, so things appear to be trending in the right direction for the lefty. He owns high-end upside and an impressive 11.6 K/9 through six starts this season, so there aren't many fantasy settings where he can't move the needle. It's not out of the question to be selective with his opponents moving forward, and a tough matchup against Boston at Fenway Park is on deck. However, don't forget that Rodon's pedigree and pitch arsenal are elite.

Paxton (11-3) was dominant in Sunday's win over the Mets, scattering six hits over six shutout innings while striking out eight without a walk.

Paxton didn't allow a single extra-base hit while improving his K:BB to 34:1 over 26 innings in his past four starts. He has morphed into the clear ace of Seattle's pitching staff, earning wins in each of his past six appearances while holding opponents to a total of six runs over 39.1 innings for a 1.37 ERA in that span. His Friday road clash with a Royals team that has won 10 of its past 11 games represents a classic unstoppable force meets immovable object conundrum.

Hammel (5-8) allowed three runs on seven hits with no walks across six innings in Sunday's win over the Red Sox. He struck out six.

Hammel allowed two runs on four hits in the second inning before conceding a solo home run to Rafael Devers in the fifth. He actually left facing a two-run deficit, but a Royals rally in the eighth and some solid work by the bullpen earned him his fifth win. Though Hammel has taken his lumps at times this season, he has now allowed three runs or fewer in 10 of his last 11 starts to lower his ERA to 4.75. Next up for the veteran is a home matchup with the Mariners on Friday.