MLB Player News

Astros manager Joe Espada said Friday that Imai will be moving to the bullpen for the team's weekend series against the Rangers, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Imai struggled in his last start against the Angels on Monday, when he tossed only 12 of 33 pitches for strikes and allowed two runs on one hit and four walks while striking out one batter over two-thirds of an inning. He was in line to start in Sunday's series finale, and while a replacement has yet to been announced, Chandler Rome of The Athletic suggested Thursday that Peter Lambert could be on the mound on short rest.

Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Friday that Bassitt (back) will make 1-to-2 more rehab starts before rejoining the active roster, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Bassitt gave up one run over 3.1 innings in his first rehab outing with Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday. He got his pitch count up to 46 in that start and will continue to stretch out with at least one more rehab outing. Bassitt has been out since early June following surgery to remove bone spurs from his back, and he posted a 5.27 ERA in 56.1 innings before getting hurt. The 37-year-old isn't a given to go back into the Orioles' rotation once he's deemed physically ready, though that could depend on what the club does at the trade deadline.

Burrows (elbow) threw a 35-pitch live batting practice session Friday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

It's the first time the right-hander has faced hitters since he landed on the 15-day injured list in mid-July with right elbow neuritis. Burrows had initially been optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land before the injury was discovered, so he could head there once healthy rather than rejoining the big club.

The Rays placed McClanahan (back) on the 15-day IL on Friday due to a back injury, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

After leaving Thursday's start in the fourth inning with mid-back tightness, McClanahan will officially be shut down. President of baseball operations Erik Neander believes the injury is "pretty minor", and the left-hander could miss just two starts. On the campaign, the 29-year-old owns a 3.09 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 91:35 K:BB in 99 innings. Tampa Bay is recalling Alex Cook from Triple-A Durham to take McClanahan's place on the active roster.

Mize will no longer start Friday's game against the Athletics as a precaution with the trade deadline looming, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

There's no trade in place at this point, but Detroit will go with a bullpen game Friday just to be safe. The Tigers are listing Mize as their probable starter for Tuesday's game in Seattle, but the pending free agent is likely to be traded before then. Mize has authored a 2.70 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 85:19 K:BB over 86.2 innings covering 16 outings this season.

Springs (hip) is listed as the Athletics' probable starting pitcher for Friday's game against the Tigers in Sacramento.

The left-hander exited his previous start Sunday midway through the second inning due to right hip discomfort, but he was apparently able to navigate his between-starts throwing program without issue. Returning to the bump at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park, Springs won't be a recommended lineup option in the majority of fantasy leagues. He hasn't delivered a quality start since May 17 and has gone 0-6 with an 8.82 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in his last 11 outings.

Rodon (elbow) threw a "two up" session of about 30 pitches that went well Wednesday, and manager Aaron Boone said it's unclear if he'll next make a minor-league rehab start, MLB.com reports.

Rodon seems to be progressing well from the left elbow inflammation that has kept him sidelined for over a month. The veteran lefty is likely to need a rehab assignment before being activated from the IL, but for now it's uncertain if Rodon will complete additional live throwing sessions before logging game action. The hope continues to be that Rodon will be back in the big-league rotation at some point in August.

Woo (7-8) took the loss against the Dodgers on Thursday, allowing five runs on five hits and two walks while striking out eight batters over five innings.

The big blow against Woo was a three-run homer by Dalton Rushing in the fourth inning. Beyond that, the right-handed hurler pitched pretty well, racking up 17 whiffs among his 91 total pitches. Woo finished with eight punchouts -- his most since June 18 -- but he's taken two straight losses, giving up exactly five runs in exactly five frames in both defeats. He'll carry a disappointing 4.56 ERA into his next start, which lines up to be a home matchup against Detroit.

Gray (13-2) earned the win over the Athletics on Thursday, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five batters over seven innings.

Gray wasn't at his sharpest, and he fell behind 3-0 after four innings. However, the veteran hurler hung tough and gave up just one more run the rest of the way. Gray was still trailing when he threw his final pitch, but Boston put up a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to propel the right-hander to his 13th victory -- tied with Cristopher Sanchez for the most in the league. Gray has stumbled a bit of late by allowing nine earned runs across 12 innings over his past two starts, but he's been so good this year that fantasy managers shouldn't be overly concerned about the mediocre two-start stretch. He's projected for a home matchup against the White Sox his next time out.

Weathers did not factor into Thursday's decision against the White Sox, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out four across seven scoreless innings.

Weathers generated only eight whiffs while throwing 106 pitches, but he also logged 11 groundouts while keeping Chicago off the board. It was his first quality start since June 24 and the third time this season that he shut out his opponent while tossing at least seven frames. Weathers will take a 3.99 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 115 innings into his next start, which is tentatively slated for next week at home against the Cardinals.