MLB Player News

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough confirmed Wednesday that Junk (shin) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Thursday's game versus the Mariners, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Junk has been sidelined since late May with right shin bone inflammation, but he convinced the Marlins he was ready to go by yielding two runs with a 6:0 K:BB over 5.2 innings in two rehab starts with Triple-A Jacksonville. The right-hander threw 61 pitches in his last rehab outing, so Junk will be fairly limited from a workload perspective against Seattle.

The Red Sox promoted Mullins from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday.

Mullins is expected to make his Worcester debut with a start Wednesday in Game 1 or 2 of the club's doubleheader with Rochester, per Brendan Campbell of BloggingTheRedSox.com. Though the 25-year-old submitted a 5.85 ERA and 1.44 WHIP across 47.2 innings with Portland, he's been one of the Eastern League's most prolific strikeout artists this season, ranking second on the circuit with a 34.8 K%.

Whisenhunt joined the Giants' taxi squad Wednesday and could be formally recalled from Triple-A Sacramento to start Thursday's game against the Rockies in San Francisco, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Per Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area, manager Tony Vitello wouldn't fully commit to Whisenhunt joining the big-league rotation, but the skipper acknowledged that the southpaw is a candidate to make a start before the All-Star break. The Giants are currently listing Thursday's series opener as "TBA," so Whisenhunt would be a logical choice to slot into that spot while Robbie Ray, Tyler Mahle and Trevor McDonald all get pushed back a day in the schedule. Whisenhunt made his lone start of the season with the Giants back on June 17 in Atlanta, striking out two batters while allowing two runs on six hits and two walks over five innings. The 25-year-old owns a 4.42 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 82:37 K:BB over 77.1 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Verlander (hamstring/hip) announced Wednesday via social media that he will retire following the 2026 season.

Verlander addressed his playing future in a statement after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced earlier Wednesday that the 43-year-old had been named a "Legend Pick" for the 2026 All-Star Game. The veteran right-hander will be honored in Philadelphia next week after being selected to his 10th All-Star Game, but he won't be active for the exhibition while he remains on the 60-day injured list after sustaining a left hamstring injury during a June 17 bullpen session. Verlander -- who was placed on the shelf April 4 due to hip inflammation -- has since resumed playing catch, but he's without a clear timeline to return from the IL. He'll look to move past his injuries over the next few weeks and attempt to make at least a few more appearances for Detroit before the end of the season as he closes the book on a 21-year Hall-of-Fame career. Verlander is the majors' active leader in games started (556), wins (266) and strikeouts (3,554).

The Brewers optioned Gasser to their rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate Wednesday.

Gasser will be moved off the active roster after he was called up to serve as the Brewers' 27th man in Tuesday's doubleheader with the Cardinals. The southpaw started the second game of the twin bill, improving to 2-3 over his eight appearances on the season with Milwaukee after recording four strikeouts and limiting the Cardinals to two runs on four hits and one walk across a career-high 7.2 innings in the Brewers' 10-2 win. Though he's delivered sterling ratios over his last four starts with Milwaukee (2.52 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 21:5 K:BB in 25 innings), Gasser may have to wait a while for another opportunity in the big-league rotation. The Brewers recently lost Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) to the injured list, but Logan Henderson (back) will be reinstated from the IL on Thursday to bring the rotation back to five men.

The Cardinals optioned Dobbins to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.

As anticipated, Dobbins will move back to the minors after he was called up Tuesday to serve as the 27th man in the Cardinals' doubleheader with the Brewers. He started the second game of the twin bill, dropping to 1-1 over his five appearances on the season with St. Louis after he struck out four batters and allowed three earned runs on four hits and three walks across five innings in the Cardinals' 10-2 loss.

McCullers (shoulder) struck out four and allowed four runs (two earned) on three hits and three walks across four innings in a rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Sugar Land.

In the third start of his rehab assignment, McCullers covered four innings for a second outing in a row, though he was able to push his pitch count up to 77 (43 strikes) after tossing 60 pitches in his previous appearance for Sugar Land. Though he wasn't as sharp Tuesday as he had been his previous two times out, McCullers has still fared well overall during his minor-league assignment, posting a 2.45 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 11:4 K:BB in 11 innings. The next steps for McCullers remain unclear; though the veteran right-hander is stretched back out, Astros general manager Dana Brown didn't mention him as a candidate to fill the since-demoted Mike Burrows' spot in the rotation the next time it comes up Sunday against the Rangers, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. With that in mind, McCullers may be headed for another rehab appearance Sunday before returning from the 15-day injured list following the All-Star break and potentially handling a bullpen role.

Smith-Shawver (elbow) struck out five and allowed two hits and no walks over four scoreless innings in a rehab start Sunday with Single-A Augusta.

Nearing the finish line in his recovery from June 2025 Tommy John surgery, Smith-Shawver has looked sharp through two rehab outings with Augusta, spinning seven innings of one-run ball while posting a 9:0 K:BB. He'll likely move up to a higher-level affiliate for his third minor-league start and will be looking to build on his pitch count after tossing 46 (33 strikes) in Sunday's outing. If Smith-Shawver can come close to maintaining the form he's displayed thus far during his rehab assignment in his subsequent minor-league outings, Atlanta should have room for him in the big-league rotation when he likely returns from the 60-day injured list at some point shortly after the All-Star break.

Feltner is slated to make his next start Thursday against the Giants in San Francisco, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Feltner was initially slated to get the ball for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers, but Colorado will instead use the series finale in Los Angeles to break rookie Gabriel Hughes into the rotation as a replacement for the injured Tomoyuki Sugano (back). As a result of the change, Feltner now lines up for a rematch with the Giants, whom he limited to three runs (two earned) over six innings at Coors Field his last time out Friday. Since returning from the injured list in late May, Feltner has arguably been the Rockies' most dependable starter, going 2-1 with a 3.23 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 27:12 K:BB in 39 innings across seven outings.

Brito tossed 1.2 perfect relief innings with one strikeout to earn a hold in Tuesday's 4-1 win over Arizona.

Brito pitched in the majors for the first time since undergoing UCL internal brace surgery and a flexor tendon repair procedure in April 2025. The right-hander looked great in his return, throwing 13 of 17 pitches for strikes and retiring all five batters he faced. Brito also impressed in a minor-league rehab stint leading up to his activation, recording a 1.46 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 27:14 K:BB over 37 frames spanning eight starts. He's stretched out well beyond the pitch count he registered Tuesday, so Brito could eventually be deployed as a bulk reliever or as a starter. For now, he may be assigned to work in a piggyback role with German Marquez, who was initially tabbed as an opener for Tuesday's contest but ended up covering five innings on 82 pitches.