MLB Player News

Hancock, who exited Sunday's start against the Astros after two innings due to a shoulder/lat injury, could be headed for a stint on the injured list, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

The rookie felt something "kind of grab" in his lat after he fired a scoreless second inning, per manager Scott Servais, leading to the decision to end his afternoon early. Hancock got his 2023 season off to a delayed start because of a lat strain he suffered during minor-league minicamp in February, and he's battled shoulder issues since he was drafted in 2020. The right-hander is still officially considered day-to-day for the moment, but Divish notes it's "likely" Hanock heads to the IL in coming days and the Mariners temporarily adjust their plans for a six-man rotation.

Soroka got pulled from his start with Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday after 73 pitches and 4.2 innings as Atlanta keeps a close eye on his innings total this season, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The right-hander was pitching well Saturday, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out nine without walking a batter, but the organization is focused on the bigger picture. Soroka has tossed 77.2 innings at Triple-A in 2023 plus another 29.1 in the majors, a fairly sizable workload for the 26-year-old considering he managed only 38.2 innings total over the prior three years while recovering from three surgeries on his Achilles tendon. He appears to be rounding into form -- he's got a 1.62 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 25:5 K:BB in August for Gwinnett -- but Atlanta may prefer to have him finish out the year healthy and looking ahead to 2024 rather than bring him back up to the big-league roster for the stretch run.

Sheehan struck out five and allowed one hit and one walk over four scoreless frames out of the bullpen Sunday for Triple-A Oklahoma City in its 7-5 loss to Salt Lake.

Since returning to the minors Aug. 4, Sheehan has made a pair of four-inning relief appearances for Oklahoma City, allowing just six baserunners while striking out 11. His usage as a primary pitcher out of the bullpen is likely an organizational decision to keep his innings in check, but Sheehan could still be a candidate to make his return to the Dodgers when the team requires a fifth starter to replace the injured Tony Gonsolin (forearm) this weekend in Boston. If he's called up, Sheehan could end up working behind an opening pitcher just like he has his last two times out with Oklahoma City.

Woo (forearm) may be activated to start in the Mariners' three-game set against the White Sox beginning Monday after recovering well from Thursday's 20-pitch bullpen session, MLB.com reports.

Manager Scott Servais confirmed Woo was feeling "really good" Saturday -- about 48 hours removed from the session -- and was projected to be activated to start either Tuesday or Wednesday against the White Sox. However, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports the Mariners' short-term pitching plans may have to be adjusted with Emerson Hancock potentially heading to the injured list due to a lat strain that forced his early exit from Sunday's start. Per Divish, that will definitively scrap Seattle's plans for a six-man rotation for the moment, and it may require the team to add a reliever for at least a couple of games before Woo is reinstated.

Cecconi will start Monday in the Diamondbacks' series opener versus the Rangers at Chase Field, Jody Jackson of Bally Sports Arizona reports.

After making a one-inning appearance out of the bullpen in an Aug. 11 game against the Padres, Cecconi returned to the Arizona rotation Wednesday in Colorado. He navigated the unfavorable conditions at Coors Field well enough, striking out four over four innings while limiting the Rockies to two runs on four hits and three walks. Even so, Cecconi owns mostly underwhelming ratios (4.91 FIP, 5.14 SIERA, 6.8 K-BB%) through his limited sample of big-league action to date and wasn't especially impressive over a larger body of work at Triple-A Reno earlier this season, making it tough to recommend him as a streaming option while he faces off Monday against one of the American League's top lineups.

Gore (finger) is listed as the Nationals' probable starter for Wednesday's road game against the Yankees, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Gore's inclusion on Washington's pitching schedule for the three-game set at Yankee Stadium is an indication that the cut nail and blister on his left index finger presented no issues for him during his throwing session over the weekend. He'll be returning to the mound Wednesday on six days' rest after the finger issue cropped up during his most recent outing against the Red Sox on Aug. 16, when he struck out seven and allowed just one hit and two walks over 6.1 scoreless innings prior to departing.

Wood gave up two hits and no walks without recording a strikeout across 1.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in Sunday's 4-3 win over Atlanta.

The Giants appear to have officially transitioned Wood to a relief role, as the veteran southpaw has now made each of his last six appearances out of the bullpen. While Wood had been deployed as more of a bulk reliever in a few of those outings, he's made one- and 1.1-inning appearances on the last two occasions. Given that Wood is one of several bullpen options (Jakob Junis, Sean Manaea, Tristan Beck, Ryan Walker and Sean Hjelle) capable of covering multiple frames, expect the Giants to continue to get by with multiple arms on days that traditional starters Logan Webb and Alex Cobb aren't pitching.

The Padres optioned Waldron to Triple-A El Paso on Sunday.

Waldron started the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Diamondbacks, yielding five runs over five innings in a losing effort. The 26-year-old returns to El Paso, where he's posted a 7.28 ERA in 2023.

Winans was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.

Winans will pitch Monday's series opener versus the Mets and could be in store for a two-start week while he enters the rotation as a replacement for Yonny Chirinos (elbow), who landed on the injured list. The 28-year-old rookie has been excellent in two starts for Atlanta this season, holding a 1.59 ERA and 14:3 K:BB over 11.1 innings. He's worth a look in deeper leagues.

Atlanta placed Chirinos on the 15-day injured list Monday with right elbow inflammation.

Chirinos seemingly had been set to lose his rotation spot due to performance, but instead he'll go on the IL and will be sidelined at least until early September. Allan Winans was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move and will replace Chirinos in the rotation beginning with Monday's game against the Mets.