MLB Player News

Lopez will start Sunday's game against the Nationals, Jason Burke of Roundtable.io reports.

A path was cleared for Lopez to re-enter the Athletics' rotation when Aaron Civale was designated for assignment Wednesday. Lopez has made two relief appearances since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas last week, allowing four runs with a 5:1 K:BB over 4.2 innings. All told, the southpaw has logged an ugly 6.83 ERA, 1.79 WHIP and 43:34 K:BB over 55.1 innings in the majors this season.

The Athletics selected Tur's contract from Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jason Burke of Roundtable.io reports.

Tur will join the big club after turning in a 4.41 ERA and 1.31 WHIP across 51 innings at Las Vegas during the first half of the season. The A's have an opening in their rotation after pushing Aaron Civale off the 26-man and 40-man rosters, but Tur has pitched just one frame in six of his last seven minor-league appearances, so he'll most likely work out of the bullpen to begin his major-league career.

General manager Dana Brown said Wednesday that Burrows (elbow) is expected to begin throwing off a mound within the next 7-to-10 days, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Burrows was placed on the injured list Monday due to right elbow neuritis. He remains without an official return timeline, though the fact that he's at least a week out from resuming bullpen work suggests that he won't be ready to return after the 15-day minimum. Once he's healthy, the Astros are likely to option him back to Triple-A Sugar Land, which is where he was poised to go prior to the injury.

The Astros are in the process of finalizing a trade that will send McCullers (shoulder) to the Brewers on Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McCullers has been on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement since mid-May, but he's made three minor-league rehab starts and may only require one more rehab outing before getting cleared for big-league action. The veteran right-hander is in the final season of the five-year, $85 million extension he signed with the Astros in 2021 and has full no-trade protection, though he's apparently already approved the potential trade, per McTaggart. After missing the full 2023 and 2024 campaigns due to arm issues, McCullers returned to the mound last year and struggled to a 6.51 ERA in 16 regular-season appearances, and he posted similar numbers before landing on the injured list this year. The full terms of the trade may not be disclosed until it's finalized.

Smith (shoulder) was activated from the 7-day injured list Sunday.

Smith made two rehab appearances at High-A Winston-Salem earlier this month, where he allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while fanning eight over 4.2 innings. He was activated from the injured list Sunday and made a start for Triple-A Charlotte later that same day, surrendering one run on three hits and one walk while collecting five strikeouts across four frames.

Single-A Hill City placed Oakie on its 7-day injured list Wednesday due to a viral illness.

Oakie hadn't pitched for Hill City since June 24 before the club deactivated him two weeks later. The young righty is regarded as one of the Guardians' better lower-level pitching prospects but has struggled to a 7.15 ERA, 1.95 WHIP and 56:42 K:BB over 45.1 innings with Hill City this season.

The Astros nullified Burrows' previous optional assignment to Triple-A Sugar Land and placed him on the 15-day injured list Monday due to right elbow neuritis, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Burrows didn't make any appearance for Sugar Land after being optioned to the affiliate last Tuesday, which enabled the team to reverse the prior transaction and place him on the IL instead. The right-hander has posted a 5.99 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 75:35 K:BB across 94.2 innings over his 18 appearances (17 starts) with Houston this season, and he'll likely be headed back to Sugar Land once he fully recovers from the elbow injury.

Montgomery (elbow) struck out a batter and allowed one earned run on four hits and no walks across four innings Sunday in a rehab start with Triple-A Round Rock.

Montgomery spotted 35 of his 52 pitches for strikes and averaged 90.1 mph with his sinker, which was down 1.7 ticks from his average through his first five rehab outings. The velocity downturn isn't fully unexpected as Montgomery works deeper into his rehab starts, and his results through three outings with Round Rock and two with Double-A Frisco have been impressive overall (2.25 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 11:0 K:BB in 12 innings). The veteran southpaw -- who is working his way back from the hybrid UCL reconstruction surgery he underwent in March 2025 -- will likely make one final rehab start next weekend before the Rangers bring him back from the 60-day injured list.

Bello struck out five and allowed one earned run on two hits and no walks across 4.1 innings of long relief Sunday in the Red Sox's 3-2 extra-inning win over the Mets.

Boston recalled Bello from Triple-A Worcester prior to their final game of the first half, after the right-hander submitted a 4.34 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 22:4 K:BB in 18.2 innings across his four starts in the minors. Though Bello had previously been used as a traditional starter or bulk reliever in his prior 13 outings with Boston this season, he was deployed as part of a piggyback arrangement with Payton Tolle, whom interim manager Chad Tracy indicated prior to the game would be deliberately limited as a means of workload management. After Tolle covered the first 3.2 innings, Bello entered midway through the fourth and was able to keep the Red Sox competitive before the Boston offense finally broke through with two runs in the ninth inning to send the game to extras. Boston will have an opening in its rotation until either Ranger Suarez (groin) or Connelly Early (elbow) return from the injured list, and Bello or Eduardo Rivera -- who made an abbreviated start Saturday -- would appear to be the top candidates to fill the void.

Gausman did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks over six innings in a 5-4 loss to San Diego. He struck out eight.

Gausman ran into trouble during a chaotic three-run second inning, but he was able to settle in and churn out a quality start. Sunday's no-decision snapped a stretch of four consecutive losses charged to the right-hander, with his last win coming May 22. The 35-year-old will take a 4-8 record with a 4.33 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 116:32 K:BB across 112.1 innings (20 starts) into the All-Star break.