MLB Player News

Manager Dave Martinez said Wednesday that Gray will have his turn in the rotation skipped this week as the Nationals aim to manage his innings load, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Gray had been lined up to start this weekend against the Reds, but the Nationals will instead call up prospect Cade Cavalli from Triple-A Rochester to fill his spot in what's shaping up to be a six-man rotation for Washington. Though Martinez noted that Gray won't be shut down after having accumulated 123.1 innings through his 23 starts this season, the right-hander won't necessarily make every turn through the rotation over the final six weeks of the campaign. Dougherty speculates that the soonest Gray will make his next start will come during the three-game series against the Mets that begins Sept. 2.

Rodriguez (lat) successfully completed a live batting practice session Wednesday, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Rodriguez is ramping up his workload in his throwing program this week, and he felt good after facing hitters Wednesday. Assuming he remains free of setbacks in the coming days, he's expected to pitch in a simulated game sometime later this week.

The Royals list Greinke (forearm) as their scheduled starter for Saturday's home game versus the Padres.

Greinke's inclusion on the weekend pitching schedule would seem to imply that the forearm cramping he experienced in his most recent outing Sunday against the Rays is a non-issue coming out of his between-starts throwing session. The right-hander sports a 2.64 ERA in 31 innings over his six starts since the All-Star break, but he has just one win to show for it to go along with an underwhelming 16.2 percent strikeout rate.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora hinted that Hill will piggyback starter Brayan Bello in Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Boston has already locked in Kutter Crawford and Michael Wacha to start Thursday's series finale and Friday's series opener versus Tampa Bay, respectively, so unless Hill is being pushed to the back of the pitching schedule, Wednesday marks the most logical day for him to get some innings. Bello likely won't be serving as a traditional opener after building up to 4.1 innings in his most recent rehab start, but Hill could still have better odds than usual of factoring into any decision even if he has a lighter workload than normal.

The Cardinals optioned Liberatore to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

As expected, Liberatore was returned to the minors after the Cardinals designated him as their 27th man for Tuesday's doubleheader with the Cubs. He appeared out of the bullpen in the Cardinals' 13-3 win in Game 2, covering the final 2.2 innings of the contest and striking out three batters while allowing two earned runs on three hits and no walks. The rookie now sports a 5.46 ERA and 1.69 WHIP across his first 29.2 innings in the majors.

High-A West Michigan scratched Jobe from his scheduled start Wednesday due to a sore back, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 First-Year Player Draft won't be making his High-A debut after he apparently slept wrong on his back overnight, but the Tigers are optimistic that Jobe will be able to take the hill later this weekend, according to director of player development Ryan Garko. Prior to receiving a promotion to West Michigan, Jobe compiled a 4.52 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 71:25 K:BB across 61.2 innings at Single-A Lakeland.

The Nationals plan to call up Cavalli from Triple-A Rochester to have him make his MLB debut in Friday's home game against the Reds, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Washington hasn't given fans much to rejoice about in the midst of a 41-83 season, but the impending promotion of Cavalli is at least one reason for excitement. The 2020 first-round pick owns a 3.71 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 20 starts at Rochester this season and has perhaps been the International League's most dominant starter since the beginning of July. Over his final seven outings for Rochester spanning 36.2 innings, Cavalli generated a 1.47 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 43:12 K:BB. Pitching behind a weak offense at a hitter-friendly home park is less than ideal for Cavalli as he heads to the majors, but the potential help he could offer in the ratio categories is enough to make him an interesting speculative pickup in most fantasy leagues.

Schmidt (5-2) earned the win over the Mets on Tuesday, allowing three hits and issuing three walks over three scoreless innings. He did not strike out any batters.

Schmidt entered the contest in the top of the sixth inning and retired Mark Canha with a runner on second base to keep the game tied. He allowed three baserunners over the following two frames but kept the Mets off the scoreboard, and he appeared poised to finish off the contest after retiring the first two batters he faced in the ninth. Schmidt then allowed the next three hitters to reach base and was replaced by Wandy Peralta, who got the final out for a save. The outing was in line with how Schmidt has been deployed this season -- he's made only one start but has thrown three or more innings in five of 17 appearances and has tossed more than one frame in 11 different outings. Schmidt has been effective during his time in the majors this season, registering a 2.18 ERA and 1.24 WHIP while picking up five wins and two saves over 33 innings.

The Phillies optioned Falter to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday.

As expected, Falter was returned to Lehigh Valley after being designated as the 27th man for Saturday's doubleheader with the Mets. He started the second game of the twin bill and picked up the win after striking out three over six innings of one-run ball. Falter should be the top choice to enter the rotation if the Phillies require a new fifth starter at any point over the final six weeks of the season.

Toussaint retired two batters and was charged with two earned runs on two hits and two walks while striking out one during his relief appearance in Tuesday's 11-1 loss to the Rays.

Though Angels interim manager Phil Nevin never made a formal announcement that Toussaint was removed from the rotation, it became evident that the right-hander would head to the bullpen when Mike Mayers was named the starter for Wednesday's game in Tampa Bay. Toussaint's demotion from the starting role came after he was blitzed for four earned runs on three hits and four walks over 2.2 innings his last time out Aug. 17 against the Mariners.