MLB Player News

Kochanowicz (1-2) earned the victory Sunday, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk over 7.2 innings against the Nationals. He struck out two.

Kochanowicz was recalled from Double-A to make the spot start, holding the Nationals scoreless through seven prior to a homer by Jacob Young to lead off the eighth frame. He remained in the game and recorded two more outs but was pulled following an RBI single by Luis Garcia. Despite the two late runs, Kochanowicz did more than enough to earn his first big-league win and showed massive improvement over his previous two starts, when he allowed 11 earned runs over seven innings. Kochanowicz is likely to be sent back to the minors following this outing, but it was a promising start for the 23-year-old rookie, who lowered his ERA from 14.14 to 7.98.

The Tigers announced Friday that Olson (shoulder) continues to make progress in his throwing distance and volume off flat ground, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

While the fact that Olson isn't shut down from throwing can be taken as a positive sign, the Tigers haven't offered any indication that he's close to a return from the 15-day injured list after being deactivated July 21 due to a right shoulder strain. With approximately six weeks left in the regular season, Olson will probably need to advance to throwing bullpen sessions and facing hitters in the next two weeks in order to have sufficient time to get stretched back out as a starter. Before landing on the shelf, Olson had been a pleasant surprise for the Tigers and fantasy managers alike through his first 19 starts of the season, logging a 3.23 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 92:31 K:BB across 103 innings.

Mize (hamstring) is scheduled to make the second start of his rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Toledo, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Mize began his rehab assignment at Toledo on Thursday, striking out two batters and allowing three hits and one walk over 2.1 scoreless innings. The right-hander tossed 35 pitches in the start and generated six whiffs on 15 swings while sporting a fastball that averaged 93.5 miles per hour. Mize is expected to make four total rehab starts in the minors before returning from the 60-day injured list around the time that he's first eligible Aug. 30.

Poteet (tricep) threw 25 pitches in a live batting practice session Saturday, MLB.com reports.

Poteet has now faced hitters on two occasions as he looks to return from the right tricep strain that has kept him on the shelf since mid-June. The righty reliever is on the 60-day injured list and is eligible to be activated Aug. 17, but he's likely tracking toward a return at some point after that, as he'll need to pitch in at least a couple minor-league contests beforehand. Assuming he doesn't have any setbacks, a return to the Yankees by the end of August seems probable, but he'll likely have to settle for a bullpen role after previously starting in all four of his appearances for the big club.

Schmidt (lat) threw 25 pitches in a live batting practice session Saturday, MLB.com reports.

The live BP session was Schmidt's second of week and represented a slight step up from Tuesday, when he tossed 20 pitches. Schmidt appears to be slowly increasing the volume of his sessions, as he's next slated to toss 30 pitches in another live batting practice Wednesday. After that, he could head out on a minor-league rehab assignment.

Paxton was diagnosed with a right calf strain after exiting Sunday's start against the Astros, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Paxton suffered the injury during the opening frame of Sunday's contest, as he recorded two outs and allowed two hits on five pitches before departing. The severity of the strain isn't yet known, but the initial diagnosis is still an encouraging development given how difficult a time the 35-year-old had leaving the field after the injury. According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, Paxton was sporting crutches after the game and is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday, which could indicate that he's headed to the injured list.

The Twins optioned Varland to Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday.

Varland was sent back to St. Paul after he served as the 27th man for the Twins' doubleheader Saturday versus the Guardians. He started and took a no-decision in the Twins' 6-3 win in the second game of the twin bill, striking out four over 4.2 innings while allowing three earned runs on eight hits and no walks. Though he's now off the 26-man active roster, Varland will be eligible to be recalled during the upcoming week and could be a candidate to make a start Wednesday versus the Royals or Thursday versus the Rangers. Minnesota has a need for a new fifth starter with Joe Ryan (shoulder) recently joining Chris Paddack (forearm) on the injured list.

Paxton was removed from Sunday's start against the Astros during the first inning due to a right leg injury, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The left-hander allowed two hits and recorded two outs before suffering the injury, and he could barely put any weight on his right leg as he was helped off the field. The specifics of the situation are unclear, and Paxton's status should be updated by the team in the near future.

Canning came away with a no-decision in Saturday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Nationals, giving up four runs on eight hits over seven innings. He didn't walk or strike out a batter.

The right-hander managed only seven swinging strikes among his 88 pitches as he let his defense do all the work, but Canning saw a potential win slip away when he got tagged for two runs in the seventh to tie the game at 4-4. It's the first time all season he's failed to record a strikeout, and the first time he didn't issued a free pass since April 13. Canning remains a mediocre fantasy option, posting a 6.17 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 30:15 K:BB through 35 innings since the beginning of July, and he lines up to make his next start at home next weekend against Atlanta.

Gilbert (7-8) earned the win over the Mets on Saturday, hurling seven shutout innings while allowing three hits and one walk. He struck out six.

Gilbert didn't allow a runner to reach second base over the course of his seven shutout frames, posting three 1-2-3 innings on the night while generating 15 swings-and-misses. It marked the right-hander's fifth outing this season in which he's hurled at least seven scoreless innings and the second in his past five starts. Gilbert has also surrendered one run or fewer in four of his last five outings, posting a 34:2 K:BB over that stretch.