MLB Player News

McCullers (2-1) went five innings during Tuesday's win against the Diamondbacks, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks while striking out seven.

McCullers continues to struggle with his control, and he's issued at least three walks in each of his four starts this year. That being said, he remains a great source for strikeouts since he's fanned 24 in his last 16 frames, so at least he keeps missing bats on a consistent basis. He's won his last two outings, and he will try to keep it going in his next start against Oakland at home Sunday.

Gray (back) threw a three-inning simulated game Tuesday and he will throw a bullpen session Thursday, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Gray threw roughly 50 pitches during his sim game Tuesday and told reporters that he felt great during his outing. He's scheduled for a bullpen session Thursday and if all goes well, he may not even require a minor league rehab appearance before coming off the disabled list.

Hill (groin) is set to throw a bullpen Wednesday before the A's determine whether he'll make his next scheduled start over the weekend, John Hickey of the San Jose Mercury News reports.

Although Hill is improving, according to Hickey, he'll still need to come out of Wednesday's bullpen without too much lingering soreness in order to make his next scheduled start. He'll already have an extra built-in day off this week, but it's unclear at this point whether that added time off will be enough to get him back on the hill. Wednesday's bullpen session figures to shed more light on Hill's status heading into the weekend.

Meyer (shoulder) underwent an MRI over the weekend that confirmed mild shoulder inflammation, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports.

Meyer has been out of commission since early May due to shoulder soreness, and it has been roughly one week since he's been able to throw a bullpen. There is no word on his timetable for a return, but given that he's still dealing with inflammation in his shoulder, it's unlikely that the Twins organization would rush him back to the mound before he's ready.

Clevinger will move to a bullpen role Wednesday and he is a candidate to be optioned later in the week to clear space on the roster for Carlos Carrasco, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

Clevinger has officially lost his spot in the rotation for the time being after making a trio of underwhelming starts. He lasted just four innings in his most recent outing, allowing four earned runs on four hits while walking three batters. He'll work out of the bullpen for now, but he could be heading back to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday if the Indians choose to option him when they activate Carrasco.

Carrasco (hamstring) will be activated off the disabled list to start Thursday's matchup with the Royals, but will be limited to about 80 pitches, Zach Meisel of Cleveland.com reports.

The Indians are being cautious with Carrasco's recovery, but it's clear that they believe he's ready to face more advanced hitters. He made one rehab start for Double-A Akron on Saturday, striking out six while only issuing one walk in four innings.

Kopech (hand) appeared in an extended spring training game for the first time Monday, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out three, the Boston Globe reports. The right-hander's fastball topped out at 99 mph.

Kopech, who broke his right hand punching a teammate in spring training, in time will be assigned to a minor league team, mostly likely Low-A Greenville. The Red Sox are high on Kopech, but this is his second off-field incident. Last season, Kopech was suspended 50 games when testing positive for a banned amphetamine.

Verlander (4-5) allowed four runs on four hits with seven strikeouts over 7.1 innings in Monday's loss to the Angels.

Verlander had a shutout going through seven innings but ran out of gas in the eighth, as he was finally pulled after 116 pitches (81 strikes). He got no help from his bullpen, as reliever Buck Farmer allowed two inherited runners to score to spoil Verlander's bid for a quality start. Other than that, Verlander was fantastic -- he drew 13 swinging strikes in a vintage Verlander performance through the first seven frames. He has been back in form of late, with four consecutive quality starts with 37 strikeouts over his past four outings.

Carrasco (hamstring) could rejoin the rotation as soon as Friday but might be limited to 80 pitches, MLB.com reports.

The Indians could still opt to have Carrasco make one more minor league start before rejoining the rotation but a lot may depend on how well he responds to Monday's throwing session.

Nuno struck out four batters and allowed just one hit in 2.2 scoreless innings during Sunday's loss to the Twins.

Nuno has been a key contributor to a dominant Seattle bullpen that has a collective ERA of 2.51. His 1.08 ERA and 0.78 WHIP have been made possible by his incredible ball control, as he has an astronomical 20.00 K/BB and 0.54 BB/9 after pitching 16.2 innings across 19 games. He's also given up just one home run this season, which is a relief to the Mariners, as his HR/9 in 2015 was 1.52.