MLB Player News

Hicks (elbow) threw a bullpen session Monday, his first time doing so since suffering his injury May 1, the team's official site reports.

Hicks has been playing catch regularly in the field for some time, but the return to the mound is naturally a significant step in his recovery. The Cardinals continue to hold out hope they'll be able to get Hicks some game action -- be it at the major- or minor-league level -- before the end of the season, but they will continue to operate with considerable caution given the hard-throwing right-hander's extensive injury history.

Rodriguez (1-2) tossed two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win Wednesday against the Reds. He walked one and struck out three.

Rodriquez earned his first MLB save earlier this month but he was the first pitcher out of the bullpen Wednesday, pitching the fifth and sixth innings in relief of Adrian Sampson. It looks like Rodriguez may be working in a flexible role for the Cubs, though that could be the case for most of the team's relievers -- the bullpen is a bit unsettled following the trade of Craig Kimbrel and Ryan Tepera at the deadline, as well as Dan Winkler getting designated for assignment. Rodriguez has been solid in limited work, recording a 3.38 ERA and 10 strikeouts across eight innings.

Bruihl will start Wednesday's game against the Pirates, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Bruihl served as an opener Monday against the Pirates and delivered a scoreless inning, and he'll do so again in Wednesday's series finale. Mitch White is expected to follow as the primary pitcher for the Dodgers.

Rolison (hand) began a rehab assignment at the Rockies' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate Aug. 12 and has covered 6.1 innings between his first two outings, giving up seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits and two walks while striking out nine.

Rolison is on the comeback trail after a fractured left hand kept him out of competitive action for just over nine weeks. He covered four innings in his most recent rehab start Monday, so he may only need one or two more turns in the lower levels of the minors before being activated from Triple-A Albuquerque's 7-day injured list.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Wednesday that Rainey was shut down at Triple-A Rochester a few days ago after experiencing pain in his side, Maria Torres of The Athletic reports.

Fortunately for Rainey, an MRI on his side returned negative, so the Nationals won't shutter him for the season and are hopeful he'll recover from the injury after resting for a few days. The 28-year-old has endured a brutal 2021 campaign from both a health and performance standpoint; he's missed time due to collarbone, tibia and side injuries and COVID-19 protocols, and he submitted a 7.62 ERA and 1.81 WHIP over 32 relief appearances with Washington before being optioned to Triple-A last week.

The Mets optioned Diaz to Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Diaz was a casualty from the active roster after the Mets needed to bring up Chance Sisco from Triple-A to serve as the backup catcher behind Patrick Mazeika in Wednesday's series finale in San Francisco due to No. 1 backstop James McCann (back) not being available off the bench. Since receiving a promotion from Syracuse on July 4, Diaz appeared in 13 games out of the New York bullpen, logging a 4.11 ERA and 1.30 WHIP across 15.1 innings.

The Padres placed Strahm on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with right knee inflammation.

Given that Strahm required patellar tendon surgery on the same knee last October and didn't debut for the Padres until Aug. 3 while recovering from the procedure, it's not an encouraging sign that he's back on the IL two weeks later with a related injury. Though the fact that Strahm is dealing with inflammation rather than a sprain of his right knee suggests his injury isn't too significant, the Padres are still expected to proceed cautiously with him and could hold him out for longer than the 10-day minimum. In a corresponding move, the Padres activated newly signed starting pitcher Jake Arrieta, who will take the hill Wednesday against the Rockies for his San Diego debut.

The Padres plan to place Strahm on the 10-day injured list Wednesday due to an unspecified issue, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

San Diego will confirm the transaction shortly before Wednesday's series finale with the Rockies that begins at 3:10 p.m. ET, at which time more information about Strahm's injury should become available. The right-hander had spent most of the season on the 60-day IL while recovering from the right knee surgery he required last October, but it's unclear if he suffered a related setback. Strahm made his first five appearances with San Diego as a reliever before he was deployed as an opening pitcher in Tuesday's contest. He was the pitcher of record in the Padres' 7-3 loss, giving up a run on four hits and no walks over 1.1 innings before turning the game over to the bullpen.

Jansen picked up the save Tuesday against the Pirates after allowing one run on two hits and a walk across one inning, fanning one.

Jansen might have clinched his 25th save of the season, but he was far from crisp on the mound and needed 24 pitches to get the job done. The veteran reliever is in no danger of losing the closer role any time soon, but it's worth noting he has given up runs in five of his 13 appearances since the All-Star break. He owns a 7.62 ERA across 13 innings while going 4-for-7 in save chances during that span.

Crowe didn't factor into the decision Tuesday against the Dodgers after allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while fanning four across four innings.

Crowe has pitched less than five innings in his last three outings, but at least he's found a way to limit the damage and hasn't given up more than three runs in any of those starts. In fact, he's now gone five straight appearances without allowing more than three earned runs. Pitching deep into games remains a problem for him, but he has still posted a decent 3.72 ERA across 38.2 innings over his last eight contests.