MLB Player News

Maeda is expected to serve as a bulk reliever behind starter Beau Brieske in Sunday's game against the Dodgers, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

After Maeda delivered a 7.26 ERA and 1.58 WHiP through his first 16 starts of the season, manager A.J. Hinch announced Thursday that the veteran right-hander will work out of the bullpen "for the foreseeable future." Before being moved to the bullpen Maeda had been lined up to start Sunday's series finale, but the Tigers haven't yet added a formal replacement in the rotation for the 36-year-old. Triple- A Toledo pitcher Matt Manning could eventually step in as the Tigers' new No. 5 starter after the All-Star break, but Detroit will first rely on its bullpen to get through the final game of the first half. Brieske hasn't covered more than three innings in any of his 31 outings between the majors and Triple-A this season, so he'll likely be on a short leash before turning the ball over to Maeda at some point. Maeda hasn't been used since his last start Tuesday versus the Guardians, so he's the freshest arm in the Detroit bullpen.

Gibson came away with a no-decision in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Cubs, giving up four runs on 10 hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out three.

All four runs scored in the second inning as Chicago batted around, with the biggest blow being a two-run shot by Miguel Amaya. Gibson wound up exiting after 97 pitches (56 strikes) as he failed to last more than five innings for the fourth straight start, a stretch in which he's stumbled to a 7.50 ERA, 2.11 WHIP and 23:10 K:BB in 18 innings. The veteran righty will try to use the All-Star break to regroup, but there are warning signs his numbers could continue to regress after a promising start to 2024 -- his 91.0 mph average velocity on his fastball would be his lowest since 2016, while his 9.5 percent walk rate would be his highest over a full season since 2018.

Assad came away with a no-decision in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Cardinals, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks over 2.1 innings. He failed to strike out a batter.

Out since June 23 with a forearm strain, Assad was activated from the IL without having gone on a rehab assignment, so the poor results aren't a big surprise. The right-hander was lifted after 44 pitches (29 strikes) having served up first-inning solo shots to Masyn Winn and Willson Contreras, and keeping the ball in the park was an issue for Assad prior to the injury as well -- he's been tagged for 10 homers in his last eight starts and 37 innings, posting a 5.59 ERA, 1.76 WHIP and 37:20 K:BB over that stretch. Despite those numbers, the 26-year-old will likely remain in the Cubs rotation following the All-Star break.

Littell allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out three batters over six innings in a no-decision against the Guardians on Saturday.

Littell got through four scoreless frames before serving up a solo homer to Angel Martinez in the fifth inning. A catcher's interference call on batterymate David Fry led to a second Cleveland run in the frame, which tied the score and took Littell out of line for a victory. The right-hander ended his outing on a high note, retiring the side in order in the sixth to notch his first quality start since June 9. Littell will finish the first half of the campaign with a 4.26 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 94:19 K:BB over 101.1 innings.

Williams allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks while striking out two batters over five innings in a no-decision against Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Cleveland scored twice in the top of the fifth frame to give Williams a 2-1 lead, but the righty hurler surrendered a leadoff triple in the bottom of the inning, which the Rays turned into the tying run on an ensuing Guardians error. Williams completed that frame without further damage but couldn't go any deeper, as he racked up 94 pitches. Among his offerings, only six were swinging strikes, and Williams punched out only two batters, but he was successful in keeping Cleveland in the game. After yielding five runs over four frames in his season debut July 3, Williams has surrendered just one earned run across his ensuing two appearances covering 10.1 innings.

Diaz (1-0) allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out two over six innings, earning the win Saturday over the Blue Jays.

Diaz has opened his major-league career with a pair of quality starts, allowing one run over six innings in each of them. The Blue Jays' lone run against him was on a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Diaz has also posted a 7:3 K:BB over 12 innings. The 23-year-old showed more strikeout upside in the minors, but if he can continue to limit traffic on the basepaths, he should find success. Arizona's rotation is unlikely to be at full health until early-to-mid August at the earliest, so Diaz may get a few more chances to audition for a more permanent stay in the majors.

Berrios (8-7) took the loss Saturday versus the Diamondbacks, allowing five runs on seven hits and four walks over four innings. He did not record a strikeout.

Berrios enters the All-Star break on a bit of a skid, having allowing 14 runs over his last 15 innings. The one bright side to his start Saturday was that he didn't give up a home run, the first time he's kept the ball in the yard since May 31. The veteran right-hander is at a 4.01 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 87:33 K:BB over 119 innings through 20 starts this season.

Feltner (1-9) took the loss against the Mets on Saturday, allowing four runs (three earned) on two hits and five walks while striking out seven batters over 3.2 innings.

Feltner had trouble finding the striking zone, as the five walks were two more than his previous season high. Three of the free passes came in the second frame, which was when the Mets scored all four of their runs against him. Feltner did at least manage to register seven punchouts, but he couldn't avoid his ninth loss of the campaign. Among NL pitchers, only teammate Dakota Hudson has lost more games, and Feltner has been mostly ineffective with a 5.36 ERA and 1.45 WHIP across 102.1 innings.

Clevinger (elbow) will make another rehab start with Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday, MLB.com reports.

The White Sox had considered bringing Clevinger back before he was fully built up, though they'll opt to give him a second start on his most recent rehab assignment. He'll remain on the injured list through the All-Star break at least, and the team has not committed to immediately activating him when games start back up.

Kirby (7-7) allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks while striking out seven over six innings, taking the loss Saturday versus the Angels.

This marked just the third time all year Kirby walked multiple batters. He heads into the All-Star break with seven straight quality starts, though he's gone 2-2 in that span due to a continued lack of run support. Kirby owns an excellent 3.29 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 116:13 K:BB through 117.2 innings over 20 starts this season.