MLB Player News

Pepiot was removed from Sunday's game against the Mets after being struck in the left leg by a comebacker, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

The right-hander was hit by a line drive that came off the bat at 107 mph, ending his day during the third inning. Pepiot finished with three runs allowed on three hits and a walk over two innings. The specifics of the injury remain unclear, leaving the 26-year-old's availability for his next turn through the rotation up in the air.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Pivetta (elbow) is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Wednesday's game in Atlanta, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

Cora stopped short of confirming Pivetta for Wednesday, as the right-hander presumably needs to check out fine following a bullpen session Sunday or Monday before the Red Sox formally clear him to rejoin the rotation. Pivetta, who has been on the shelf since April 9 with a right elbow flexor strain, made a rehab start with Triple-A Worcester on Thursday and gave up four earned runs on three hits and four walks while striking out five across three innings. Despite the less-than-stellar results, the Red Sox were apparently encouraged by how Pivetta felt physically in the outing and are eager to bring him back into the big-league rotation this week.

Whitlock (oblique) threw a bullpen session Saturday, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Whitlock emerged from the session without issue and will embark on a throwing program. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said "it's just the beginning" when discussing the right-hander's status. Whitlock was placed on the injured list April 17 and seemingly will need at least one rehab start.

Scherzer (back) is still in a holding pattern while waiting for the soreness in his right thumb to subside, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Texas manager Bruce Bochy said the thumb improves every day, but Scherzer is not yet at the point where he can play catch. The right-hander threw 52 pitches in his first rehab start but experienced thumb soreness afterward. His following rehab start, originally scheduled for April 30, was pushed back.

The Blue Jays reinstated Manoah (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Sunday versus the Nationals in Washington.

Manoah will be making his 2024 season debut for the Blue Jays after he opened the campaign on the shelf with right shoulder inflammation before completing a five-start minor-league rehab assignment between stops at Single-A Dunedin and Triple-A Buffalo. The right-hander was far from sharp over the course of the minor-league assignment -- he posted an 8.69 ERA, 1.98 WHIP and 28:11 K:BB across 19.2 frames -- but he finished off his stint at Buffalo in dominant fashion, tossing six innings of one-run ball while striking out 12 and issuing just two walks this past Tuesday. The Blue Jays are hopeful that Manoah can eventually regain the form that made him a third-place finisher in the 2022 American League Cy Young Award balloting, but his fantasy managers may want to tread carefully before activating him. Much like the entirety of his rehab assignment prior to Tuesday, Manoah struggled mightily with his command and control during his time with the Blue Jays and various minor-league affiliates in a disastrous 2023 season.

Kelly (shoulder) was reinstated from the 7-day injured list Friday and struck out one over a scoreless inning of relief in Triple-A Round Rock's 13-1 win over Albuquerque.

Kelly was shelved for just under a month with a shoulder injury before he returned to action for Round Rock earlier this week. The southpaw has made four appearances out of the Triple-A bullpen this season, striking out six while allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks over 3.2 innings.

Lynch was recalled from Triple-A Omaha and is starting Sunday against the Rangers.

The left-hander is taking the rotation spot of Alec Marsh (elbow), who is making a rehab start Sunday and could return from the 15-day injured list later this week. Lynch missed out on Kansas City's season-opening rotation after he posted a 2.77 ERA during spring training, though he hasn't pitched particularly well at Omaha in 2024 with a 5.86 ERA, 1.76 WHIP and 22:9 K:BB across 27.2 innings. He'll be taking the hill on three days' rest after tossing four innings for Omaha on Wednesday, so Lynch could struggle to hit the five innings he would need to qualify for a win.

Woo (elbow) struck out six and allowed three hits and no walks over five shutout innings in his third rehab start Saturday with Triple-A Tacoma.

Woo was about as sharp as the Mariners could have hoped in what was likely the final start of his rehab assignment, as he built up to 66 pitches (44 strikes) while making quick work of the Triple-A Sacramento lineup. Provided Woo experiences no complications with his right elbow during a bullpen session within the next couple of days, he should be cleared to return from the 15-day injured list to make his 2024 Mariners debut later this week. Emerson Hancock has been filling in as the Mariners' No. 5 starter while Woo has been out, but Seattle could have room in the rotation for both hurlers if George Kirby (knee) is forced to the 15-day IL. Woo is likely to be activated to start either Thursday in Minnesota or Friday at home versus the Athletics.

Littell allowed one run on six hits while striking out seven over six innings in a no-decision against the Mets on Saturday.

The only run Littell allowed on the night came across in the first inning when the right-hander allowed a leadoff double to Brandon Nimmo to open the frame followed by an RBI single from Starling Marte. From there, Littell went on to retire 10 of the next 11 batters he faced, with six of those batters going down on strikeouts. It marked the fourth start this season in which he's allowed one run or fewer, and he's now gone six innings in three straight, posting a 20:0 K:BB over that stretch.

Javier (neck) allowed three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three across 3.1 innings in a rehab outing with Double-A Corpus Christi on Saturday, MLB.com reports.

The results weren't overly impressive, but it was otherwise a successful outing for Javier, as he was slated to throw roughly 65 pitches in the outing and met that goal (68 pitches). Assuming no news of a setback emerges, he could rejoin the Astros' rotation at some point in the upcoming week.