MLB Player News

Wicks (oblique) struck out four batters over 4.2 scoreless innings in his rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Iowa. He scattered three hits and one walk.

Between his first two rehab outings at Iowa, Wicks surrendered four home runs and walked four batters while covering just 3.2 innings, but he's been much more dialed in his subsequent two starts for the Triple-A club while increasing the volume of his pitches. He built up to 73 pitches Sunday and looks like he'll be ready to return from the 60-day injured list to make his next start with the big club, providing he experiences no setbacks with his oblique coming out of his next throwing session. The Cubs have yet to confirm their plans for Wicks, but he'll presumably either be part of a six-man rotation or replace Kyle Hendricks as the club's No. 5 starter.

General manager Ben Cherington acknowledged Sunday that there is a range of innings that the Pirates don't want Skenes to surpass this season, which could lead to the right-hander's starts becoming more abbreviated over the final month of the campaign, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Cherington didn't offer up a firm number in terms of a potential innings limit for Skenes, but a workload-management plan already looks to be in place for the phenom rookie. As Stumpf notes, Skenes was lifted after six scoreless innings in his most recent outing Thursday against the Reds, despite having thrown just 87 pitches while exhibiting no signs of wearing down. The 87 pitches were Skenes' fewest in a start since his MLB debut back on May 11, and a workload around that level could become the norm for the 22-year-old down the stretch if the Pirates choose not to shut him down. Across his 17 starts in the majors, his seven starts at Triple-A Indianapolis and his two Grapefruit League appearances, Skenes has thrown 134.1 innings in 2024. He covered 129.1 innings in 2023 between his college season at LSU and his brief time in the minors upon getting selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft.

Gomber (4-9) allowed four runs on six hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings to take the loss Sunday versus the Yankees.

Gomber gave up just one of the Yankees' five homers, a two-run blast to Aaron Judge in the first inning, but the Rockies' offense wasn't good enough to keep him off the hook. This was Gomber's first loss in three starts, and he's allowed a modest seven runs over 19 innings in that span, which has all come away from Colorado. He's actually been slightly better at home in 2024 with a 4.42 ERA and 1.25 WHIP over 57 innings at Coors Field compared to a 4.89 ERA and 1.32 WHIP through 81 innings on the road. For the season, the southpaw has a 4.70 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 98:35 K:BB through 138 innings over 25 starts. He's lined up to make his next start at home versus the Orioles.

Assad (6-4) allowed three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three over seven innings, taking the loss versus the Marlins on Sunday.

Assad gave up solo home runs to Connor Norby and Jesus Sanchez in the first inning, and the Cubs never recovered from that. Despite the early struggles, Assad was able to grind out seven innings for the first time this year on an efficient 87 pitches (59 strikes) to earn his first quality start in five outings in August. He's pitched to a 3.15 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 102:51 K:BB through 120 innings over 24 starts this season. The right-hander's next start is projected to be on the road against the Nationals.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Yamamoto (triceps) will start a rehab assignment Wednesday with Triple-A Oklahoma City, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

It's the final stage of the rehab progress for the Japanese right-hander, who has been sidelined since mid-June due to triceps tightness. Yamamoto has recently thrown a few simulated games and should be ready to cover at least a couple frames in his first rehab start. The Dodgers are targeting mid-September to bring him back from the injured list.

Ray (undisclosed) exited Sunday's contest against the Mariners due to left hamstring tightness, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Ray had pitched three frames, allowing one run before he was forced to depart from the contest. The southpaw will look to take advantage of a few days off and return to the mound for his next projected start Saturday versus the Marlins.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday that Megill is the favorite to fill the rotation spot vacated by Paul Blackburn (hand), Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Blackburn landed on the injured list Sunday due to a bruised hand, creating an opening for Megill to potentially rejoin the big-league rotation. Megill has spent the past few weeks at Triple-A Syracuse, where he has a 3.15 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 54:17 K:BB across 40 innings this season. The right-hander's 5.17 ERA in 10 MLB outings this season is less encouraging, however. If called up, Megill would tentatively line up to make a start Thursday in Arizona.

Ray (undisclosed) was forced to exit Sunday's contest in the fourth inning with an apparent injury, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Ray pitched three innings, giving up one run on one hit and three walks while striking out four batters prior to leaving the game. The left-hander appeared to have been dealing with some discomfort in his left leg, but more information on his injury will likely be provided in the near future.

The Brewers recalled Ashby from Triple-A Nashville on Sunday.

The left-hander has started in 14 of his 25 appearances for Nashville this season, and he's recently been operating out of the bullpen. Ashby has delivered six straight scoreless appearances at Triple-A and has a 14:1 K:BB during that stretch. He'll step into a relief role for the Brewers, taking the roster spot of Nick Mears (forearm).

Kelly (3-0) picked up the win Sunday against Boston, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks with five strikeouts across six innings.

All four runs charged to Kelly came via the long ball, with Triston Casas lifting a solo homer with two outs in the first inning and Rafael Devers swatting a three-run home run in the fourth frame. Still, Kelly received enough run support to pick up his third win of the campaign. Since being activated from the injured list Aug. 11, Kelly has a 6.75 ERA and an 11:6 K:BB across 16 innings spanning three starts. The right-hander has allowed 10 combined runs in his last two starts. He'll look to get back on track next time out in an expected matchup with the Dodgers.