MLB Player News

Lorenzen (neck) said Sunday he'll make one more minor-league rehab start before joining the Rangers, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.

The right-hander threw 70 pitches while allowing a run over four innings with Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday, and he'll continue building up his workload in his next rehab start, which could come Tuesday. Lorenzen is on the shelf with a neck strain, but the purpose of his stint on the injured list is primarily to build up his pitch count after signing with Texas late in spring training.

Manager Dave Roberts said Buehler (elbow) checked out well after his rehab outing Saturday with Triple-A Oklahoma City and is scheduled for at least one more minor-league rehab start before being activated from the 15-day injured list, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The right-hander was effective in his second appearance for Oklahoma City, as he tallied six strikeouts and threw 65 pitches across 4.2 scoreless frames. Buehler will continue building up his pitch count in his next minor-league outing, and the Dodgers will then decide whether additional rehab starts are necessary.

Thompson is expected to lose his rotation spot and move to the bullpen with Sonny Gray (hamstring) on track to return from the 15-day injured list to start Tuesday's game against the Phillies, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Rather than sending Gray out for a minor-league rehab assignment after he tossed 54 pitches in a three-inning simulated game Wednesday, the Cardinals saw enough from the veteran right-hander to feel comfortable having him return from the IL for his next outing. According to Jones, Thompson won't be available out of the bullpen Sunday against the Marlins or in Monday's series opener with the Phillies just in case Gray suffers a setback leading up to Tuesday's game, but Thompson looks like he'll be headed for a relief role before long. Since he isn't yet fully ramped up, Gray is expected to be limited to 65 pitches Tuesday, so Thompson could even be called upon to pitch an inning or two once the former exits his start. After faring respectably upon joining the St. Louis rotation over the final two months of the 2023 campaign, Thompson has struggled to carry any momentum into 2024. Over his first two starts, Thompson has given up eight earned runs on 11 hits and six walks while striking out nine over 10.1 innings.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Cole (elbow) is scheduled to resume playing catch either Monday or Tuesday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Cole has been shut down for nearly a month after he was diagnosed in spring training with nerve irritation and edema in his throwing elbow, but he looks poised to begin what's expected to be a lengthy ramp-up process. Though Cole was fortunate to avoid Tommy John surgery after getting a second opinion on his elbow from Dr. Neal ElAttrache in March, a procedure of some kind could still be in the forecast if the right-hander fails to bounce back as anticipated once he resumes throwing. He'll likely be limited to playing catch off flat ground while gradually extending his throwing distance for at least a week or two before potentially gaining clearance to throw bullpen sessions. Since Cole was placed on the 60-day IL prior to Opening Day, he won't be eligible to make his season debut until late May.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Gray (hamstring) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Tuesday against the Phillies, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

The organization originally planned for Gray to make a minor-league rehab start before joining St. Louis' rotation, but the veteran right-hander apparently made a strong argument to instead make his season debut. Gray threw 54 pitches in a simulated game Wednesday and is expected to be limited to about 65 pitches versus Philadelphia.

McKenzie and the Guardians won't face the Twins on Sunday due to inclement weather in Minnesota, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The two teams are scheduled to make up the game as part of a split doubleheader Aug. 9. As a result of the postponement, McKenzie's next start will likely just be pushed back a day, so expect him to take the hill for Monday's series opener versus the White Sox in Cleveland.

Ober and the Twins won't face the Guardians on Sunday due to inclement weather in Minnesota, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The two teams will make up the game as part of a split doubleheader Aug. 9. As a result of the postponement, Minnesota is likely to push all five members of its rotation back a day in the schedule, so Ober's next start is expected to come Monday versus the Dodgers at Target Field.

Schmidt allowed two runs on six hits and three walks over 4.1 innings in the Yankees' win against Toronto on Saturday.

Schmidt was getting knocked around early but managed to avoid sustaining any significant damage, as he limited the Blue Jays to just two runs over his 4.1 innings of work. The right-hander allowed the leadoff man to reach base in four of the five innings in which he appeared and he's now given up 13 hits over 9.2 innings this season. Despite those alarming stats, Schmidt has held his opponents to three runs or fewer in each of his first two outings.

Gausman took the loss against the Yankees on Saturday, allowing six runs (five earned) on four hits and two walks over 1.1 innings.

Gausman had a start he'd like to forget Saturday, allowing three runs in the first inning and another three (two earned) in the second before being relieved by Mitch White. The right-hander failed to even record a strikeout over that short span while the disastrous outing raised his ERA from 2.08 to 9.53. Gausman has now allowed three home runs over just 5.2 innings of work this season.

Atlanta recalled Winans from Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.

Though he had been a member of Gwinnett's season-opening rotation and will now move up to Atlanta as a replacement on the 26-man active roster for staff ace Spencer Strider (elbow), Winans is expected to provide the big club with a fresh arm in the bullpen who's capable of covering multiple innings. AJ Smith-Shawver, Dylan Dodd, Darius Vines and Huascar Ynoa are all already on the 40-man roster and could be candidates to enter the rotation when Atlanta next needs a fifth starter Wednesday versus the Mets, while Bryce Elder pitched four innings for Gwinnett on Saturday and likely won't be in consideration to replace Strider right away since he would be pitching on only three days' rest.