MLB Player News

Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman delivered a win Tuesday, giving up just one earned run on six hits and two walks in seven innings and striking out eight in his team's 4-2 victory over the Red Sox.

Stroman (7-2) carved up the Red Sox in his last outing as well, giving up just one hit and two walks in seven scoreless innings while striking out seven. He's been fantastic in July outside of an ugly outing before the break, giving up a total of one run in four starts aside from that one poor game. Stroman owns a 3.03 ERA and 67:17 K:BB ratio in 74 1/3 innings. He'll face the Astros Sunday.

Rays pitcher Alex Cobb put up a big line in Tuesday's win, giving up one earned run on three hits and two walks in eight innings and striking out 12 in his team's 5-1 victory over the Brewers.

Cobb (7-6) has been very impressive in two straight starts after striking out 10 in seven scoreless innings in his previous outing. Now 5-0 over his last six games, Cobb owns a 3.54 ERA and 92:28 K:BB ratio in 96 2/3 innings. He's slated to take on the A's Monday.

White Sox pitching prospect Carlos Rodon is scheduled to join high Class A Winston-Salem Wednesday and pitch in relief for the team on the same day, MLB.com reports.

Rodon made two appearances with the team's Arizona League affiliate, giving up two earned runs on four hits in three innings while striking out five and walking none. He was selected third overall in his year's amateur draft and could move quickly through the system.

Twins pitcher Ricky Nolasco completed a bullpen session Tuesday, throwing nothing but fastballs and changeups, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Nolasco is scheduled to throw again Thursday, and it's possible he could go out on a rehab assignment if all goes well with his next session. Out since early July with an elbow strain, he owns a 5.90 ERA and 72:28 K:BB ratio in 103 2/3 innings.

Mariners left-hander James Paxton appears all but set for a return to the mound Saturday in Baltimore. He has been recovering from a lat injury since making his first two starts of the season.

Paxton is slated to throw a standard bullpen workout before the Tuesday game in Cleveland. That stint would follow a 78-pitch rehab outing Sunday for Triple-A Tacoma.

"We'll see what happens (Wednesday)," Lloyd McClendon told the Tacoma News-Tribune. "Then we'll make a decision. Everything up to this point has been great."

A back issue that prevented Twins rookie right-hander Kyle Gibson from making his last start has subsided enough to allow him to pitch Tuesday in Kansas City.

Gibson hopes he can perform getter than he did in his last five starts. Despite throwing six innings of shutout ball against Kansas City, he has allowed 20 earned runs on 34 hits in 24 1/3 innings during that stretch.

Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi worked his way past a solo home run in a dominant outing Monday night against the Brewers, improving to 7-8 on the year. The right-hander yielded only one run on three hits and no walks while striking out five over seven innings of a 2-1 victory.

Over his last four starts covering 25 1/3 innings, Odorizzi has allowed seven earned runs. He owns a 3.80 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP and 129:42 K:BB ratio in 106 2/3 innings. His next start will come Sunday at home against the Angels.

Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish worked his way past a pair of homers in a dominant outing Monday night against the Yankees, improving to 10-6 on the year. The right-hander permitted two runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out eight over seven innings of a 4-2 defeat.

Over his last three starts covering 18 innings, Darvish has allowed five earned runs. He owns a 2.90 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP over 20 starts (133 1/3 innings). He will search for win No. 11 on Sunday against Cleveland.

The Indians are willing to trade starting pitcher Justin Masterson, sources told Yahoo! Sports. The team is in the market for a starting pitcher with arbitration years left in exchange for Masterson, who is due back Friday from a knee injury.

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow indicated earlier this season that young starters such as Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh were not going to be used as trade chips because they were too valuable for the team's future. But times have changed, according to Fox Sports.

A shortage of starting pitchers among some contenders could result in strong packages offered for Keuchel and/or McHugh. And the Astros have become open to exploring such a deal.

"We do seem to have an excess of pretty good young starters so we wouldn't rule out anything," Luhnow said. "We'd have to get back a big-league piece, preferably a bat, in a package that makes sense for the future and present."

Both Keuchel and McHugh, however, have cooled off as the weather has heated up. The former is 0-4 in his last six starts with 57 hits allowed in his last 36 2/3 innings. McHugh has lost his last six starts, though a lack of run support has played as big a role in that misery as poor performance.