MLB Player News

France is scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Angels in Houston, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

After the Astros acquired Justin Verlander from the Mets and returned Jose Urquidy from the 60-day injured list last week, Houston elected to keep a five-man rotation intact, leaving France as the odd man out. With Urquidy turning in a short start Sunday against the Yankees in his first outing back from the IL, France ended up coming in relief and struck out four over 3.1 innings en route to nabbing the win. Just as manager Dusty Baker suggested was the case last week, France's move to the bullpen was short-lived, as Houston will move to a six-man rotation at least temporarily while the team is in the midst of a stretch of nine games in nine days. France will return to the hill Saturday looking to claim his seventh win in eight appearances.

Cubs manager David Ross announced Wednesday that Smyly has been temporarily moved to the bullpen, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Chicago has three days off in the next week and can roll with a smaller rotation for a bit. Also clouding Smyly's role is that Marcus Stroman (hip) is due back within the next few weeks. The 34-year-old left-hander was lit up for seven earned runs over five innings in his last turn Monday versus the Mets as his season ERA rose to 5.05.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez confirmed Wednesday that Adon will have a permanent spot in the rotation down the stretch, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

Washington is going to roll with a six-man rotation the rest of the way -- or at least attempt to -- in order to manage the workloads of young starters MacKenzie Gore, Josiah Gray and Jake Irvin. Adon looked sharp in his first start of the season last Saturday versus the Reds, tallying seven strikeouts with no walks over six innings. He was charged with three earned runs in the final frame after retiring the first 17 batters he faced. Adon will tentatively line up to make his next start either Friday or Saturday versus the Athletics.

Manager Kevin Cash said Glasnow (back) played catch Wednesday, and the Rays remain "optimistic" that the right-hander will be ready to make his next start Saturday versus the Guardians, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

At the same time, the skipper noted that he won't know for certain that Glasnow will be able to pitch this weekend until Saturday morning, so fantasy managers planning on activating him should keep a close eye on his status leading up to the game's 4:10 p.m. ET start time. Glasnow was scratched ahead of his most recent scheduled start this past Sunday after experiencing back spasms, but he seems to making good progress in his recovery from the injury.

Rucinski (knee/back) underwent lumbar spine surgery in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the team's official site reports.

Already ruled out for the season back in mid-July, Rucinski took the first official step toward a return to full health with Tuesday's procedure. The right-hander's offseason figures to be dominated by recovery and rehabilitation, and it remains to be seen how quickly he bounces back given he'll turn 35 in late December. Rucinski's return stateside after four successful seasons overseas in the KBO was a disappointment, as he also sustained a left knee injury and pitched to a 9.00 ERA and 2.28 WHIP across his four starts for the Athletics.

Severino won't start Wednesday's game against the White Sox, but he could be deployed as a primary pitcher out of the bullpen behind Ian Hamilton, who will serve as the Yankees' opener, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Hamilton hasn't covered more than three innings in any of his 31 appearances between the majors and minors in 2023, so he's unlikely to work more than once through the White Sox batting order before exiting the contest. Wednesday had been Severino's turn through the rotation, but because he's been lit up to the tune of an 11.22 ERA and 2.34 WHIP over his last six starts, the Yankees may be eager to try him out in a different role. Assuming Severino ends up serving as the Yankees' main option out of the bullpen Wednesday, he'll be the pitcher most likely to factor into any decision, though his innings count may be more suppressed than usual.

The Mariners selected Hancock's contract from Double-A Arkansas ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday versus the Padres at T-Mobile Park.

The 24-year-old righty will be making his MLB debut Wednesday, stepping into the Seattle rotation as a replacement for Bryan Woo (forearm), who was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday. In order to clear room on the 40-man roster for Hancock, the Mariners designated left-hander Zach Muckenhirn for assignment. Hancock posted a strong 16.8 K-BB% in 21 starts at Arkansas this season and excelled at keeping the ball in the yard (0.83 HR/9), attributes that could allow him to find some success in his first taste of the majors. He may be worthy of a pickup on speculation, but managers in shallower leagues may want to observe Hancock's MLB debut from afar rather than including him in active lineups Wednesday.

Eovaldi (forearm) threw a bullpen session Wednesday consisting of about 15-to-20 pitches, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Eovaldi is tentatively slated for a lengthier bullpen session Saturday. The 33-year-old has been out since late July with a right forearm strain and is more than a week away from returning from the 15-day injured list. Eovaldi does at least seem to be making solid progress at this stage of his recovery, so fantasy managers in the majority of leagues are likely best off continuing to hold him.

Anderson (shoulder) played catch Monday at a distance of a little over 90 feet, MLB.com reports.

Monday marked the fourth consecutive day that Anderson was able to play catch, as the right-hander remains in the early phase of his throwing program while he works his way back from an inflamed right shoulder. Anderson could be cleared for a bullpen session later this week or early next week if he continues to respond well to playing catch while gradually extending the distance of his throws.

Whitlock (elbow) struck out three and surrendered two hits while walking none in 2.1 scoreless innings in his rehab appearance Wednesday for Triple-A Worcester. He also hit a batter with a pitch.

Whitlock pumped in 33 of his 46 pitches for strikes while allowing only three of the nine batters he faced to reach base, with both of the hits he allowed being of the soft-contact variety. The strong rehab outing was exactly what the Red Sox wanted to see from Whitlock, who was making his first appearance since July 2 after missing the past five weeks with a bone bruise in his right elbow. Before being placed on the 15-day injured list, Whitlock had served as a starter for the Red Sox, but he'll be rejoining the club as a multi-inning reliever. Assuming he checks out fine after being evaluated following Wednesday's rehab appearance, Whitlock will likely be activated from the IL ahead of Sunday's game against the Tigers.