MLB Player News

Menez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Tim Stebbins of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

Menez was designated for assignment by the Cubs on Saturday, but he'll remain with the Triple-A club after clearing waivers. Over eight appearances (one start) in Iowa this season, he's posted a 2.08 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 17.1 innings.

The Diamondbacks will recall Gilbert from Triple-A Reno to start Tuesday's game against the Reds in Cincinnati, Jody Jackson of Bally Sports Arizona reports.

With Humberto Castellanos (elbow) moving to the 15-day injured list last week, Gilbert will be summoned from the minors to fill the opening in the rotation. Even though Castellanos is likely to miss at least two turns through the rotation, Gilbert may not serve as his replacement beyond Tuesday. Arizona signed veteran Dallas Keuchel to a minor-league deal Monday, and he could be called upon to fill in for Castellanos the next time his turn comes up this weekend in Philadelphia. Gilbert has turned in a 5.02 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 14.1 innings with Arizona this season, but his ratios have been much more unsightly over his seven starts at Reno (10.65 ERA, 2.11 WHIP).

Taylor (elbow) will visit a doctor Monday to receive a more specific diagnosis, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Taylor hasn't thrown since leaving his outing Friday against the Royals with what has been referred to as left elbow discomfort. A clearer timeline for his return should become clear once his diagnosis is clarified.

Mata (elbow) is scheduled to make the second start of his rehab assignment at High-A Greenville this week, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

After reaching the finish line in his recovery from April 2021 Tommy John surgery, Mata was cleared to begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Salem on Saturday. He looked sharp during his two-inning start for Salem, allowing no hits and one unearned run while striking out two. According to Speier, Mata's fastball topped out at around 99 miles per hour in the start, so the 23-year-old has seemingly regained his pre-surgery velocity. He'll likely get stretched out over a few more starts at lower-level affiliates before slotting into the Triple-A Worcester rotation.

Medina retired three of the four batters he faced to claim his first career save Sunday in the Mets' 5-4 win over the Dodgers in 10 innings.

After normal closer Edwin Diaz was used in the eighth inning to protect a two-run lead, Seth Lugo was summoned for the bullpen for the save chance in the bottom of the ninth, but he was unable to close the door. The Mets were able to come away with a go-ahead run in the top of the 10th, and few of the team's other high-leverage relievers available at that point in the game, manager Buck Showalter turned to Medina for the save chance. Though Medina was able to get the job done, he's not expected to be a regular part of the late-inning bridge to Diaz.

Martinez allowed two runs on four hits and no walks while striking out four batters over four-plus innings against Milwaukee on Sunday. He did not factor in the decision.

Mike Clevinger started the game for the Padres, but he was held to three innings and 60 pitches as the team decided to limit his workload following a stint on the injured list. Martinez ended up throwing more pitches (70) than Clevinger, and he breezed through four scoreless frames before the Brewers broke through with two runs before he could retire a batter in the eighth. Clevinger figures to see his pitch count increase in his next start, but it's possible that Martinez could again be used to piggyback him if Clevinger is unable to take on a full workload.

Axford announced Monday via his personal Twitter account that he's resumed throwing for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last September.

The fact that the 39-year-old right-hander is starting up a throwing program again would seem to suggest that he's not yet considering retirement after having the elbow procedure. Barring any setbacks in his rehab program, Axford should be close to 100 percent recovered from the procedure by the end of 2022 or early in 2023, but he'll likely have to settle for a minor-league deal this winter if he wants to continue playing.

Arano was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday with left knee inflammation.

Arano left Sunday's contest early after taking a spill trying to field a ground ball. He will now be away from the team for at least 15 days as he nurses the injury. Dee Strange-Gordon was activated off the paternity list Monday, filling Arano's roster spot, but the Nationals will likely look to call up an arm from Triple-A Rochester in the coming days.

Robles (back spasms) will make a rehab appearance for Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday and could rejoin the Red Sox Thursday in Anaheim, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.

An initial report had Robles making two rehab appearances, but manager Alex Cora thinks the right-hander will need just one. Robles is expected to throw an inning for Worcester on Tuesday before rejoining the big club.

Burke (3-1) allowed an unearned run on one walk while striking one over 1.1 innings to pick up his first loss of the season Sunday against Seattle in an extra inning.

Burke first cleaned up the mess made by Matt Bush in the ninth inning to preserve a tie game, but he fell victim to the ghost runner scoring on his own wild pitch in the extra frame. Burke has been very good out of the Rangers' bullpen and is deserving of high-leverage chances, but this one didn't work out. The left-hander sports a 0.96 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with 32 strikeouts and nine walks over 28 innings.