MLB Player News

France (8-3) was the pitcher of record in Sunday's 9-7 win over the Yankees after giving up one unearned run on three hits and three walks while striking out four over 3.1 innings out of the bullpen.

After serving as a starter in his first 15 appearances with Houston, France moved to the bullpen Sunday to clear a spot in the rotation for right-hander Jose Urquidy, who was activated from the 60-day injured list to make his first start since April 30. Urquidy was on a limited pitch count and labored through 3.1 innings before being pulled from the contest, paving the way for France to effectively piggyback him. France was able to come away with his fourth consecutive win and his sixth win in seven outings while lowering his ERA to 2.75 in the process. The rookie right-hander isn't expected to be in line for a permanent stay in the bullpen, but manager Dusty Baker has yet to reveal when France may make his next start.

Ragans is scheduled to start Monday's series opener against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Kansas City ranks 27th in the majors this season with a 5.19 ERA from its starting pitchers, so Ragans will unsurprisingly stick around in the rotation after he submitted a gem of an outing his last time out Wednesday against the Mets. In that start -- his second of the season after he tossed five innings of one-run ball against the Rays on July 15 -- Ragans struck out eight over six shutout frames and scattered seven hits and one walk. He'll tentatively line up for two starts this week, with his second turn likely to come Saturday versus the Cardinals at Kauffman Stadium.

Quantrill (shoulder) faced hitters in a simulated game at Double-A Akron on Friday, MLB.com reports.

Quantrill returned to Cleveland following the live session, and assuming team doctors are satisfied with the condition on his shoulder, he could report back to Akron or another affiliate during the upcoming week for a rehab assignment. On the shelf since July 6 with the inflamed right shoulder, Quantrill may require more than one rehab outing to get fully stretched out before the Guardians add him back to their rotation.

Wentz is slated to start Monday's game against the Twins at Comerica Park, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

The young lefty will get at least one more turn through the rotation after he shined in a bulk-relief role his last time out July 29 in what was his first appearance in the big leagues in a month. In that appearance against the Marlins, Wentz struck out six over 4.2 scoreless innings while allowing four hits and one walk. The Tigers seem content to have Wentz pitch as a traditional starter Monday rather than out of the bullpen, an arrangement that could raise his innings floor but may work against him in qualifying for a win.

The Marlins are planning for Perez -- who will be called up from Double-A Pensacola to start Monday's game in Cincinnati -- to make up to 10 more starts in the majors over the rest of the season, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports.

The team is monitoring the 20-year-old's workload carefully, as he's already thrown more innings this season than he did in either 2022 or 2021, but Perez is set to rejoin Miami's rotation Monday after spending about a month in the minors resting and then ramping back up. Whether he actually makes all 10 starts will depend on his performance as well as whether the Marlins stay in the wild-card hunt, but those investing in the young phenom can have some confidence that he'll see enough action to move the needle for their fantasy squads. Through his first 11 big-league outings, Perez has posted a 2.36 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 61:17 K:BB in 53.1 innings.

Mikolas will return to the Cardinals rotation to start Tuesday's series opener at Tampa Bay after completing his five-game suspension.

Mikolas was handed the suspension one day after he was ejected for intentionally throwing at Ian Happ in his July 27 start against the Cubs. Because he initially appealed the decision, Mikolas was able to start the next time his turn in the rotation came up this past Tuesday against the Twins, but he then dropped his appeal one day later. After missing the remaining two games of the series with Minnesota and all three games with the Rockies this past weekend, Mikolas will return to the hill Tuesday on six days' rest.

Liberatore is scheduled to start Thursday's game against the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Liberatore will get a second straight turn through the St. Louis rotation, facing off against the organization that drafted him with a first-round selection in 2018 before dealing him to the Cardinals in 2020. In his return from Triple-A Memphis this past weekend, Liberatore worked 5.2 innings in a losing effort against the Twins, giving up five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one. With a 6.93 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and 8.5 K-BB% over 37.2 innings in the majors this season, Liberatore likely warrants attention just in NL-only leagues at this time.

Perez allowed one hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning of relief in Sunday's 6-0 win over Miami.

This was Perez's first turn out of the bullpen after he was removed from the starting rotation, as the Rangers created room for starters acquired at the trade deadline. He mopped up in the ninth inning, but the stretched-out Perez could work as a long reliever when a starter is unable give the team length.

Cobb allowed five runs on seven hits and a walk over 5.1 innings in Sunday's loss to Oakland. He struck out three and did not factor in the decision.

Cobb served up two homers in the subpar outing, both to Nick Allen. Cobb forced a season-low three whiffs Sunday. Over his last four outings, he's registered a 5.40 ERA with just 16 punchouts across 21.2 frames. The veteran righty owns a 3.30 ERA and 1.33 WHIP through 21 starts this season. Cobb's next outing is projected to be at home against the Rangers.

Medina allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and five walks over 3.1 innings in Sunday's win over the Giants. He struck out three and did not factor in the decision.

Medina never found a groove Sunday as he allowed a run in each of the first two frames followed by two more in the third inning. He gave up just three total earned runs in his previous three starts and turned in his shortest outing since June 3. Medina has a solid 3.55 ERA since the start of July but his season mark jumped to 5.47. His next outing is lined up to be in Washington.