MLB Player News

Rasmussen is having his workload restrictions loosened, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Rasmussen missed 15 months following a hybrid procedure to repair the UCL in his right elbow in May of 2023, which was his third career elbow operation, and the Rays have understandably treated him with kid gloves to begin the season. In his last outing against the Brewers on Sunday however, he completed six innings for the first time since his latest surgery. Rasmussen threw only 81 pitches in that outing, has yet to reach the 90-pitch mark this season and has made a start on four days' rest just once. While it's not clear exactly how much his workload will increase, being allowed to pitch deeper into games will improve his counting stats outlook, as well as his odds of collecting wins and quality starts.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said in a recent interview that he hopes to get Arrighetti (thumb) back "somewhere in the month of July," Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Arrighetti has had the cast on his fractured right thumb removed and has begun strengthening exercises. However, he has not yet started up a throwing program, and once he does he will nearly be building up from scratch after suffering the injury April 7. Arrighetti is currently on the 15-day injured list but is a candidate to be shifted to the 60-day IL if the Astros need to free up a spot on their 40-man roster.

Bibee (4-4) earned the win Thursday over the Tigers, allowing three hits and a walk across seven scoreless innings. He struck out eight.

Bibee was stellar as he got through seven innings for the third time this year while setting a season high in strikeouts. The 26-year-old righty lowered his ERA to 3.57 with a 1.21 WHIP and 43:18 K:BB across 10 starts (58 innings). He's currently in line for a tough home matchup with the Dodgers in his next outing.

Kirby (0-1) allowed five runs on six hits and a walk while striking out four over 3.2 innings to take the loss Thursday versus the Astros.

Kirby missed over a quarter of the season while dealing with right shoulder inflammation. He was on a pitch count Thursday and had some rust to shake off, struggling the second time through the Houston order. The Astros tied the game with two runs in the third inning and added three more in the fourth. Kirby threw 49 of 72 pitches for strikes and should be able to push closer to 80-to-85 pitches for his second start. That outing is projected to come at home versus the Nationals next week.

McCullers allowed two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out eight over 4.1 innings in a no-decision Thursday versus the Mariners.

McCullers pitched into the fifth inning for the third time in four starts, but he once again had trouble with traffic on the basepaths. He's walked three batters in three of his starts, though the eight strikeouts more than doubled his season total. Still, he landed just 52 of 91 pitches for strikes in this outing. McCullers is at a 6.57 ERA, 2.03 WHIP and 14:10 K:BB across 12.1 innings so far in his first major-league action since 2022. Walks were an issue for him in 2021 and 2022 as well, but not to this extent, and he'll be tough to trust in fantasy until he can cut down on the free passes. His next start is tentatively projected to be at home versus the Athletics.

Burrows (0-1) took the loss Thursday against the Brewers after allowing four runs on four hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out three.

Thursday marked the first major-league start of the season and second career outing for Burrows, who struggled to keep the ball in the yard against Milwaukee. The 25-year-old right-hander served up two home runs, and he got an ordinary nine whiffs. Burrows sports a 2.51 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 41:11 K:BB over 32.1 innings for Triple-A Indianapolis in 2025, but he'll be tough to trust in his next scheduled turn against an Arizona team that boasts an .812 OPS versus right-handers through their first 50 games.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson said that Woo remains on track to make his next scheduled start Saturday against the Astros after being struck in the lower leg by a foul ball Thursday, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.

A hard-hit foul ball in the eighth inning of Thursday's game in Houston traveled into the Seattle dugout and struck Woo, who headed back to the clubhouse for further evaluation. According to Wilson, Woo sustained some bruising to his leg, but the Mariners don't believe the issue will put the right-hander's next turn through the rotation in jeopardy. Through nine starts this season, Woo has gone 5-1 with a 2.65 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 55:8 K:BB across 57.2 innings.

Civale (hamstring) didn't factor into the decision in Thursday's 8-5 win over the Pirates after striking out three batters and allowing two earned runs on four hits and two walks in four innings.

Civale turned in an up-and-down performance in his first start for Milwaukee since March 30 after he had been on the 15-day injured list for nearly two months while recovering from a strained left hamstring. The 29-year-old right-hander has now given up four home runs over only seven innings this season, and he also hit a batter Thursday while throwing just 42 of his 73 pitches for strikes. Civale was operating under a restricted workload in his return, but he should be able to push his pitch count up to the 80-to-90 range in his next start, which will likely come early next week against the Red Sox in MIlwaukee.

Flaherty (2-6) allowed three runs on three hits across 6.2 innings and took the loss Thursday against the Guardians. He walked three and struck out eight.

Flaherty logged his first quality start since April 22 but still sustained his sixth loss over his last seven starts. The righty has struggled to keep the ball in the park recently, as he allowed a home run Thursday and has now served up 10 long balls across 36.2 innings during those seven appearances. Overall, Flaherty is sitting with a 4.39 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 64 strikeouts in 53.1 innings this season, and he'll look to get back into the win column in his next outing, which is tentatively penciled in for Tuesday against the Giants.

Smith-Shawver allowed seven runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out one over three-plus innings in a no-decision versus Washington on Thursday.

Smith-Shawver's start was pushed back a day after Wednesday's rainout, and he didn't pitch well. The right-hander endured his worst start of the season, with the second and fourth innings being particularly troublesome. One silver lining was that he didn't allow a home run, but this start was discouraging after he'd allowed just two runs (one earned) across his first 19.2 innings in May. He's now at a 3.67 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 41:20 K:BB through 41.2 innings over eight starts this season. Smith-Shawver's next outing is projected to be at Philadelphia, which is a tough matchup but one that will allow fantasy managers to see if he can bounce back effectively.