Yahoo Sports

Astros manager Joe Espada said Thursday that Javier (neck) will begin a rehab assignment over the weekend, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Advice: Espada didn't specify exactly when Javier's first rehab appearance will be, nor did he say how long the 27-year-old right-hander will remain in the minors. However, there had been speculation that Javier would be able to avoid a rehab assignment completely, so he may only need to make one start before returning to an Astros rotation that has already dealt with numerous injuries this season. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 2:24 pm

Braxton Garrett (shoulder) fired five shutout innings on Wednesday in a minor league rehab start for Triple-A Jacksonville.

Advice: Garrett finished with three strikeouts, built up his pitch count to 61 (33 strikes) and averaged 90.7 mph in his likely final tune-up before rejoining Miami’s starting rotation mix for his season debut. The 26-year-old hurler has been out since spring training due to a left shoulder impingement and a setback after experiencing a “dead arm” phase. He’ll likely take the ball on Monday against the Dodgers in his season debut, barring an unexpected development. Rotoworld Yesterday, 1:03 pm

Justin Steele (hamstring) was a bit rusty in his first minor league rehab start at Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, giving up three runs on six hits over his 3 1/3 innings of work.

Advice: The 28-year-old southpaw walked one and struck out four on the day, throwing 41 of his 63 total pitches for strikes. Cubs’ skipper Craig Counsell told reporters afterwards that all went well with Steele’s start and that he’ll meet the team in Chicago on Friday to determine the next step. It had been anticipated that Steele would only require one minor league rehab start before he was cleared to return, and it’s looking like that very well could be the case. Rotoworld Wednesday, 8:28 pm

Mason Miller fired a perfect ninth inning on Wednesday in a non-save situation against the Pirates.

Advice: Miller got the call to protect a four-run lead in the final frame after needing 16 pitches to close out Tuesday’s victory less than 24 hours ago. He got Jack Suwinski to ground out and fanned Henry Davis before coaxing a game-ending ground out from Ke’Bryan Hayes. He averaged 100.8 mph on his fastball and needed just 10 pitches to spin a perfect frame. The hard-throwing 25-year-old righty has reeled off 12 consecutive scoreless appearances since April 2, and has converted eight saves to go along with a microscopic 1.26 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 29/4 K/BB ratio across 14 1/3 innings of work. Simply put, he’s one of the best relievers in baseball already. Rotoworld Wednesday, 3:07 pm

Mason Miller struck out all three batters he faced Tuesday for a save against the Pirates.

Advice: It’s fine to marvel at Miller’s numbers in the closer’s role to date, but this is what an ace-level talent should be doing while pitching two or three innings per week. There’s a very good chance Miller would struggle to hold up as a starter, but we might never find out for sure. As is, Miller has a 1.35 ERA and eight saves in 13 1/3 innings. Rotoworld Tuesday, 10:38 pm