Rangers ink John King to minors contract

Happ was scratched from Sunday’s lineup with “left knee discomfort” and will also miss Monday’s game. There has been no word from the Cubs on whether an IL stint might be in the cards. Tyrone Taylor will start in left field again on Monday.

According to Tim Healey of the Boston Globe, the current plan is for Houck to throw about 20 pitches with Double-A Portland on Tuesday, then 40-45 with Portland on Friday. Then he’ll join Triple-A Worcester for a game next week and could be an option to return to Boston after that. Obviously, he could also be built up to around 50 pitches at that point, which means Houck could even fill a starter/opener role with Patrick Sandoval or Brayan Bello following behind him. It remains to be seen what role Houck will have, but getting him back will be a nice boost for the Red Sox pitching staff.

DeLauter has now missed three straight games with a sprained right wrist. However, the Orioles are also throwing a left-handed pitcher on Monday, so there is a chance that they viewed this as an easy way to give DeLauter another day of rest. Guardians’ manager Stephen Vogt said that DeLauter is “feeling a lot better” and will hit some batting practice today and is take flyballs in right field. It sounds like he could be back in the middle of this week, but Angel Martinez will play right field and bat cleanup.

Meyer landed on the injured list with a neck strain before the All-Star break and then also needed a cortisone shot in August. There are only three weeks left in the season, so there doesn’t seem to be enough time for Meyer to build up and return as a starter. It remains to be seen what the Marlins’ plan for him is, but it likely will be impacted by how he responds to his early throwing sessions.

Ballesteros has now started four of the last six games at either first base or designated hitter. The Angels are also carrying two other catchers on their roster, so it seems like they will limit how many starts Ballesteros makes behind the dish for the remainder of the season. That has meant Vaughn Grissom has played more third base and Oswald Peraza has shifted to the bench.

Kim has now started five of the last six games at shortstop, even mixing in against right-handers too. He is 4-for-12 with one run and one RBI over the previous four starts, but three of those hits came in one game against the Nationals. Mauricio Dubon has been playing in the outfield more often over that stretch.

Anderson was a key member of the Brewers’ bullpen this year with a 3.36 ERA in 59 innings across 52 appearances this season. It remains to be seen what his timeline is for a return.

Sproat will return in a relief role, but with Brewers manager Pat Murphy also considering moving Kyle Harrison into the bullpen, there’s a chance Sproat and Harrison could form some sort of tandem. In Triple-A, it seems like the Brewers have significantly dialed back Sproat’s cutter usage, leaning into the four-seamer as his primary fastball and upping the usage of all his secondaries. We’ll see if the results improve at the big league level.

Over his last 20 games, Sogard is hitting .289/.372/.526 with four home runs, 14 runs scored, and 10 RBI. He has the second-best wRC+ on the Red Sox over that stretch, so this is just a day off. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will start in his place at second base.

With Jonah Tong coming up for a start, the Mets will opt to send down Hagenman, who was recalled last Wednesday to make a short three-inning start. He’ll need to remain in the minors for about two weeks before he can be an option for the Mets again.