MLB Player News

Cease did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing four runs on four hits and four walks over four frames during a 6-5 loss against the Tigers in 10 innings. He struck out eight.

Cease has given up a home run in seven of his past eight appearances and sports a 6.47 ERA and 1.59 WHIP during that stretch. The right-hander started the season strong, allowing just three runs over his first 16.1 innings with 24 strikeouts during that stretch, but he's struggled to find any consistency recently. Cease's eight strikeouts through four innings is encouraging, but he likely needs to make a few more adjustments to get back to where he was last year when he finished second in the AL Cy Young voting.

Gaddis did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks over 4.2 innings against the Cardinals. He struck out three.

Gaddis allowed three solo home runs to the Cardinals but was let off the hook thanks to a walk-off, two-run double by Jose Ramirez. The right-hander sports a 5.72 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 19:9 K:BB across six starts (28.1 innings), but he's likely transitioning to a relief role or heading back to Triple-A Columbus soon, as Aaron Civale (oblique) and Triston McKenzie (shoulder) are both nearing a return to MLB.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said that Wentz will "most likely" start Wednesday versus the Rangers, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The Tigers are holding off on officially tapping Wentz to start Wednesday, perhaps because they're considering him as a bulk reliever instead as they look to get him back on track. Wentz holds an ugly 14.54 ERA over his last three starts.

Montgomery did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk over five innings during a 4-3 loss to Cleveland. He struck out three.

Montgomery has allowed multiple runs in each of his last five starts and sports a 6.04 ERA during that stretch. However, Sunday's outing was a step in the right direction, as he didn't allow a home run for the first time since April 29. Overall, the left-hander has been consistent this year, but his numbers are marred by a pair of poor outings. Montgomery faces no threat to his spot in the rotation and is scheduled to pitch again during the finale of a three-game weekend set in Pittsburgh.

Dunning (paternity) will start Wednesday against the Tigers.

Dunning witnessed the birth of his son over the weekend, and while he still remains on the paternity list, he'll rejoin the team in Detroit and will get back on the mound for the series finale with the Tigers. He'll get a soft re-entry into the rotation, facing off against a Tigers squad that ranks 28th in OPS (.664) and 27th in runs scored per game (3.82).

Ashcraft (3-3) earned the win over the Cubs on Sunday, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out six over five innings.

Ashcraft picked up his first win since April 15 after needing 92 pitches to grind through five innings while receiving plenty of run support from his teammates. His only troublesome inning was the second. He issued a walk and allowed a base hit before surrendering a three-run blast to Patrick Wisdom to put the Cubs ahead 3-2. It wasn't a dominant outing by any means, but it was a step in the right direction for Ashcraft. He racked up six strikeouts for the first time since April 10, allowed less than six hits for the first time since April 26 and gave up just three runs after being pummeled for 14 runs over his last 10 innings. The 25-year-old now sits at a 5.55 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 47:24 K:BB over 58.1 innings and lines up to face the Brewers next weekend.

Boston manager Alex Cora said Crawford (ankle) will be available for Tuesday's series opener against the Reds, MLB.com reports.

Crawford sustained an ankle contusion on a comebacker during Saturday's win over the Diamondbacks. He was able to recover and made an athletic play to get the runner at first base before the right-hander was removed from the game. Crawford was unavailable Sunday.

McKenzie (shoulder) is scheduled to make a third rehab start with Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Guardians manager Terry Francona said he's hoping for McKenzie to get stretched out to around 85 pitches Tuesday in what would likely be the right-hander's final rehab start before he makes his return from the 60-day injured list. McKenzie, who has been on the shelf since suffering a right teres major muscle strain during his final start of spring training March 26, covered 4.1 innings and 68 pitches in his most recent rehab start with Columbus this past Thursday, striking out six while allowing four earned runs on six hits and two walks. With both McKenzie and Aaron Civale (oblique) seemingly due to return from the IL within the next week or two, the Guardians may have to move one of Logan Allen or Tanner Bibee to the bullpen or back to the minors to clear up two spots in the rotation.

Grove (groin) struck out seven and allowed five hits and no walks over 5.2 innings in his second rehab start Saturday with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Grove built up to 77 pitches Saturday and has now looked sharp over both of his rehab outings with Oklahoma City, working 10 innings in total while striking out 14 and allowing just nine baserunners. The Dodgers have yet to comment on Grove's next step, but he appears likely to return from the 15-day injured list to slot into Los Angeles' rotation during next weekend's series with the Yankees. Though the team doesn't have a rotation opening for Grove at the moment, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was non-committal on rookie Gavin Stone making his next start after the young right-hander was lit up for seven earned runs in two innings in Sunday's loss to the Rays, bringing his ERA to 14.40 over his first three MLB outings.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Rodon (back/forearm) is slated to throw a bullpen session Monday in Seattle, Max Goodman of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

For the first time since late April, Rodon threw a bullpen session Friday and is reportedly "doing well" following the workout, according to Boone. The southpaw was initially placed on the 15-day injured list coming out of spring training due to a forearm strain, but he seems to have made a full recovery from that injury and now looks to be working back from a back issue that cropped up in April and eventually required an injection. The fact that Rodon is traveling with the Yankees on their six-game road trip this week can be taken as a positive sign, though it's unclear if he'll be able to advance to facing hitters before the team returns to New York next Monday. Rodon remains without an official timeline to make his 2023 debut, but he still looks to be at least two or three weeks away even if he avoids any further setbacks in his rehab program.