MLB Player News

The Twins activated Ober (elbow) from the 15-day injured list Thursday.

Ober has been sidelined since May 30 with a right flexor strain, but he'll take the mound Thursday against Cleveland after making a pair of rehab starts. The right-hander is 6-3 with a 4.59 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 46:18 K:BB across 66.2 innings this season.

Stephen (elbow) underwent surgery to repair his UCL on Monday and will be sidelined 10-to-12 months, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

As opposed to a UCL reconstruction, the repair comes with a slightly shorter recovery timeline. Stephen is obviously done for the 2026 season and likely won't see any game action until some point in the first half of the 2027 campaign. The 23-year-old was a second-round pick by the Blue Jays in 2024 and was acquired in the Shane Bieber deal last summer. Across 12 starts with Double-A Akron this season, Stephen pitched to a 3.27 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 49:23 K:BB across 55 innings.

Rodon (elbow) will play catch Thursday, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports.

It will be the first time Rodon has done any throwing since he landed on the 15-day injured list Friday with left elbow inflammation. The Yankees will ease Rodon back into a throwing progression and do not expect the southpaw back until at least early-to mid-August.

Melton (5-1) picked up the win in Wednesday's 6-1 victory over the A's, allowing one unearned run on four hits and a walk over 5.1 innings. He struck out nine.

The nine Ks were a career high for Melton, who fired 62 of 91 pitches for strikes and racked up 15 swinging strikes while topping out at 98.7 mph with his fastball. The 25-year-old right-hander has given up one run or fewer in four straight starts since dealing with some back tightness in June, producing a 0.76 ERA, 0.59 WHIP and 27:5 K:BB through 23.2 innings during that impressive stretch. Justin Verlander (hamstring) and Jackson Jobe (elbow) could both return from the IL in early August, but it's hard to imagine Melton losing his spot in the rotation if he continues dealing.

Springs (3-9) took the loss Wednesday, coughing up six runs on six hits and four walks over 4.1 innings as the A's were downed 6-1 by the Tigers. He struck out four.

Homers by Jake Rogers in the second inning and Spencer Torkelson in the fifth accounted for most of the damage off Springs, who got the hook after 92 pitches (49 strikes). The southpaw has been tagged for five or more runs in five of his last six starts, sending his ERA soaring from 4.37 to 6.08. The A's remain on the fringes of the playoff picture, both in the AL West and the wild-card race, but they might have to make some major rotation upgrades at the trade deadline if they're going to make any kind of serious push.

Kremer (1-2) took the loss Wednesday as the Orioles fell 9-7 to the Cubs, giving up four runs -- all on solo home runs -- on six total hits and one walk over five innings. He struck out four.

Pete Crow-Armstrong took Kremer deep twice, while Michael Conforto and Carson Kelly also went back-to-back in the fifth inning. Kremer left the mound after 92 pitches (55 strikes), and while his 24:9 K:B through 22 innings on the season is encouraging, the right-hander has also served up nine homers in his four big-league starts, leading to a 4.09 ERA despite a 1.00 WHIP. However, as long as he can stay healthy, Kremer seems locked into a rotation spot on the other side of the All-Star break, barring some major trade acquisitions by the O's.

Rea (7-5) picked up the win Wednesday, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks over 5.1 innings in a 9-7 victory over the Orioles. He struck out two.

The veteran right-hander did just about the bare minimum to record the win, leaving the mound after 91 pitches (58 strikes) with the Cubs ahead 4-3, and their offense was able to stay ahead of the bullpen's stumbles. After going winless over five outings in June, Rea has won two straight starts to begin July. He'll take a 4.75 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 70:36 K:BB through 94.2 innings into the All-Star break.

Scherzer (back) was charged with five runs (four earned) on six hits and no walks over four innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday. He struck out five.

It wasn't a great outing from a run-prevention standpoint, but Scherzer picked up 16 whiffs on his 72 pitches, which is encouraging. He averaged 93.4 mph with his four-seamer, which is slightly up from what he's averaged during his time with the Blue Jays this season. Scherzer will pitch in the Florida Complex League on Tuesday and could be back in the majors following the All-Star break, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca. Scherzer has a 10.23 ERA in six starts with the big club in 2026.

Cabrera (0-2) allowed four runs on four hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out two over 4.1 innings to take the loss Wednesday versus the Padres.

Cabrera has now fallen short of the five-inning mark in consecutive outings. He's posted a 5.60 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 12:7 K:BB through 17.2 innings over four starts this season. The right-hander may stick in Arizona's rotation after the All-Star break if Michael Soroka (glute) isn't ready to begin the second half. The Diamondbacks come out of the break with 13 games in 13 days.

King (6-7) allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings to earn the win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

King picked up his third quality start and second win in his last four outings. This was the eighth time in 19 starts that he's been able to limit an opponent to one run or fewer, and those performances account for five of his six wins on the year. He has a 3.41 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 92:43 K:BB through 108.1 innings.