MLB Player News

Imanaga (hamstring) threw a 39-pitch live batting practice session Wednesday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Imanaga faced hitters for the first time since going on the 15-day injured list in early May due to a strained left hamstring. Whether Imanaga will require a rehab assignment is not yet clear, but he still has some stamina to rebuild before being considered for a return to the Cubs rotation.

The Padres reinstated Groome from the suspended list and non-tendered him Thursday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Groome has completed his year-long ban for violating the league's gambling policy, but the Padres have elected to cut the lefty loose rather than put him back on their 40-man roster. In his last full season at Triple-A El Paso in 2024, Groome posted an 8.55 ERA and 137:112 K:BB over 134.2 innings covering 30 starts.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that there's a "good possibility" Kopech (shoulder) will rejoin the active roster this weekend, Benjamin Royer of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Kopech has been sidelined all season, first with right forearm inflammation and more recently a right shoulder impingement. After some initial struggles on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, Kopech has been unscored upon in four of his last five appearances. The hard-throwing righty is likely to be eased into high-leverage situations.

Woodruff was diagnosed with a right elbow contusion Thursday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Woodruff took a line drive off his elbow during his most recent rehab start at Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday. Although it seems he escaped the incident without suffering any structural damage, the Brewers will pause his minor-league assignment while he recovers from his latest setback. The 32-year-old righty began his rehab assignment in mid-April as the final step in his recovery from October 2023 shoulder surgery, but ankle tendinitis and now a bruised elbow have extended his stay on the injured list significantly. Woodruff owns a 2.11 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 38.1 frames across his nine rehab outings, and it remains unknown when he'll make his season debut for the Brewers.

Basso (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Stockton on Sunday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Basso has been sidelined all season with a left shoulder strain and made just two appearances during spring training before the injury, so it will take time for him to build back up. There are spots in the Athletics' rotation to be had, however, so Basso could grab one if he pitches well and gets sufficiently stretched out.

The Phillies expect Wheeler (personal) to make his return to the rotation next week, likely during the team's three-game home series versus the Cubs that begins Monday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Wheeler was initially lined up to make his 13th start of the season this past Tuesday in Toronto, but he was excused from making the trip to Canada due the forthcoming birth of his child. The Phillies officially placed Wheeler on the paternity list Wednesday, and though he'll have to be activated Saturday after missing the maximum three games, the right-hander won't be asked to pitch during this weekend's series in Pittsburgh. To accommodate for Wheeler's absence from the pitching schedule, the Phillies will go with a bullpen game Friday, while Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez start the final two contests of the series versus the Pirates.

The Twins recalled Festa from Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday.

Festa will take the ball Thursday versus the Athletics and could be part of the Twins rotation on a long-term basis as a replacement for the injured Pablo Lopez (shoulder). The 25-year-old Festa holds a 1.38 ERA and 15:5 K:BB across 13 frames this season at the big-league level. He threw only 66 pitches in his last start at St. Paul in what was his second outing back from arm fatigue, so his workload will be relatively limited Thursday.

The Twins placed Lopez on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a right teres major muscle strain.

Lopez suffered the unfortunate injury during his start Tuesday against the Athletics. He is expected to be sidelined anywhere from eight to 12 weeks. David Festa has been recalled from Triple-A St. Paul to take Lopez's spot on the roster and in the Twins rotation.

The Tigers promoted Melton from Double-A Erie to Triple-A Toledo on Thursday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

After turning in a 5.10 ERA and giving up 19 home runs in 23 starts at Double-A in 2024, Melton showed stark improvement in keeping the ball in the yard upon returning to Erie to begin the 2025 season. He yielded just one home run in 39 innings over his 10 starts, allowing him to bring his ERA down to 3.23 this season despite his 20.7 K-BB% being right in line with his 2024 rate. Melton will look to replicate that success against International League hitters and could be in the mix for a late-season call-up to the Detroit rotation if the Tigers' pitching staff is hit hard by injuries.

Manaea (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment with High-A Brooklyn on Friday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Manaea is slated to throw around 35 pitches in what will be his first game action since last year's postseason. The left-hander will continue to build up his pitch count and likely move to a higher affiliate, with the goal of rejoining the Mets' rotation in late June or early July.