MLB Player News

Scherzer (shoulder) threw a live batting practice session Monday, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Scherzer resumed throwing late last week, noting that his right shoulder is now pain-free after he tweaked his mechanics. The 40-year-old is confident he will be able to rejoin the Rangers' rotation at some point this month, and the fact that he's now facing hitters suggests a rehab assignment could be looming. Scherzer has been shelved since early August due to fatigue in his pitching shoulder.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that Blanco is the most likely candidate to move to the bullpen when the team shifts to a five-man rotation, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

The Astros have been utilizing a six-man rotation since Justin Verlander returned from the injured list in late August, but a move back a traditional five-man setup is imminent. Blanco's next turn would come up Sunday against the Diamondbacks, but it's not clear whether he will take the ball that day or move to the bullpen before then. The 31-year-old has been a godsend for the Astros' rotation this season, but he does have a 4.35 ERA in the second half and is already more than 20 innings past last year's workload. Blanco was used almost exclusively in relief from 2018-22.

Varland may be a candidate for a promotion from Triple-A St. Paul to fill the opening in the Twins rotation Wednesday at Tampa Bay, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

The Twins already have a five-man rotation in place, but manager Rocco Baldelli is presumably keen on building in an extra day of rest for the team's starters while Minnesota is in the midst of a stretch of 13 games in 13 days. While Varland should eventually settle into a bullpen role for Minnesota in September, the Twins' decision not to call him up Sunday when the active roster expanded to 28 men suggests he's being ticketed for a start Wednesday. Varland owns a 1.93 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 39:13 K:BB in 32.2 innings over his last six outings for St. Paul but has largely struggled during his time in the big leagues with a 4.91 ERA across 124.2 career innings.

Ober allowed one run on one hit and three walks while striking out eight over six innings in Sunday's win over the Blue Jays. He did not factor into the decision.

Ober gave up a solo home run to Ernie Clement on the fifth pitch he threw of the day but otherwise dominated the Blue Jays. It was a huge bounce-back performance after he allowed a season-worst nine runs in his previous start. That's now 12 quality starts in his last 13 outings for Ober, and his strikeout numbers were up Sunday after managing only 10 strikeouts over his previous 14 innings. The 29-year-old owns a 3.95 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 155:39 K:BB in 148 innings and lines up to make his next start on the road against the Royals over the weekend.

Marsh (7-8) took the loss Sunday against the Astros, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out five over five innings.

Marsh held the Astros scoreless through three innings but came apart in the fourth after allowing home runs to Yordan Alvarez and Jon Singleton to give the Astros a 3-0 lead. The 26-year-old righty has now allowed a home run in seven of his last eight starts while reaching five innings in only half of them. Marsh holds a 4.70 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 100:34 K:BB in 111 innings and lines up for a key home start against the Twins over the weekend, assuming he sticks in the rotation.

Blanco (10-6) allowed three hits and four walks while striking out three across five scoreless innings to earn the win Sunday against the Royals.

Blanco struggled with efficiency, needing 101 pitches to get 15 outs. He now has 13 walks across his last 24.1 innings pitched, which covers a span of five starts. He's overcome his control issues to post a 3.33 ERA in that stretch, though he's failed to complete five innings twice while posting a 1.44 WHIP.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that there's a "very good chance" Gil (back) will return from the 15-day injured list and rejoin the rotation this weekend against the Cubs, Max Goodman of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Gil made what's expected to be his lone rehab start with Double-A Somerset on Sunday, getting charged with three runs while striking out six over 3.2 frames. He threw 80 pitches in the outing, so the righty should be sufficiently stretched out for a typical workload versus the Cubs. Clarke Schmidt (lat) is also expected to return from the 60-day IL to make a start this weekend, so the Yankees appear poised to operate with a six-man setup for now. Eventually, one or both pitchers could be shifted to the bullpen ahead of the postseason.

Rodriguez took a no-decision Sunday against the Twins after he allowed three hits and two walks while striking out three over three scoreless innings.

Rodriguez had his shortest outing since he went just two-thirds of an inning July 29. The 27-year-old threw 57 pitches across three innings and only faced any real danger in the first inning when he had the bases loaded. Though it was an abbreviated start, it was the first time in four outings Rodriguez didn't surrender a home run, but he has issued at least one walk every time he's stepped on the mound. For the year, he owns a 4.61 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 69:33 K:BB in 68.1 innings. He lines up for a road matchup against Atlanta his next time out.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that there's a "very good chance" Schmidt (lat) will return from the 60-day injured list and rejoin rotation this weekend in Chicago against the Cubs, Max Goodman of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Schmidt will make a third and final rehab start with Double-A Somerset on Monday before rejoining the big club. He has been terrific in his first two rehab outings, yielding two runs with an 11:2 K:BB covering 6.2 innings. Boone noted that Luis Gil (back) is also expected to rejoin the rotation this weekend, so the Yankees look set to go with a six-man setup for a bit.

Leiter is expected to finish out the season as part of the Rangers' rotation, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports. "We feel like he's done everything he can at Triple-A," Rangers general manager Chris Young said. "Now he needs some consistent starts at the major-league level. We're looking forward to him getting that in September."

Leiter, who started the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday, is expected to be called up for Monday's start against the Yankees. The right-hander logged a 3.51 ERA at Triple-A Round Rock in 2024, easily his best result in three professional seasons in the minors. He has a 12.83 ERA in four MLB starts this season, but Leiter's outing last Wednesday was the best of the four with two runs allowed across four frames.