MLB Player News

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed Monday that Kershaw (shoulder) is "very likely" to return from the 15-day injured list to start Thursday against the Rockies, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Kershaw had already been trending toward a Thursday return, and Roberts has all but locked it in at this point. The southpaw threw a bullpen session Sunday without issue, and as long as he recovers without incident, he'll be cleared to make his first major-league start since July 3. The future Hall of Famer has been dealing with inflammation in his left shoulder.

Barco (elbow) was activated from the 60-day injured list and assigned to Single-A Bradenton on Aug. 3.

He walked two and struck out two while recording just two outs in his first start for the Marauders on Sunday. Barco built up to four innings in his final rehab start in the Florida Complex League, so it's a bit surprising he recorded only two outs in his first Single-A start. He underwent Tommy John surgery prior to getting selected by the Pirates with the 44th overall pick in last year's draft.

The Marlins are planning for Perez -- who will be called up from Double-A Pensacola to start Monday's game in Cincinnati -- to make up to 10 more starts in the majors over the rest of the season, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports.

The team is monitoring the 20-year-old's workload carefully, as he's already thrown more innings this season than he did in either 2022 or 2021, but Perez is set to rejoin Miami's rotation Monday after spending about a month in the minors resting and then ramping back up. Whether he actually makes all 10 starts will depend on his performance as well as whether the Marlins stay in the wild-card hunt, but those investing in the young phenom can have some confidence that he'll see enough action to move the needle for their fantasy squads. Through his first 11 big-league outings, Perez has posted a 2.36 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 61:17 K:BB in 53.1 innings.

Mikolas will return to the Cardinals rotation to start Tuesday's series opener at Tampa Bay after completing his five-game suspension.

Mikolas was handed the suspension one day after he was ejected for intentionally throwing at Ian Happ in his July 27 start against the Cubs. Because he initially appealed the decision, Mikolas was able to start the next time his turn in the rotation came up this past Tuesday against the Twins, but he then dropped his appeal one day later. After missing the remaining two games of the series with Minnesota and all three games with the Rockies this past weekend, Mikolas will return to the hill Tuesday on six days' rest.

Liberatore is scheduled to start Thursday's game against the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Liberatore will get a second straight turn through the St. Louis rotation, facing off against the organization that drafted him with a first-round selection in 2018 before dealing him to the Cardinals in 2020. In his return from Triple-A Memphis this past weekend, Liberatore worked 5.2 innings in a losing effort against the Twins, giving up five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one. With a 6.93 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and 8.5 K-BB% over 37.2 innings in the majors this season, Liberatore likely warrants attention just in NL-only leagues at this time.

Cobb allowed five runs on seven hits and a walk over 5.1 innings in Sunday's loss to Oakland. He struck out three and did not factor in the decision.

Cobb served up two homers in the subpar outing, both to Nick Allen. Cobb forced a season-low three whiffs Sunday. Over his last four outings, he's registered a 5.40 ERA with just 16 punchouts across 21.2 frames. The veteran righty owns a 3.30 ERA and 1.33 WHIP through 21 starts this season. Cobb's next outing is projected to be at home against the Rangers.

Lynn (8-9) allowed one run on four hits and two walks over six innings Sunday, striking out six and earning a win over the Padres.

Lynn faced little trouble while tossing a quality start Sunday. In two outings since being traded to the Dodgers, he's gone 2-0 with a 13:3 K:BB. He's also lowered his season ERA from 6.47 to 6.11 in the process. Lynn coughed up 17 earned runs in just 16.2 frames over his last three starts with the White Sox prior to the trade. His next appearance is lined up to be at home against the Rockies.

Gallen allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out eight over seven innings Sunday against the Twins. He did not factor into the decision.

Gallen faced the minimum through five innings before running into some trouble in the sixth. A one-out double and a walk put two on for the Twins and a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position before a base knock by Carlos Correa scored two. Sunday was Gallen's second time reaching eight strikeouts over his last six starts and his first start allowing fewer than three runs since July 7, which was also the last time he picked up a win. Still, Gallen sits fourth in the National League in ERA (3.37), second in WHIP (1.08) and third in strikeouts (157). He'll look for better fortune his next time out, as he currently projects to face the Padres next weekend.

Hill (7-11) allowed six runs on four hits and a walk over three innings Sunday, striking out four and taking a loss against the Dodgers.

The Dodgers plated six runs in the first two innings against Hill, capped off by Freddie Freeman's three-run blast. It was Hll's first outing as a Padre and he gave up six runs for the first time since May 29. The veteran southpaw posted a 5.70 ERA across six July starts and his season ERA has jumped to 5.09. Hill's next start is projected to be in Arizona.

Richardson (0-1) took the loss Sunday, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks over three innings against the Nationals. He struck out two.

Following a four-run first inning that included seeing his first two career pitches hit out of the yard, Richardson settled down in the next two frames but was pulled after 66 pitches. That number represents 17 more pitches than he had thrown in any start for the organization since May as he continues to work his way back from a lost 2022 due to Tommy John surgery. It is possible the 23-year-old prospect remains in the Reds rotation for now, but he's highly likely to have his pitch count remain limited moving forward.