MLB Player News

Bello will start Monday at home against the Royals, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

He could have started Sunday on normal rest, but the Red Sox will use a pair of openers and primary pitchers, likely Nick Pivetta and Chris Murphy, for the final two games of the series against the Blue Jays. Bello has a 3.73 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 48 strikeouts in 62.2 innings over his last 10 starts.

Syndergaard (leg) will start Saturday's home game against the White Sox, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

He exited his Guardians debut Monday in the bottom of the sixth inning after being struck in the lower right leg by a comebacker, but he apparently suffered little more than a minor bruise. Syndergaard, who struck out zero batters in 5.1 innings Monday, has struck out just 21 batters over his last 44.2 frames. On a positive note, the right-hander did showcase a bump in velocity Monday. Per Bell, his four-seamer averaged 93.5 miles per hour (up 0.9 mph from his season average), his three cutters averaged 91.3 mph (up 2.0 mph) and his sinker averaged 93.9 mph (up 1.6 mph).

The Dodgers optioned Sheehan to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday.

In a corresponding move, the Dodgers will likely activate the newly acquired Ryan Yarbrough, who is expected to serve as a bulk reliever Saturday versus the Paders. Sheehan essentially piggybacked Julio Urias in Thursday's win over the Athletics after the southpaw was limited to five innings due to a split fingernail. After replacing Urias, Sheehan went the rest of the way to pick up a four-inning save, so he wouldn't have been an option to pitch for the next few days. It wouldn't be surprising to see the 23-year-old righty back in the big leagues later this season.

Hamels (shoulder) officially retired from baseball after 15 seasons in the majors Friday.

The 39-year-old lefty had been attempting to come back from a shoulder procedure he underwent in November 2021, but Hamels will call it a career after not pitching in a game since 2020. The 2008 World Series MVP will finish with a career 163-122 record alongside a 3.43 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and four All-Star selections.

Paddack (elbow) is on track to begin facing live hitters in mid-August, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Paddack is about 14 months removed from his second career Tommy John surgery and has been throwing bullpen sessions without issue since the beginning of June. The 27-year-old right-hander could potentially be an option for the Twins' pitching staff sometime in September if all continues to go smoothly with his throwing program.

Cleveland activated Battenfield (shoulder) from the 60-day injured list Friday and optioned him to Triple-A Columbus.

Battenfield is recovered from right shoulder inflammation that sent him to the IL back in mid-May, but the Guardians will stash him at Columbus for now. The 25-year-old allowed seven earned runs and tallied only one strikeout over 7.1 innings in his latest rehab start this past Sunday at Triple-A.

Fried (forearm) was activated from the 60-day injured list Friday ahead of his start against the Cubs.

Fried has been on the shelf since May 9 with a left forearm strain. He built up to 79 pitches in his most recent rehab outing, so Fried should be able to go deep enough to qualify for the win in this one if he is pitching well. The 6-foot-4 lefty gave up five earned runs and struck out 13 over 12 innings across four rehab appearances in July.

Liberatore (1-4) took the loss Thursday, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks over 5.2 innings against the Twins. He struck out one.

Most of the damage against Liberatore came in the second inning when the Twins tagged him for four runs on a pair of homers. The 23-year-old left-hander's ERA is now up to 6.93 with a 1.78 WHIP and 23:18 K:BB across nine starts (37.2 innings) this season. Liberatore still offers some upside and figures to remain in the Cardinals' rotation following the trades of Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery. However, he's too risky to even be a streaming option in most fantasy formats.

Cavalli has begun lifting weights and working on his flexibility as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery in March, Damon Brooks Jr. of The Washington Post reports. "I've been doing a little bit of bench presses, biceps and triceps extensions and curls, just developing that muscle back and adding strength," Cavalli said this week.

The right-hander only recently regained full range of motion in his arm, and he remains on track to get back on a mound in 2024. The rebuilding Nationals will have little incentive to rush Cavalli back into action, but he figures to join the big-league rotation at some point in the first half next season. The 24-year-old got hit hard in his first career MLB start in August 2022, but he posted a 3.71 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 104:39 K:BB through 97 innings for Triple-A Rochester last year and is still viewed as a future pillar of the pitching staff alongside Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore.

Singer (7-8) earned the win Thursday, allowing three hits and zero walks over eight scoreless innings in a 9-2 victory over the Mets. He struck out four.

The right-hander retired the last 11 batters he faced in the contest and has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in three consecutive outings, lowering his ERA on the season to 5.10. The three hits were also the fewest Singer has allowed since his first start of the year back on April 3.