MLB Player News

Manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Pepiot is still experiencing soreness in his left oblique, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Pepiot began throwing to live hitters earlier this month, but a setback has returned him to playing catch on flat ground. Originally expected to return in late May or early June, Pepiot could now be held out of action through the All-Star break.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Stone "makes the most sense" to replace Dustin May (forearm) in the starting rotation, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Michael Grove (groin) is traveling with the Dodgers, but only on the taxi squad for now, and it sounds like he'll be used in relief if -- or when -- he is activated. Stone racked up 10 strikeouts over 5.2 innings in his last start Tuesday at Triple-A Oklahoma City and can comfortably slot into May's spot Monday at Atlanta. May is out for at least a month with a flexor strain, so both Grove and Stone could ultimately get rotation turns. Bobby Miller might eventually be an option as well.

Grove (groin) has joined the Dodgers in St. Louis after throwing a bullpen session in Arizona on Wednesday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

The 26-year-old might be an option to help fill Dustin May's (forearm) spot in the rotation, which comes around again Monday at Atlanta. That would mean skipping a minor-league rehab assignment. Grove had posted an ugly 8.44 ERA through 16 major-league innings (four starts) with Los Angeles prior to suffering a right groin strain in late April.

The Dodgers placed May on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a right flexor pronator strain.

May suffered the forearm strain in the first inning of his start Wednesday against the Twins and is expected to miss at least a full month. He's going to try platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment in an effort to avoid surgery and expedite the healing process. Gavin Stone seems like the best bet to fill May's spot in the Dodgers' rotation, though Michael Grove (groin) could eventually be an option.

Rutledge has gone exactly six innings in each of his last five starts for Double-A Harrisburg, logging a 2.40 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 30 innings.

Given that Rutledge has a middling 14.7 K-BB% and a similarly mediocre 35.9 percent groundball rate, it's hard to project a high ceiling for the 6-foot-8 righty. The No. 17 overall pick in 2019, Rutledge had only two-thirds of an inning above Single-A under his belt coming into the year, so it's encouraging that he is having success while going deep into games in the upper levels of the minors.

DeSclafani (toe) is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Marlins in San Francisco, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Giants' decision to move Sean Manaea to the bullpen earlier in the week supported the notion that the right toe issue that bothered DeSclafani during his most recent outing last Saturday in Arizona wouldn't be anything that forced him to miss a turn through the rotation. Through eight outings this season, DeSclafani has churned out a 3.06 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 35:5 K:BB across 50 innings.

Stripling exited his start Wednesday versus the Phillies in the fourth inning due to low-back tightness, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Given Stripling's worked out of the bullpen for parts of the season, seeing him fail to complete four innings wouldn't have been out of the ordinary. It's unclear at this time if he'll be able to make his next start on the road versus Minnesota next week. If Stripling is unavailable, Sean Manaea would likely temporarily rejoin the rotation in his place.

Cabrera left Wednesday's win over the Nationals after only 79 pitches due to a blister developing on his right middle finger, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports.

The right-hander was putting together his best performance of the season, giving up two runs on five hits over five innings with six strikeouts to record his third win. It was the first time in his career Cabrera had lasted at least five innings without walking a batter, making the early exit that much tougher to swallow. He generated 18 swinging strikes, including nine against his changeup. "There were a lot of lefties in the lineup," Cabrera said after the game. "The plan was to attack them with the changeup inside, the curveball outside and the fastball up. That was the plan, and it worked today." Cabrera's next turn in the rotation is set to come early next week in Coors Field, so his fantasy GMs will likely be rooting for the blister to cause the Marlins to skip him, or at least delay his next outing until the team leaves Colorado.

Gore (3-3) took the loss Wednesday as the Nationals were downed 4-3 by the Marlins, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out seven.

The southpaw tossed 60 of 93 pitches for strikes before exiting, but the Marlins were able to hit him hard when he was in the strike zone, with Jorge Soler's two-run homer in the fourth inning proving to be the biggest blow. Gore's 29.0 percent strikeout rate on the season remains encouraging, though it comes with an 11.5 percent walk rate. He'll take a 3.69 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 58:23 K:BB through 46.1 innings into his next outing, likely to come at home early next week against the Padres.

Burnes (4-3) took the loss against St. Louis on Wednesday, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over six innings.

Burnes wasn't at his best Wednesday -- the eight hits against him were the most he's given up so far this season, and he yielded more than two earned runs for the first time since early April -- but he still managed to pitch effectively over six frames to notch his fourth straight quality start. However, the Brewers were unable to push any runs across the plate, resulting in their ace falling to 4-3 on the campaign. Burnes' numbers this season are quiet by his recent standards, especially in terms of strikeouts, as his current 8.0 K/9 would be the lowest of his six-year MLB career.