MLB Player News

Verlander (3-5) took the loss Monday against the Reds, allowing five runs on eight hits and four walks over 4.2 innings. He struck out three.

Verlander walked the first three batters he faced in the bottom of the first inning, making it the first time in 522 career appearances that he's opened the game with three straight free passes. Verlander has lost all three of his starts since returning from a neck injury in late August and has a 6.75 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 12:6 K:BB across 14.2 innings during that span. The 41-year-old's current streak of five straight starts of five innings or fewer pitched is the longest of his career.

Wacha (11-7) allowed two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out three over five innings, taking the loss Monday versus the Guardians.

Wacha allowed just one hit through the first four innings but ran into trouble in the fifth, giving up four hits, including a two-run homer to Lane Thomas. Wacha picked up his first loss since June 22, and he went 7-0 with a 2.86 ERA during that 11-start stretch. The 33-year-old remains a steady presence in the middle of the Royals rotation with a 3.50 ERA through 144 innings this season.

Williams (3-7) earned the win over the Royals on Monday, allowing one run on one hit and two walks while striking out six batters over six innings.

Williams had his best start of the season Monday against the Royals. His lone mistake came in the second inning when he walked Yuli Gurriel and then gave up an RBI double to Maikel Garcia. Williams would go on to retire the next 16 batters he faced before being replaced in the eighth inning. The seven frames pitched were a season high, and it's the third time in his career he's reached that mark. The 25-year-old will take a 4.55 ERA into his next start.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Monday that deGrom (elbow) is likely to make one more rehab start, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

While Bochy confirmed the team has weighed the option of having deGrom start for the Rangers instead of Double-A Frisco on Saturday, he added that "I don't think that's what we're going to do." DeGrom would be slated to go four innings with Frisco on Saturday, setting him up for his season debut with the Rangers the following weekend in Seattle.

The Rangers recalled Leiter from Triple-A Round Rock on Monday.

Leiter will start Monday's against the Yankees and is poised to finish out the regular season as part of the Rangers' rotation as the club tries to find out whether he can be counted on as a member of its starting five in 2025. The young righty holds an ugly 12.83 ERA in his first four big-league outings but has flashed plenty of promise in 2024 at Round Rock with a 3.51 ERA and 110:35 K:BB over 77 innings.

DeGrom (elbow) could make his season debut Saturday against the Angels, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.

DeGrom had been scheduled for one more rehab start with Double-A Frisco, but now the Rangers are considering having him start for them that day instead. If his outing is at Frisco, he will go four innings. If it's with the major-league club, he would be scheduled for just three frames. DeGrom has been excellent in his first three rehab starts, allowing one run on just three hits and one walk while striking out 10 over 6.2 innings. The 36-year-old is coming back from a second Tommy John surgery.

Scherzer (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment Saturday, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.

The location of Scherzer's first rehab start is not yet known, nor is it clear how many rehab outings he might require before rejoining the Rangers' rotation. Scherzer was cleared for a rehab assignment after getting through a two-inning, live batting practice session Monday. The 40-year-old hurler has been shelved since early August due to right shoulder fatigue but recently made a mechanical adjustment which allowed the discomfort in his shoulder to dissipate.

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.