MLB Player News

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Friday that Senga (calf) should be able to throw while standing within the next 7-to-10 days, Laura Albanese of Newsday reports.

Senga has already been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season with a high-grade left calf strain, but it's possible he could be available should the Mets make a playoff run. The pitcher has been able to maintain a throwing program since suffering a strained calf in his season debut July 26, but using his legs while throwing would be an encouraging sign of progress.

Nelson is slated to start Friday's game against the Rays at Tropicana Field.

Manager Torey Lovullo said earlier in the week that Nelson would be available out of the bullpen for Wednesday's game against the Rockies, but with the Diamondbacks not needing to use the right-hander in that contest, he'll slot back into the rotation Friday for his 21st start of the season. Lovullo noted that the Diamondbacks intend to scale back their rotation from six to five men following Friday's contest, so barring another starting pitcher falling victim to an injury, Nelson looks like he'll be headed back to the bullpen after his start versus the Rays.

The Red Sox activated Criswell from the COVID-19 injured list Friday, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

Criswell was unavailable for the past week due to the virus but is expected to serve as a bulk reliever in Friday's game against the Orioles, following opener Brennan Bernardino. James Paxton's likely season-ending calf injury opens up the fifth spot in the Red Sox' rotation and Criswell is the current favorite to fill it, although Rich Hill could eventually be in the mix after he was inked to a minor-league deal Friday.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Friday that Suarez is likely to start Sunday's game against the Red Sox, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Suarez was initially on track to take the hill Saturday, but the Orioles will bring up Cade Povich from Triple-A Norfolk to make a spot start that day, giving Suarez and the rest of the members of the Orioles rotation some extra rest. Hyde said that he does not plan at this time to move to a six-man rotation, so Povich may be sent back to Triple-A or shift to the bullpen after Saturday's outing. Suarez could eventually shift to the bullpen as well, but a move to a relief role doesn't seem to be imminent.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that Wrobleski will start Friday in St. Louis.

It looks to be just a spot start for Wrobleski, who has posted a 4.05 ERA and 15:7 K:BB over 20 innings in his first four major-league outings. The Cardinals have struggled mightily versus left-handed pitching this season, making the rookie southpaw an intriguing streaming option.

The Rays activated Pepiot (knee) from the 15-day injured list Friday, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Pepiot will start Friday's game against the Diamondbacks after being on the sidelines for the past month due to an infection in his right knee. The right-hander made one rehab start with Double-A Montgomery, throwing 69 pitches while striking out seven over 3.1 scoreless innings. Pepiot figures to be limited to around 80 pitches in Friday's outing.

Suarez is no longer scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Red Sox, Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun reports.

The responsibility will instead fall to Cade Povich, who will be recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. Suarez has been terrific since re-entering the rotation in place of the injured Grayson Rodriguez (lat), tossing 11.2 scoreless innings with an 11:3 K:BB. It's not clear whether Suarez will simply be pushed back or is being moved to long relief, which is his likely role in the postseason for the Orioles.

The Orioles will recall Povich from Triple-A Norfolk to start Saturday's game against the Red Sox, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Povich will be added to the taxi squad Friday before officially joining the active roster Saturday. Albert Suarez had been in line to start Saturday, but the club could be moving him back to the bullpen. Povich has mostly struggled in his eight starts with Baltimore, posting a 6.27 ERA and 25:23 K:BB over 37.1 innings. However, the lefty has gone seven innings in both of his last two starts for Norfolk.

Williams (elbow) threw a bullpen session Wednesday, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

It's the first mound work for the veteran right-hander since he landed on the IL at the end of May with a right flexor muscle strain. Williams threw 20 pitches, all fastballs, and he's still several weeks away from rejoining the Nationals' staff. His timeline could be shortened if the team elects to bring him back as a reliever, and with the 32-year-old set to become a free agent after the season, Washington has little incentive to bump a younger option from the rotation in favor of Williams.

Bradford did not factor into the decision in a loss to the Twins on Thursday, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks over six innings while striking out two.

The southpaw got tagged for a leadoff homer by Willi Castro and a Kyle Farmer triple to open the second inning, with the latter resulting in a second run for Minnesota following a fielding error by Leody Taveras. However, Bradford would then keep the Twins off the scoreboard over the next four frames before being relieved by Jose Leclerc to begin the seventh. It marked Bradford's third quality start of the campaign and his first since April 10 against the Athletics. He's allowed three or fewer runs in all three of his starts this month, posting a 14:3 K:BB over that stretch.