MLB Player News

Urias threw a bullpen session Tuesday that manager Dave Roberts said "went well," and the lefty hurler remains on track to start Thursday against Oakland, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Urias was originally scheduled to start Tuesday in the opening game of a three-game set against the Athletics, but a split fingernail on his pitching hand resulted in that outing being pushed back a few days. Instead, the southpaw tossed a bullpen Tuesday to gauge the status of the nail issue and determine if he'd need to be held out longer. Since the session was a success, it appears Urias will face Oakland in the final game of the series Thursday in Los Angeles.

Severino is listed as the Yankees' starting pitcher for Friday's game against the Astros, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone suggested earlier this week that Severino might be at risk of losing his rotation spot, but the club mostly sat idle at Tuesday's trade deadline and will apparently stick with the 29-year-old right-hander at least a little while longer. He has struggled to a 7.49 ERA, 1.84 WHIP and 50:24 K:BB through 57.2 innings (12 starts) this season.

Sale (shoulder) is scheduled to make his next rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Worcester, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Sale battled some command issues in his rehab debut Tuesday with Worcester, yielding two walks over two innings, but he gave up only one hit and didn't allow a run while striking out three of the nine batters he faced. Out since early June due to a stress reaction in his left scapula, the veteran left-hander is tracking toward a return to the Red Sox rotation around the weekend of Aug. 11.

Triple-A Memphis reinstated Thomas (undisclosed) from its 7-day injured list Wednesday.

According to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, Jones had been on the shelf at Memphis since early June due to shoulder inflammation. The 25-year-old lefty turned in a 5.73 ERA and 1.79 WHIP and struck out 43 batters over 59.2 innings prior to being deactivated.

Whitlock (elbow) could begin a rehab assignment Sunday with Triple-A Worcester, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Whitlock is on about the same trajectory as Tanner Houck (face), who is scheduled to begin a rehab stint with Worcester on Saturday. One of the two could return to the Red Sox in more of a piggyback role rather than a traditional starting role, though there's nothing official yet on that front. Whitlock has been limited to 51.2 major-league innings (10 starts) this season because of elbow trouble.

Liberatore is scheduled to start Thursday's game against the Twins, Joey Schneider of Fox 2 St. Louis reports.

Liberatore is one of two new additions to the St. Louis rotation this week, as Dakota Hudson will also be picking up a start Wednesday as the Cardinals replace the outgoing Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty, who were moved ahead of the trade deadline. After getting out to a hot start over the first month of the season at Triple-A Memphis, Liberatore has struggled to maintain that form while bouncing between the big leagues and minors since the beginning of May. He's been particularly unimpressive over his nine outings (eight starts) with St. Louis, accruing a 6.75 ERA, 1.84 WHIP and 3.8 K-BB% in 32 innings. Liberatore will still be worth holding in NL-only leagues since he'll have a fairly clear path to a starting role the rest of the way, but he'll need to show improved results before becoming a trusted lineup option in most mixed leagues.

Suarez's minor-league rehab assignment has been shut down due to left shoulder soreness, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Suarez recently kicked off the rehab stint and made two appearances for the Angels' ACL club, allowing one run on five hits and two walks while striking out four batters over a combined 3.1 innings. However, he'll now take a step back due to the setback with his shoulder. Angels manager Phil Nevin indicated that the organization isn't concerned that Suarez will need to be held out for a long period, though it's not yet clear when the southpaw will begin throwing again.

Houck (face) is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment Saturday for Triple-A Worcester, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.

Houck made it through another bullpen session Tuesday without issue and has now been cleared to pitch in live games. The Red Sox haven't announced publicly whether the 27-year-old right-hander will return from the 15-day injured list as a reliever or starter, and that decision will impact the length of his minor-league rehab stint. Houck has been sidelined since mid-June because of a facial fracture.

Astros manager Dusty Baker confirmed Wednesday that Javier will start Thursday's series opener at Yankee Stadium, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Javier has been getting an extra day of rest between his recent string of starts and the Astros can continue with that model as they prepare to welcome back Jose Urquidy (shoulder) and trade-deadline acquisition Justin Verlander. Hunter Brown will work Friday's game in New York and then Urquidy and Verlander should slot in Saturday and Sunday.

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said that Fried (forearm) is on track to return from the 60-day injured list to start Friday's game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Kevin McAlpin of 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.

Atlanta has officially confirmed only Bryce Elder (Saturday) and Charlie Morton (Sunday) as its starters for the three-game set in Chicago, but barring a late setback while working out over the next couple of days, Fried is lined up to take the hill for the series opener. Fried, who has been on the shelf since May 9 with a left forearm strain, most recently made the fourth start of his rehab assignment last Saturday with Triple-A Gwinnett. He covered 4.1 innings and tossed 79 pitches in that outing, so Fried should be capable of giving Atlanta something close to a full workload in his return to the big leagues.