MLB Player News

Ritchie (1-0) earned the win Thursday over the Nationals, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out seven.

It was an impressive major-league debut for the 22-year-old Ritchie, who needed just 89 pitches to get through seven innings while holding Washington to a pair of solo home runs (one of which came on his first pitch of the game to James Wood). While Ritchie could return to the minors with Spencer Strider (oblique) expected to return next weekend, the rookie top prospect made a strong case for a longer look in the rotation. Ritchie posted a stellar 0.99 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP and 28:13 K:BB across five starts (27.1 innings) with Triple-A Gwinnett this season.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Thursday that the MRI on Gray's right hamstring did not reveal anything worse than expected, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

Gray is nursing a strain, but Cora's words Thursday suggest the strain is the Grade 1 variety. The skipper added that Gray will likely play catch Friday as he slowly ramps things back up after landing on the shelf earlier this week. Gray is eligible for activation from the 15-day injured list May 6, and he has a chance to be ready on that date or shortly after.

The Mets recalled Scott from Triple-A Syracuse ahead of his start against the Twins on Thursday.

Scott owns a 5.27 ERA and 1.14 WHIP through 13.2 innings at Triple-A, but he's given up just two earned runs in 10.1 frames across his last two starts. He'll now return to the Mets' rotation for the first time since 2024 -- he spent all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery -- and face a Twins offense that is batting just .227 through its first 24 games. Austin Warren was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Snell (shoulder) threw one-plus inning in a rehab outing with Single-A Ontario on Wednesday, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk. He didn't strike out any batters.

Snell didn't log any game action during spring training and showed plenty of rust in his first rehab appearance, needing 32 pitches to retire three batters. He got through the first inning without a run on his ledger but allowed all four batters he faced to reach base before he was pulled in the second, though there were two errors committed behind him. Snell said Thursday that he came out of the appearance well, per Katie Woo of The Athletic, and the hurler is expected to make another rehab start sometime next week. The goal is for him to work up to five innings or 75 pitches before he's activated from the injured list.

The Twins claimed Roa off waivers from the Astros on Thursday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Roa will report to Triple-A St. Paul, where he will provide the Twins with some additional right-handed relief depth. He holds a 5.19 ERA, 1.96 WHIP and 6:7 K:BB across 8.2 innings at the major-league level this season.

The Red Sox recalled Tolle from Triple-A Worcester on Thursday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Tolle will start Thursday's game against the rival Yankees in place of the injured Sonny Gray (hamstring). The left-hander has logged a 3.00 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 19:4 K:BB across 15 innings in his first three starts for Worcester this season. There's a good chance Tolle will get an additional start or two for the Red Sox while Gray recuperates.

Manager A.J. Hinch said Verlander's (hip) bullpen session Wednesday was "encouraging," Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

"I think the last time I tried to really step on it, I don't want to say it was a full step back, but it didn't respond the way I wanted or that anybody wanted," Verlander said. "So that was disappointing. After yesterday, it didn't do that, which is good. It's taken a little longer than I think we expected, which is frustrating." Verlander has missed his last four turns through the rotation due to inflammation in his left hip, and it hasn't responded the way he'd hoped after he was initially believed to require only a minimum stint on the injured list. Verlander is expected to need at least one more bullpen session and a rehab start before making his return to Detroit's rotation.

The Phillies released Walker on Thursday.

Walker was roughed up for five runs (four earned) over four innings in Wednesday's loss to the Cubs, which actually lowered his season ERA to 9.13. With Zack Wheeler (shoulder) due back Saturday, Walker was about to lose his rotation spot, and now he's lost his roster spot altogether. Walker will finish his tenure in Philadelphia with a 5.12 ERA over 89 regular-season appearances (71 starts). The Phillies remain responsible for the roughly $15 million Walker is owed through the remainder of this season.

Priester (wrist) yielded four runs on three walks while recording just two outs in his first rehab start with Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday.

After walking the first hitter of the game, Priester bounced back with consecutive strikeouts. Unfortunately, he then hit the next batter with a pitch before issuing two straight walks, the second of which forced in a run and spelled the end of his night. Three more runs were charged to his line after reliever Peter Strzelecki served up a grand slam. Even more disturbing than Priester's line was his velocity, as he averaged only 91.2 mph with his sinker (down from last year's 93.9 mph) and 88.9 mph with his cutter (down from last year's 92.3 mph). It was Priester's first game action since last October, so it's possible his velocity will rise as he gets ramped up. However, given that he's coming back from thoracic outlet syndrome symptoms, there's a chance the velocity will remain down. Priester will need multiple additional rehab starts before the Brewers consider reinserting him into their rotation.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Wednesday in an interview on SportsTalk 790 that the teams has had internal conversations about stretching Teng back out to be used as a starting pitcher.

Teng has been terrific as a multi-inning reliever for the Astros, posting a 1.65 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 16:6 K:BB over 16.1 innings. The 27-year-old has plenty of past starting experience, though his control problems (12.2 percent walk rate in the majors, 11.5 percent walk rate in the minors) suggest he might be best off remaining in the bullpen.