MLB Player News

Kent (undisclosed) has struck out three while scattering two hits and no walks over four scoreless innings in his two appearances for Double-A Frisco since being activated from the 7-day injured list July 3.

Kent was on the shelf for about two and a half weeks with the undisclosed injury. Since the Rangers didn't send him to a lower-level affiliate for a rehab assignment prior to activating him, Kent has been getting stretched out on the fly during his starts with Frisco. He should need only one or two more outings before he's free of any major pitch-count restrictions in his starts.

The Rangers optioned Allard to Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday.

While appearing in relief both of the past two days, Allard was pummeled for seven earned runs on five hits and one walk while recording only three outs. The Rangers called up A.J. Alexy from Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday and will see if he can provide an upgrade over Allard as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen.

Gausman (ankle) confirmed that he's in line to start Thursday's game against the Royals in Toronto, Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun reports. "I'm ready to go," Gausman said.

Gausman hasn't pitched since exiting his July 2 start against the Rays with a bruised right ankle and has had his return date pushed back a few times after the injury lingered longer than anticipated, but he'll avoid a trip to the injured list and make one more turn before the All-Star break. The 31-year-old came out of Tuesday's bullpen session feeling fine and seems unlikely to face any major restrictions in his return to the Toronto rotation. He's supplied a 2.86 ERA and 1.27 WHIP over 88 innings through his first 16 starts with the Blue Jays.

The Cardinals optioned Liberatore to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Liberatore's demotion likely foreshadows Steven Matz's (shoulder) return to the rotation in the Cardinals' final game before the All-Star break Sunday against the Reds. St. Louis may have chosen to delay Matz's activation until the second half if Liberatore fared well in his most recent outing, but the Cardinals' decision to deploy the rookie behind an opener (Jordan Hicks) in Tuesday's 7-6 win over the Dodgers didn't pay dividends. Liberatore took a no-decision after giving up three earned runs in 2.1 innings, inflating his ERA to 5.33 through his first seven outings in the big leagues.

The Athletics plan to have Montas (shoulder) make his return to the rotation for a start Saturday or Sunday in Houston, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Montas, who hasn't started since July 3 due to right shoulder soreness, will be available to pitch in the Athletics' final series before the All-Star break after he completed a 25-pitch bullpen session Tuesday without incident. The Oakland coaching staff is still weighing whether to give Montas an additional day of rest following the bullpen session, but he's not expected to face any major workload restrictions regardless of if he takes the hill Saturday or Sunday. His upcoming start could be one of his final ones in an Oakland uniform, as Montas should be one of the most sought-after arms ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline.

Milone will pitch behind opener Erik Swanson during the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Nationals, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Milone was initially listed as Seattle's scheduled starter for Wednesday's nightcap, but he'll instead serve as a bulk reliever. The southpaw has posted a 3.60 ERA and 0.70 WHIP in 10 innings over four appearances for the Mariners this year.

Astros general manager James Click said Wednesday that Whitley sustained no structural damage to his right shoulder after exiting his most recent start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Whitley was diagnosed with inflammation in the shoulder immediately after his departure, and that looks to be the extent of the right-hander's injury after follow-up tests revealed nothing else concerning. Click said he's hopeful that Whitley will be ready to resume throwing after a 7-to-10-day shutdown period, so the right-hander is still likely to land on Sugar Land's 7-day injured list. Once he's cleared to resume throwing, Whitley will likely need at least a few days to ramp back up before Sugar Land clears him to return to game action.

Senzatela (shoulder) allowed one earned run on four hits and a walk over five innings Tuesday in his rehab start with Triple-A Albuquerque.

Senzatela didn't record any strikeouts in the 63-pitch outing, but that's not out of the norm, as any success he finds is typically derived from inducing weak contact rather than making bats miss. Aside from allowing a solo home run, Senzatela was mostly able to steer clear of trouble Tuesday, and his ability to cover five innings should set him up for a return from the 15-day injured list for the Rockies' final game before the All-Star break Sunday against the Pirates. Over his 13 starts this season, Senzatela has turned in a 4.95 ERA and 1.80 WHIP across 60 innings.

Maeda (elbow) said Wednesday that he's hopeful to resume facing hitters in August and added that he will "most likely" work out of the bullpen if he's reinstated from the 60-day injured list this season, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Maeda provided a loose outline for his rehab program one day after he threw the 10th bullpen session of his rehab program for the alternative Tommy John procedure he underwent Sept. 1 of last year. The right-hander threw all fastballs during his 30-pitch workout Tuesday, so he'll first need to incorporate all of his pitches into his side sessions before the Twins clear him to face hitters in live batting practice. Once he's deemed ready for game action, Maeda will likely need most of the 30-day minor-league rehab window to get ramped up and sharpen his command and control following the year-long layoff. Maeda is in the penultimate season of a eight-year, $25 million contract and will likely want to finish the 2022 campaign on the field so that he can enter spring training healthy and ready to compete for a spot in the Minnesota rotation.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Wednesday that Turnbull (elbow) has recently thrown a couple bullpen sessions at the team's extended spring training complex in Lakeland, Fla., Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Detroit isn't closing the door on Turnbull making enough progress over the next month or two to put himself in position to return from the 60-day injured list in September, but the organization's main goal at this stage is to have him available in full capacity for spring training in 2023. Turnbull underwent Tommy John surgery in late July of last year and likely won't have enough time to build up for a starting role if he were to make a late-season return from the IL.