MLB Player News

Darvish will be limited to 85-to-95 pitches in his next outing Friday against Seattle, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. "Right now, I don't know if I want to push him to 100. That 85-to-95 [window], and a lot of that is dependent on how he gets to that," said Rangers manager Jeff Banister on Wednesday.

The Rangers will continue to monitor Darvish's pitch counts out of the gate as he makes his second start of the season Friday against the Mariners. He threw 81 pitches in his debut Saturday after missing the 2015 campaign to recover from Tommy John surgery, fanning seven batters while only allowing one walk. It's difficult to pinpoint when the Rangers will let Darvish pitch without a strict limit, but as one of their more valuable assets, Darvish could be held to under 100 pitches for at least a couple more starts.

Alvarez (shoulder) threw 40 pitches off a mound Wednesday, Joe Stiglich of Comcast SportsNet California reports.

This is a good sign for Alvarez, who has been battling shoulder problems since early 2015, and he's slated to throw another bullpen session this weekend followed by a rehab start or simulated game. The 26-year-old posted an impressive 2.65 ERA in 30 starts in 2014, which was his last full season, and he will look to regain that form upon his return in mid-June.

Paxton was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma Wednesday and will start against the Padres, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Paxton will take Felix Hernandez's spot in the rotation until he is back from the 15-day DL. The former fourth-round pick has posted a 3.97 ERA and 1.17 WHIP to go along with an impressive 9.5 K/9 through 10 starts at Triple-A this season.

Cobb (elbow) threw a 35-pitch bullpen session Tuesday that included breaking balls, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The introduction of the pitch type to his rehab process is another milestone for Webb in his ongoing recovery from May 2015 Tommy John surgery. The 28-year-old posted a combined 21-12 record for the Rays in the 2013-2014 seasons over 49 starts, generating a sub-3.00 ERA in each of those campaigns as well. He continues to target a potential mid-season return to the big league club.

Stroman is 4-0 with a 2.45 ERA and a .194 batting average against in road games this season. However, he's 1-1 with a 6.39 ERA and .303 BAA at home.

Saying Stroman struggles at home is jumping the gun a bit. He's made six starts at home, and two of those have come against the Red Sox, MLB's best offensive team. They lit Stroman up for 12 runs on 17 hits in 10.2 innings. With that said, there are certainly some red flags when looking at his peripherals. For example, Stroman's strikeout rate is down and his walk rate is up. He's allowing 0.72 HR/9 and stranding runners at a 64 percent clip (both are worse than his career averages, although the home run rate is still good). Owners shouldn't hit the red panic button just yet, though. Stroman is only 25 years old, and is adjusting to the journey of being the ace of a staff expected to make 30-plus starts (he entered the season with just 24 career starts). The young right-hander has too much potential for owners to make a rash decision and sell low.

Campos was promoted to Double-A Trenton, Josh Norris of Baseball America reports.

Campos posted a 3.49 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over 59.1 innings at the High-A level to begin 2016. Those numbers represent a nice improvement from 2015 (6.29 ERA). He will make his first Double-A start of the year Thursday.

Kluber (4-6) allowed six runs on eight hits in seven innings, walking none and striking out six in Tuesday's loss to the Rangers.

Although his 3.10 FIP isn't bad, Kluber's ERA has now climbed to 4.15. While the 2014 Cy Young Award winner has been far from the level that earned him those honors this season, owners can point to his 15:1 K:BB in the last two starts as a sign of a possible turnaround. He'll have a chance to start converting that impressive ratio to results elsewhere in his next outing Sunday against an unimpressive Royals offense.

Smyly (2-7) lasted just four innings, allowing eight runs on 12 hits while walking one and striking out three in Tuesday's loss to the Royals.

The left-hander's rough month came to a head Tuesday night in what was his worst defeat of the year. Smyly has now struck out a season low in consecutive weeks. It's hard not to wonder if Smyly's early-season success was simply a mirage. It's probably wise not to count much on the 26-year-old until he makes some sort of adjustment.

Paxton will be recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, the Tacoma News-Tribune's Bob Dutton reports.

A corresponding move has not yet been announced, and it is unclear what role Paxton will serve with the big league club. None of their starters are dealing with known injuries, so Paxton could just be headed for a bullpen role. The former top prospect has a 3.97 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 50 strikeouts in 47.2 innings with Tacoma, so he certainly hasn't warranted a long-term role change, but the Mariners' current needs may dictate a short-term deviation from his developmental track.

Meyer (shoulder inflammation) will have a cortisone shot this week, the Star Tribune's Phil Miller reports.

An MRI revealed only inflammation on his throwing shoulder, and the hope is that the cortisone shot will alleviate his pain so that he can resume throwing. Meyer, who hasn't pitched since May 3, has felt great in his bullpen sessions, but then his arm/shoulder feels stiff the next day. His status should be updated later this week after the shot has had a chance to ease his pain.