MLB Player News

Wells (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment at High-A Aberdeen on Friday, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

Wells threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Tuesday and will face hitters in a rehab appearance to close out the week. The Orioles haven't yet decided whether the right-hander will return as a starter or reliever, but he's closing in on his return from the IL regardless of what role he'll ultimately fills once activated.

Eovaldi (shoulder) threw recently but isn't progressing as quickly as the team had hoped, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Eovaldi threw a bullpen session Monday and was expected to face hitters soon, but the Red Sox seem to be slowing his rehab process due to his lack of progress in recent days. It's not yet clear when the right-hander will ultimately be able to face hitters, but it's still possible that he rejoins Boston's rotation at some point in September.

Major League Baseball announced Thursday that Martinez accepted an 85-game suspension, retroactive to June 19, for violating the league's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Out of baseball since being released from his minor-league deal with the Red Sox in mid-May, Martinez had recently finished serving an 80-game suspension for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drugs policy. Since his latest ban is retroactive to June 19, the 30-year-old Martinez should be eligible to compete again early in the 2023 season, but the nature of his latest ban in addition to his stark downturn in performance on the mound over the past few years makes it unlikely that he'll get another opportunity in affiliated ball.

Houck (back) was shut down from throwing Thursday, and manager Alex Cora isn't sure if the right-hander will return by the end of the season, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Houck was scheduled to throw live batting practice Tuesday, but that session was scratched due to lingering back soreness, and he's now been shut down entirely. It doesn't sound as though the 26-year-old has experienced a setback, but he's clearly not fully recovered from the disc issue that landed him on the injured list nearly a month ago. Even if Houck is able to return this season, he's likely to be out until late September. Garrett Whitlock, John Schreiber and Matt Barnes should continue to split save chances for the Red Sox.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Thursday that Strasburg (ribs) "feels a little bit better" than he did since landing on the injured list June 13, but the right-hander has yet to resume throwing, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.

Martinez wasn't willing to officially rule Strasburg out for the season, but the 34-year-old's lack of recent throwing activity along with the Nationals' status as a non-contender makes it highly unlikely that the three-time All-Star will pitch again in 2022. At this stage, Martinez noted that Strasburg is focusing on strengthening his shoulder since being diagnosed with a stress reaction of his ribs two and a half months ago, according to Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com. Since Strasburg won't require another procedure to address his latest injury after he previously underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last July, the Nationals are seemingly optimistic that he'll be a full participant for the start of spring training.

Gonsolin isn't progressing as quickly as the Dodgers had hoped in his recovery from a forearm strain, and manager Dave Roberts said the right-hander will undergo an MRI on Friday, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Roberts was careful to note that Gonsolin hasn't suffered a setback since being placed on the injured list Monday, but the 28-year-old All-Star was unable to do any light throwing over the past couple days as had been originally planned. The MRI should shed more light on a potential return date for Gonsolin, but for the time being, Roberts is optimistic the right-hander will miss only two turns through the rotation, according to Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA.

Soroka (Achilles) was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

The 25-year-old made his last rehab start with Gwinnett on Aug. 27 and gave up four runs over 4.2 innings while throwing 75 pitches, and he'll remain with the affiliate now that he's been fully cleared. Soroka figures to make his season debut for Atlanta at some point down the stretch, but for now he'll stick at Triple-A.

The Cubs transferred Miley (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Thursday.

Miley has been on the shelf since June 11 with a strained left shoulder, and because he's already missed more than two months, the transaction won't affect his timeline for a return. After a suffering a setback following an Aug. 16 rehab start, Miley was shut down for about two weeks, but he resumed his minor-league assignment Wednesday with High-A South Bend. Miley struck out two while allowing two earned runs on five hits and no walks over 3.2 innings in Wednesday's outing, and he'll likely require at least one or two more tune-up starts in the minors before potentially slotting back into the Cubs' rotation in the middle of September.

Oviedo was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Oviedo was assigned to Indianapolis after being acquired from the Cardinals on Aug. 1, but after a month on the farm, he'll rejoin the big-league club to start Friday's series opener against the Blue Jays. The right-hander was productive over 14 appearances (one start) with the Cardinals earlier in the season, logging a 3.20 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 25.1 innings. Assuming he performs well during his team debut Friday, he should have a chance to remain in Pittsburgh's rotation the rest of the way.

The Cubs reinstated Steele (back) from the restricted list Thursday.

Steele was moved to the restricted list Monday in advance of the Cubs' series in Toronto, as he was ineligible to enter Canada due to his vaccination status. When the lefty's turn in the rotation came up during the Toronto series, the Cubs replaced Steele with Luke Farrell, who covered two innings as a starter in Wednesday's 7-5 win. Though he'll be added back to the 28-man active roster now that the series in Toronto has concluded, Steele won't make a start this weekend in St. Louis, as the Cubs likely want to give him additional time to recover from the lower-back tightness he experienced in his last outing Aug. 26 in Milwaukee. If Steele is able to throw a bullpen session over the weekend without any discomfort, he's expected to be plugged back into the rotation for Tuesday's game against the Reds.