MLB Player News

Musgrove may not make another start this season, the Houston Chronicle's Jake Kaplan reports.

According to Kaplan, Brad Peacock and Collin McHugh are expected to start Friday and Saturday, respectively, with Sunday's starter yet to be announced. Musgrove would have lined up to start Saturday, and while he could still start Sunday, the fact that McHugh is starting Saturday suggests that Astros may be opting to shut Musgrove down. It would be hard to fault them, as Musgrove sits at 147.1 innings on the season, across Double-A, Triple-A and the majors, after throwing just 100.2 innings in 2015.

Gray (forearm) was reinstated from the 15-day DL in advance of Wednesday's start against the Angels.

Gray is set to start Wednesday's game, but he is only expected to throw one or two innings, as this essentially serves as a rehab outing. He won't be very useful for fantasy purposes Wednesday, but the fact that he is healthy enough to make the start serves as a positive indicator for his health heading into the offseason.

Nolasco (8-14) allowed one unearned run on five hits and two walks over eight innings in a win Tuesday over the Athletics.

Nolasco is ending the season on absolute fire. He hasn't allowed an earned run in his past three starts, and he also threw a complete game shutout August 31 against the Reds. He owns a 1.47 ERA with a 31:8 K:BB innings since then, a performance that should all but certainly earn him a spot in the Angels' rotation next season.

Cobb (1-2) allowed eight runs on eight hits and two walks and lasted just three innings in a loss Tuesday against the White Sox.

Cobb has allowed 15 runs over 4.1 innings in his past two starts after a promising beginning to his injury shortened 2016. He was touched up for a pair of home runs and has now allowed five in as many starts. His ERA is a brutal 8.59, a hard number to believe after he posted a 2.87 ERA in 166.1 innings last season.

Sale (17-9) allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out seven over seven innings in a win Tuesday over Tampa Bay.

Sale has now thrown quality starts in all but one of his past nine starts and has walked either one or zero batters in all but two of those outings. However, Sale has been a bit susceptible to the home run battle in this stretch. He has now allowed seven home runs in those nine starts and 25 in 31 starts on the season as a whole. His 3.21 ERA ranks seventh in the American League, and if not for his troubles keeping the ball in the yard, Sale could be the leader himself.

Gausman (8-12) pitched six innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits while walking two and striking out five in Tuesday's loss to Toronto.

The first three runs Gausman surrendered Tuesday were the result of a pair of homers. That makes two straight starts -- and seven total on the year -- in which the righty has served up two or more longballs. Gausman's 1.28 WHIP is not as great as it first appears when considering the 25-year-old owns a 1.4 HR/9 through 172.1 innings. It's no coincidence that his best stretch of the year (5-0 in six starts from Aug. 18 to Sept. 14) was when he managed a 0.5 HR/9 over 39.2 innings. If Gausman can't keep the ball in the park, then his otherwise strong numbers will consistently go to waste.

Clevinger is moving to the bullpen after giving up five runs in two innings in his start Tuesday against the Tigers, the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Zack Meisel reports.

This move may have been in the works regardless of how Clevinger pitched Tuesday, but he sealed the deal with his poor start. The Indians are going with bullpen games Wednesday and Thursday, likely followed by Josh Tomlin, Trevor Bauer and Adam Plutko this weekend. It's too soon to write off Clevinger as a starter long term, as he has quality stuff and has had good results in the minors, but he didn't do much to help his case as a big-league starter, posting a 5.08 ERA in 39 innings coming into Tuesday's game.

Verlander (16-8) silenced the Indians for 7.2 innings, allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out 12 in Tuesday's victory.

Some might contribute Verlander's success Tuesday to the hangover the Indians were feeling following their division-clinching victory Monday. Such an assumption may be fair for a run-of-the-mill pitcher, but Verlander has been one of the most dominant arms in the game for more than a decade, and 2016 has been no different. Verlander's career has been drenched in HOF-worthy accolades (including the 2006 AL ROY, 2011 AL Cy Young and 2011 AL MVP), yet he was able to add another feat to his towering list of accomplishments with his latest performance. Verlander's 12 punchouts against the Indians marked the eighth time this year he's whiffed 10-plus batters in a start, a new career high for the 33-year-old. He's scheduled to start the season finale Sunday in Atlanta.

Clevinger (2-3) was hammered for five runs on seven hits over just two innings Tuesday against the Tigers. He walked two and struck out two in the loss.

After a pair of short but respectable outings, Clevinger was tagged with his worst start of the season Tuesday. The 25-year-old allowed two runs in the first frame before surrendering a three-run blast to Miguel Cabrera in the second. Clevinger's disastrous start will likely be overlooked by manager Terry Francona as the team is running short on healthy arms and doesn't have many options outside of the right-hander. He's scheduled to start the regular-season finale in Kansas City on Sunday.

Kluber's MRI Tuesday revealed a mild quad strain and he will return to game action in 7-to-10 days, ruling him out for the rest of the regular season.

This means Kluber won't return until Game 1 or Game 2 of the ALDS, meaning owners in single-season leagues can cut bait. The Indians are going with bullpen games in their next two, with Trevor Bauer starting Saturday and Josh Tomlin starting either Friday or Sunday, so there's very little fantasy value left to extract from the Indians rotation in 2016.