MLB Player News

Whitlock (hip) threw a live batting practice session Tuesday, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Assuming Whitlock's inflamed right hip isn't bothering him too much coming out of the workout, he could be cleared to report to one of the Red Sox's minor-league affiliates this weekend to head out on a rehab assignment. Since manager Alex Cora has already confirmed that Whitlock will pitch out of the bullpen once activated from the 15-day injured list, the 26-year-old right-hander will likely only need one or two rehab appearances in the minors to get fully ramped up. Whitlock should operate as a multi-inning, high-leverage reliever for Boston, though both Tanner Houck and John Schreiber could rank ahead of him in the pecking order for save opportunities.

Eovaldi (back) threw live batting practice Tuesday at Fenway Park, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

According to Speier, Eovaldi's fastball topped out at 96 miles per hour and sat around the 94-to-95 range for most of the session, a sign that his lingering back injury isn't hindering him too much at this point. The Red Sox will likely reassess Eovaldi on Wednesday before deciding whether he's fit to return from the 15-day injured list to make a start in this weekend's series with the Yankees or if he'll need a brief minor-league rehab assignment beforehand.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Wacha (dead arm) will have his next start pushed back but is expected to avoid the 15-day injured list, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.

Cora didn't specify when exactly he expects Wacha to make his next start, but the skipper sounded optimistic that the right-hander would overcome his bout with dead arm in quick fashion. Until Wacha is able to throw a bullpen session, however, the Red Sox might not be able to offer up a clear target date for his return to the rotation.

Springs (personal) was activated from the family medical emergency list Tuesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Springs was away for a few days while tending to a personal matter, but he is back with the team and will jump right back into the rotation Tuesday night against the Red Sox. Springs has faced Boston only once this season, and he tossed two scoreless innings of relief against them back in late April.

DeGrom (shoulder) is penciled in to make the second start of his rehab assignment Friday with Single-A St. Lucie, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

According to DiComo, the Mets intend to keep deGrom on a four or five-day rest schedule between his outings, at least for the early portion of a rehab assignment that will likely consist of between three and five starts. With that in mind, deGrom doesn't look as though he'll be on pace to return from the 60-day injured list prior to the All-Star break, but he could be an option for the Mets' rotation when the team opens its second-half schedule July 22 with a three-game series with the Padres. DeGrom looked about as good as the Mets could have hoped in his first rehab start with St. Lucie on Sunday, when he struck out five of the six batters he faced while topping 100 miles per hour on seven of his 24 pitches.

Williams is scheduled to start Thursday's series opener with the Marlins in New York.

Chris Bassitt (illness) won't be ready to return from the COVID-19-related injured list until the weekend at the soonest, so Williams will pick up a second turn through the rotation as a result. Williams most recently made his seventh start of the season Saturday against the Rangers, lasting just 3.2 innings while surrendering five earned runs on five hits and one walk.

Greene (3-10) took the loss Monday as the Reds fell 7-4 to the Mets, coughing up six runs on seven hits and a walk over 5.1 innings. He struck out five.

The rookie flamethrower has been finding the plate more often lately, but his command lags behind his control and he got taken deep by Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor -- the third time in his last four starts Greene has served up multiple homers. The 22-year-old hasn't walked more than two batters in any of his last seven outings, posting an impressive 42:9 K:BB through 35 innings over that stretch, but that comes with a 6.17 ERA and 1.8 HR/9.

Lugo gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning Monday to record his third save of the season in a 7-4 win over the Reds.

Edwin Diaz had pitched the day before and on two of the last three days, so manager Buck Showalter elected to give his closer a breather and let Lugo wrap things up instead. The 32-year-old Lugo has been scored upon only twice in his last 14 appearances dating back to May 21, posting a 2.20 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 15:2 K:BB over 16.1 innings during that stretch with a win, a save and five holds.

Walker (7-2) picked up the win in a 7-4 victory over the Reds on Monday, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out nine.

All the damage against the right-hander came on a mistake to Brandon Drury in the third inning that resulted in a three-run homer, but otherwise Walker was firmly in control, tossing 64 of 97 pitches for strikes. The 29-year-old also seems to have discovered some newfound dominance -- Walker has fanned at least nine batters in three of five outings during his current five-game quality start streak, going 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 36:7 K:BB through 32 innings over that stretch.

Rodon (7-5) took the loss Monday, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks over five innings in an 8-3 loss to the Diamondbacks. He struck out seven.

The southpaw recovered after looked shaky in the early innings, but the Giants' offense couldn't climb out of the hole, and their bullpen kept digging after Rodon left the mound. He tossed 63 of 101 pitches for strikes while seeing his quality start streak end at four. Rodon will take a 2.87 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 112:30 K:BB through 91 innings into his next outing.