MLB Player News

Flaherty (oblique) is confident that he'll be able to rejoin the starting rotation during the upcoming series in Pittsburgh, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Manager Mike Shildt said Friday that Flaherty is considered "probable" for the upcoming series, and the right-hander echoed his confidence by saying that he felt healthy following his last rehab start. Flaherty tossed 75 pitches at Triple-A Memphis on Friday, but he was unable to get through six innings since he gave up three runs. He tentatively lines up to rejoin the rotation Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

Schmidt (elbow) tossed 2.2 innings for Double-A Somerset on Thursday, allowing one run on two hits and a walk while striking out four batters. He is expected to pitch again in five days, per Max Goodman of SI.com.

Schmidt continues to progress from a right elbow strain that has wiped out his entire season thus far. Per Goodman, his next rehab outing will likely again be for the Double-A club, though it's possible that he is moved up to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre instead. All signs point to Schmidt being ready to make his major-league season debut by the end of the month.

Rasmussen (1-1) earned the win Friday against the Orioles after allowing one run on five hits and a walk across 2.1 innings, striking out one.

Rasmussen allowed contact all game long but still limited the damage to just one run, and that was enough to hand him his first win of the campaign. The right-hander has given up runs in four of his last six outings, though, and he owns a 4.41 ERA -- as well as a 1.41 WHIP -- in eight appearances since the beginning of July.

Cecconi was placed on the 60-day injured list with High-A Hillsboro on Thursday with an undisclosed injury.

Given that there's only a month left in the minor-league season, this means Cecconi is done for the year. There is no official injury designation at the moment, but this seems pretty ominous. Cecconi seemed to be rounding into form after an up and down start to the season, logging a 2.08 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 16:1 K:BB in 13 innings over his two most recent starts. He ends his first pro season with a 4.12 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 63:20 K:BB in 59 innings (12 starts).

Gonzales didn't factor into the decision Friday against the Yankees despite tossing 6.2 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks while fanning five.

Gonzales might have ended with a no-decision for the second straight start, but he delivered another strong outing to extend his streak of excellent appearances. He has given up two or fewer runs in each of his last four starts and has gone 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in that stretch. He also has two quality starts in that span.

Gibson (8-3) earned the win Friday against the Phillies after tossing six innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and four walks while fanning three.

Gibson's command wasn't entirely sharp in this one, as the four walks represent his second-worst mark of the season in that category, but that seems to be an issue with him of late. Through his last three starts, the veteran right-hander has posted a 12:14 K:BB across 18.2 innings. However, he still holds a 2.41 ERA in that span after allowing not more than two earned runs in each of those contests.

Stroman (7-11) was tagged with the loss Friday against the Phillies after allowing two runs on five hits and a walk while fanning five across five innings.

Stroman had a decent outing but it wasn't enough to outduel Kyle Gibson, and as a result, he's now dropped three starts in a row. In fact, the former Blue Jays hurler has gone 1-4 over his last five appearances despite allowing two or fewer runs in four of those games. He owns a 3.14 ERA during that stretch.

Anderson was placed on the 10-day injured list with right triceps tendinitis Saturday, retroactive to Aug. 5.

Anderson had a rough outing against the Nationals on Wednesday and allowed three home runs in four innings, and he'll miss at least one turn through the rotation after he was diagnosed with a triceps injury. The Phillies will be able to skip his scheduled start early next week since the team has a day off Monday, but they haven't announced who will take his place in the rotation if he misses more than the minimum of 10 days.

Houck was recalled by the Red Sox ahead of his scheduled start in the second half of Saturday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Houck will be up as merely the 27th man for the twin bill, so it's possible he returns to the minors at the end of the day. His last three outings have all come at the big-league level, however, and he's allowed just one earned run in 11.2 innings while striking out 18 batters over that stretch, so the Red Sox have plenty of reason to keep him around.

Wells (wrist) is not expected to be activated from the injured list until next week, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

Wells suffered a setback with soreness in his injured right wrist earlier in the week. The right-hander played catch Friday, but he'll need to clear a few more hurdles without trouble before he can be considered good to go.