MLB Player News

Astros manager Joe Espada said Wednesday that Arrighetti will not require surgery to repair his fractured right thumb, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Arrighetti will be in a cast for two to two and a half weeks before having imaging to see how the thumb has healed. The Astros expect to have a better idea at that point what Arrighetti's timetable for a return will look like, though general manager Dana Brown said in a radio appearance Wednesday that he anticipates that the young right-hander will be out "six weeks or so," per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. The hurler was injured when he was struck by a line drive while playing catch in the outfield before Monday's game in Seattle.

The Orioles placed Eflin (lat) on the 15-day injured list Wednesday.

Eflin was removed from his start Monday in Arizona with what the team initially referred to as shoulder fatigue, but an MRI revealed a low-grade lat strain. A timetable for Eflin will become clearer after he is cleared to throw, but he'll be shut down from activity for at least one week and will spend beyond the minimum 15 days on the IL.

The Tigers announced Wednesday that Flores (shoulder) is playing catch daily but has yet to advance to completing bullpen sessions in his throwing program, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Flores didn't pitch at all in spring training after he received a platelet-rich plasma injection shortly after reporting to camp to alleviate soreness in his right shoulder. After being moved off Detroit's 40-man roster in the offseason, Flores will need to return to full health and perform well in the upper levels of the minors before popping back up on the radar for a call-up.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Gil (lat) is scheduled to begin a throwing program within the next several days, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

After being diagnosed with a high-grade right lat strain in early March, Gil avoided surgery but received a platelet-rich plasma injection and was advised not to throw for six weeks. The right-hander seems to be responding as well as the Yankees had hoped during his prolonged shutdown, and though he's on the cusp of playing catch again, he'll be in line for a slow and deliberate ramp-up program. The Yankees have already shifted Gil to the 60-day injured list and aren't anticipating him being ready to make his season debut until at least early June.

Schmidt (shoulder) will make what's expected to be his final rehab start Thursday, either at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre or Double-A Somerset, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

Schmidt looked good in his first rehab outing with Somerset on Saturday, striking out seven over 3.1 scoreless frames. He threw 51 pitches in that start and will look to up his pitch count Thursday. As long as Schmidt bounces back well from Thursday's outing, he'll be lined up for his season debut with the Yankees as soon as April 15 against the Royals.

Springs (2-1) picked up the win in Tuesday's 10-4 victory over the Padres, giving up four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out four.

San Diego jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the A's offense struck back for six runs against Dylan Cease in the bottom of the frame and Springs settled in once he was handed the lead. The veteran southpaw has two quality starts into his first three trips to the mound this season, and he'll take a 4.20 ERA and 16:7 K:BB through 15 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come on the road early next week against the White Sox.

Gibson tossed a three-inning live batting practice session Sunday and is soon expected to report to Triple-A Norfolk, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Because he remained a free agent throughout the offseason before signing a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Orioles less than a week ahead of Opening Day, Gibson has essentially been going through his own version of spring training. He's steadily ramped up the volume of his throwing program and should be on the cusp of pitching in minor-league games. Gibson will likely need to complete 2-to-3 starts at Norfolk before he's available as an option in the big-league rotation around May 1. The Orioles could have a pressing need for Gibson, as the team's starting depth has been tested in the first month of the season with injuries to Zach Eflin (lat), Grayson Rodriguez (elbow), Trevor Rogers (kneecap), Albert Suarez (shoulder), Chayce McDermott (lat), Tyler Wells (elbow) and Kyle Bradish (elbow).

Morton (0-3) took the loss Tuesday, giving up four runs on four hits and five walks over five-plus innings as the Orioles fell 4-3 to the Diamondbacks. He struck out four.

The 41-year-old righty got only 51 of his 87 pitches into the strike zone as his rough start to the campaign continues. Morton has struck out 17 batters in his first 13.1 innings with Baltimore, but he's also walked eight, leading to an 8.78 ERA and 1.88 WHIP. Given the team's injury issues in the rotation, the O's have little choice but to let Morton try to work through his issues. He lines up to make his next trip to the mound at home early next week against the Guardians.

Smith did not factor into the decision Tuesday against the Guardians, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out six over six scoreless innings.

Smith was just one out away from making it through six hitless innings until Jose Ramirez was able to reach via an infield single. Unlike in his MLB debut, Smith was able to complete the inning for his first quality start in the majors. Smith, the first pick in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, has now held opposing batters to a .105 average through 11.2 innings and lines up for a weekend start against Boston with the White Sox scheduled for five games over the next five days.

Lively tossed five scoreless innings Tuesday against the White Sox, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out four in the no-decision.

Lively worked around two walks in the first and another jam in the fourth to keep the Sox off the board. It was his second straight start issuing multiple walks, but he was able to keep the ball in the park after allowing a home run in both of his first two outings. With the Guardians playing five games over the next five days, Lively is set to take the bump again versus the Royals this weekend.