MLB Player News

Whitley (elbow) was activated from the injured list Monday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Whitley made a few rehab starts in recent weeks, but he has officially completed his comeback from Tommy John surgery and is ready to pitch regularly again. Whitley was assigned to Triple-A Sugar Land, where he will work on building up his pitch count. He could be an option for the big club at some point in the second half, but the Astros have a lot of capable starters, so they have little incentive to push him over the remainder of the campaign.

Seabold was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Monday.

Seabold made two starts during his time with the major-league club, and he'll be sent down following Sunday's outing. After allowing seven runs in 4.2 innings against the Blue Jays on June 27, he fared much better against the Cubs on Sunday, giving up just one run in four innings. However, the right-hander will head back to the minors after Kutter Crawford was recalled Monday.

Bello could be called up from Triple-A Worcester to start Wednesday's game against the Rays, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Bello has sparkled this season at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels, and Boston could be ready to give its top pitching prospect his first chance to show what he can do at the top level. The Red Sox currently have five starting pitchers (Nathan Eovaldi, Rich Hill, Chris Sale, James Paxton and Garrett Whitlock) on the injured list and another (Michael Wacha) who is day-to-day with an injury.

Crawford was recalled from Triple-A Worcester on Monday.

The Red Sox are planning for a bullpen game Monday against the Rays after Michael Wacha (arm) was scratched from his scheduled start, and Crawford is a strong candidate to serve as a bulk reliever behind opener Austin Davis. Over 10 appearances (two starts) in the majors this year, Crawford has posted a 6.41 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in 19.2 innings.

Cavalli (arm) rejoined the Triple-A Rochester rotation Wednesday and struck out five over three innings while allowing three earned runs on three hits and two walks in his return to action.

Cavalli was back in action after a two-week layoff that was imposed mostly for workload-management reasons rather than as a result of the minor arm soreness he experienced coming out of his June 16 outing. The right-hander wasn't particularly sharp in Wednesday's start -- he tossed only 45 of his 77 pitches for strikes, hit two batters and threw a wild pitch -- but all indications are that he came out of the appearance feeling fine physically. The 23-year-old now sports a 5.07 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 61:27 K:BB across 60.1 innings in his 13 starts with Rochester this season.

Alexander is listed as the Brewers' starting pitcher for Tuesday's game against the Cubs in Milwaukee.

Alexander made his last two appearances out of the Milwaukee bullpen, but he'll be plugged back into the rotation this week with the team in need of a fifth starter after Adrian Houser (elbow) landed on the 15-day injured list Friday. Over his five starts prior to moving to the bullpen, Alexander turned in a 3.21 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 13:11 K:BB in 28 innings.

Liberatore is scheduled to make his next start with the Cardinals on Thursday in Atlanta.

As anticipated, Liberatore will be receiving more than one turn through the St. Louis rotation after he was recalled from Triple-A Memphis over the weekend in response to Jack Flaherty (shoulder) joining Steven Matz (shoulder) on the 15-day injured list. Liberatore made his fifth big-league start Saturday in Philadelphia, surrendering five runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three over 2.2 innings. He now sports a 5.66 ERA and 1.79 WHIP heading into his upcoming outing in Atlanta.

Marquez (thumb) is listed as the Rockies' scheduled starting pitcher for Tuesday's game in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.

Marquez's inclusion on the pitching schedule for the Rockies' three-game series in Los Angeles implies that he felt fine coming out of his between-starts bullpen session Sunday. The right-hander exited early in his previous outing June 29 -- also against the Dodgers -- after suffering a cut on the thumb of his throwing hand.

DeGrom (shoulder) struck out five of the six batters he faced Sunday in his first rehab start with Single-A St. Lucie. He hit the other batter he faced with a pitch.

Though his performance comes with the caveat that he was facing off against a lineup mostly made up of teenagers or players in their first year of professional ball, deGrom certainly looked to be in peak form during the 24-pitch outing, which was his first regular-season start at any level since July 7, 2021. He threw 18 strikes on the afternoon, eclipsing 100 miles per hour on seven of his pitches, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. DiComo also notes that team officials anticipate deGrom will need 3-to-5 rehab starts while he goes through a spring training-style ramp-up program, in which case he wouldn't line up for a start before the Mets' final game of the first half July 17 in Chicago if he sticks to a four-day rest schedule. However, if deGrom is able to stretch out to five innings during his rehab assignment and remains free of setbacks to his right shoulder, he should be ready to make a start during the Mets' first series out of the All-Star break.

Wells (7-4) gave up one earned run on three hits and a walk while striking out seven over six innings to earn the win in a 3-1 victory over the Twins on Sunday.

Wells had his best start of the season, tallying a career-high seven strikeouts and 90 pitches. The 27-year-old right-hander has been dealing as of late, giving up only three runs over his past four starts. Wells' season-long 3.09 ERA and 1.00 WHIP are pleasant surprises for his first year pitching in a starter's role. His 5.6 K/9 rate coming into the game is well below league-average, but his fastball spin ranks in the 94th percentile according to Baseball Savant, which bodes well for his ability to get batted ball outs. Look for Wells to start on Friday against the Angels.