Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is on target for a return to the team's lineup on Sunday. Rodriguez is working his way back from a strained left calf. "He's good to go," hitting coach Kevin Long said of a weekend return. He has not played a full game since Aug. 15.

The Rangers reinstated outfielder Nelson Cruz from the 15-day disabled list in time for Monday's game against the Royals. Cruz returns after spending 15 days on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring suffered as he ran the bases on Aug. 14 against the Red Sox. He has missed more than one-third of the season because of three stints on the disabled list.

Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte took another step forward Sunday in his recovery from a groin strain that has kept him out of action since July 18. Pettitte threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session that he described as "a lot more intense" than the session he threw on Friday. He said it would still be "two weeks at least" before he could return to the mound. "It all depends on what they want me to do," Pettitte said. "Whenever they want me, I'll go out there."

Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb threw a simulated game on Saturday and remains confident that he'll pitch on a major-league mound this season. It's been nearly 17 months since Webb made an appearance for Arizona. "It looks to me like he's going to pitch," pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. said. "It really does. I couldn't say that a month ago." Webb said he hopes to throw "two or three" more sessions like Saturday's, which he guessed could put him in position to make short relief stints with the Diamondbacks sometime within the next three weeks. "It was a big step today," he said. "I kind of impressed myself. I didn't know what to expect, and I'm really pleased with it. Stott was a little worried going into it, if I was ready or not, but coming out he was pretty much all smiles. "I definitely need to prove to myself and everybody else that I can get people out."

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira left the team's victory over the White Sox on Saturday night with a bruised right thumb. Teixeira removed himself from the game in the third inning. "I wasn't going to do the team any good tonight," he said. "We'll see how it feels [Sunday]." Teixeira suffered the injury diving for a ball off the bat of Mark Teahen in the eighth inning of Friday's 9-4 White Sox win. "They don't water the foul ground here and it's real hard," he said. "When I dove I braced myself with my right hand and that's when I jammed my thumb." Teixeira has yet to miss a game because of injury this season.

Rockies pitcher Manny Corpas may need to undergo Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow. "My ligament is no good," he said. "I think it's old." Corpas was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament after coming off the mound in pain on Wednesday. "My arm was a little bit sore, but I'm trying to help," Corpas said. "I knew my arm was no good in the first inning. When the trainer (Keith Dugger) asked me, 'Are you OK?' I said 'I'm OK' because I'm trying to help. Maybe that's my fault that I kept throwing, but I did it for the team." Corpas will get a second opinion on the elbow next week.

The Reds have placed rookie right-hander Mike Leake on the disabled list with shoulder fatigue. Cincinnati made the move retroactive to Wednesday and Leake will still be eligible for the team's postseason roster. "It's better for him, and he still may be eligible for the playoffs," said manager Dusty Baker. "He's not throwing the ball where he wants to throw it, even though he has good velocity." Leake had thrown 138 1/3 innings since making his Major League debut without pitching in the Minors.

The Reds may start right-hander Aaron Harang against the Brewers on Tuesday, which would make him eligible for the postseason. The playoff roster deadline is Tuesday. "Aaron, right now we got him on a (strengthening) program where we're thinking he will possibly make a ... be eligible to make a start on the 31st. ... and also making him eligible for the playoffs," manager Dusty Baker said. Harang was put on the disabled list July 6 with lower back problems.

Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte completed a successful bullpen session on Friday. Pettitte threw 25 pitches off the mound about four hours before the start of Friday night's Yankees-White Sox game. He'll throw another session as soon as Sunday. "This was progress, this was definitely progress for us," manager Joe Girardi said. "He's better than he was 10 days ago. I can't really tell you how much more or less, but today was a good day, that's all I can say." The Yankees have admitted that the best-case scenario would see Pettitte return in mid-September.

Tigers outfielder Magglio Ordonez is scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery on his right ankle Wednesday. Ordonez has been sidelined since July 25 with the injury. He was hitting .303 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs.