MLB Player News

Megill (elbow) threw a successful live batting practice session Tuesday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

It was the first time Megill faced hitters since he was diagnosed with a Grade 1 right flexor strain in late August. He could thrown one more live batting practice session before being sent out on a rehab assignment. Megill is aiming to be activated from the 15-day injured list next Tuesday, and thus far, he seems on track to achieve that goal.

Harrison is headed to Sacramento to join the Red Sox and could be recalled from Triple-A Worcester prior to Wednesday's game against the Athletics, Tommy Cassell of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports.

The Red Sox have not yet announced a starter for Wednesday's game, though manager Alex Cora said that lefty Payton Tolle is expected to be used in some capacity. Harrison could also be in the mix, perhaps in a tandem start with Tolle. The left-handed Harrison pitched one inning with Triple-A Worcester on Sunday after overcoming an ankle injury, so he would be pitching on two days' rest Wednesday. Harrison holds a 3.75 ERA and 50:27 K:BB over 50.1 innings with Worcester since the Red Sox acquired him from the Giants on June 15.

Urquidy (elbow) is set to make one more rehab appearance for Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday or Wednesday before being evaluated for a potential return, MLB.com reports.

Urquidy has already made a total of nine rehab appearances, including five with the Mud Hens. The veteran righty looked sharp in his last two outings, logging a total of six scoreless innings with six strikeouts. Urquidy, who is working his way back from June 2024 Tommy John surgery, last pitched in the majors in 2023, so the Tigers are likely to be very cautious with his return. He'll likely slot into a bullpen role to close out this season, though he figures to compete for a 2026 rotation spot next spring.

Sewald (shoulder), who has logged two scoreless innings in a rehab assignment with High-A West Michigan, could return from the injured list as soon as Wednesday, MLB.com reports.

Sewald has yet to pitch for Detroit after getting acquired in a trade before the deadline. The 33-year-old righty last saw the mound on July 11 when he was with Cleveland, and he posted a 4.70 ERA and 18 strikeouts across 15.1 innings for the Guardians before going down with a right shoulder strain. The Tigers are hoping Sewald can provide some veteran bullpen depth for the stretch run, though he's unlikely to see save chances ahead of Will Vest and Kyle Finnegan (groin) once he's healthy.

Oakie has 22 strikeouts over 9.1 scoreless innings in his last two starts for Single-A Lynchburg.

Oakie has raised his stock as much as any lower-level prospect over the past few weeks, as he has shown monster stuff at the end of an up-and-down season. His upper-90s fastball can be borderline unhittable when he's locating it, and he compliments it with a plus hard slider. He received a $2 million bonus after the Guardians selected him with the No. 84 overall pick last year. Oakie has a 14 percent walk rate and 1.53 WHIP on the year, so there is plenty of reliever risk to go with a sky-high ceiling if he can stay healthy and continue refining his craft. He doesn't turn 20 until May.

Soroka (shoulder) is scheduled for a multi-inning rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, and he could rejoin the Cubs soon after that, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Soroka has been out since his first and only appearance for the Cubs back on Aug. 4 after he was acquired from the Nationals prior to the trade deadline. The veteran has been building up in a throwing program as he recovers from a strain to his right shoulder, and the rehab appearance may be his last step in the process. The Cubs also could be grooming Soroka for a long-relief role, as the rotation currently includes Shota Imanaga, Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea, with Jameson Taillon (groin) set to return from the injured list Wednesday. Soroka's best chance at starting would likely be bumping Rea as the No. 5 starter at some point.

George is slashing .295/.409/.370 with three home runs, 100 steals, a 16.3 percent walk rate and a 15.2 percent strikeout rate in 111 games for High-A Great Lakes.

His 100 steals easily pace the minor leagues, with Royals outfielder Asbel Gonzalez ranking second with 78 steals. George hit 60.3 percent of balls on the ground and 52.1 percent of balls to the opposite field, so while he has four career home runs in 225 games, he's usually not attempting to pull the ball in the air. George only swung at 39.4 percent of pitches, so his game is really all about getting onto first base by any means possible and using his speed from there. He has a below-average arm but is otherwise a quality defensive center fielder, so there are shades of Billy Hamilton and Chandler Simpson here, but George will face a tough challenge when he heads to Double-A for his age-21 season next year.

Assad is expected to move to the bullpen later this week with Jameson Taillon (groin) set to return from the 15-day injured list to start Wednesday's game in Atlanta, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Assad has made five starts for the Cubs this season after recovering from a strained oblique, turning in a 4.62 ERA and 1.26 WHIP across 25.1 innings. However, Taillon's imminent return leaves Chicago with a full rotation that also includes Shota Imanaga, Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea. Assad pitched well in a swingman role back in 2023, when he compiled a 3.05 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over 109.1 innings across 10 starts and 22 relief appearances. The righty will likely once again give the Cubs some length out of the bullpen, and he's capable of making a spot start if needed.

Watson, who was promoted to Double-A Binghamton on Aug. 25, has a 2.82 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 128:56 K:BB in 111.2 innings across three levels of the minors this season.

A seventh-round selection out of USC in 2024, Watson spent the bulk of the year dominating for High-A Brooklyn (1.70 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 18.9 K-BB%) before getting the late-season promotion to Double-A. He has given up seven earned runs on 11 hits and seven walks while striking out eight in 8.2 innings across his first two appearances at Double-A. Watson's velocity has jumped in pro ball, with his fastball now sitting 93-95 mph (touches 97 mph) and playing up due to the ride he gets out of a lower arm slot. His changeup is his best secondary offering while his slider is a fine third pitch. He worked as a reliever at times in college and it's still unclear if he'll throw enough strikes to make it as a starter in the big leagues, but Watson's run at High-A should buy him more developmental time in the rotation.

With Daniel Palencia (shoulder) landing on the injured list Monday, Kittredge is an option to see more high-leverage work at the end of games, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Sharma notes that Chicago manager Craig Counsell is likely to deploy a committee approach to the ninth inning with Palencia out, rather than settle on a single closer. Kittredge is in that mix, though fellow righty Brad Keller might be a bit ahead of him in the bullpen pecking order and is probably the favorite for saves at the moment. The Cubs also have Caleb Thielbar and Drew Pomeranz as options from the left side. Kittredge probably will get a bump in fantasy value with Palencia out, but it remains to be seen exactly what the former's role will be.