MLB Player News

Junk was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Thursday.

Junk was lit up for five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits and two walks over 4.2 innings in a spot start Wednesday against the Diamondbacks. Colin Rea has been recalled in a corresponding move and is starting Thursday night in San Diego.

Rea had his contract selected from Triple-A Nashville on Thursday.

Rea will make a spot start for the Brewers in Thursday night's series opener in San Diego. The 32-year-old had not allowed an earned run through seven innings of long relief this season at the Triple-A level but is a high-risk fantasy option versus the Padres. He's up in the majors for the first time since a one-appearance stint in 2021.

Davis is the likeliest candidate to fill the vacant spot in the Rockies' starting rotation, Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette reports.

German Marquez landed on the injured list Wednesday with right forearm inflammation and will miss at least two turns, though the Rockies don't need a fifth starter right away because of Thursday's scheduled off day. Davis, 25, holds a 4.26 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 6:7 K:BB through 12.2 innings (three starts) this season at Triple-A Albuquerque. He won't carry much streaming appeal if/when he does get the call.

Stripling covered 3.1 innings of long relief in Wednesday's 10-5 loss to the Dodgers, striking out six while giving up two earned runs on two hits and two walks.

Given that he started Giants' third game of the season, Stripling appeared to be locked in as a full-time member of the rotation, but manager Gabe Kapler has surprising deployed the right-hander in relief his last two times out. Kapler hasn't clarified his plans for the rotation moving forward, and it's possible the fact that the Giants had one day off this week (Thursday) and last week (April 4) prompted the team to get by with five starters. Beginning Friday, the Giants will head into a stretch of 14 games in 14 days, so Kapler could look to reintegrate Stripling back into the rotation to afford the other five starters an additional day of rest. Stripling covered 65 pitches in Wednesday's relief appearance, so he should be able to give the Giants a decent amount of length if he's called upon to start again.

Gasser has posted a 1.93 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 10:7 K:BB over 9.1 innings through two starts with Triple-A Nashville.

Walks have been an issue for Gasser -- just as they were last year in his five Triple-A starts -- and he has also hit three batters, but the Brewers' top pitching prospect has escaped any serious damage by missing a lot of bats. The team presumably wants to see Gasser limit the baserunners before giving him a shot at the top level, but if he can do so he could push for a spot on the big-league roster at some point this season.

Velasquez (ankle) is listed as the Pirates' probable starter for Thursday's game against the Cardinals.

Just as Pirates general manager Ben Cherington suggested over the weekend would be the case, Velasquez won't miss a turn through the rotation despite tweaking his left ankle in his most recent start Saturday versus the White Sox. While it doesn't look as though he'll be limited in any capacity Thursday, Velasquez still represents an untrustworthy streaming option. He's taken losses in both of his first two starts of 2023 while logging a 9.82 ERA and 2.18 WHIP across 7.1 innings.

Cobb pitched 3.2 innings against the Dodgers on Wednesday, allowing two runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out two batters. He didn't factor in the decision in the Giants' 10-5 loss.

The Giants gave Cobb an early three-run lead, but the veteran hurler couldn't take advantage. He gave up a hit in each of his first three frames but escaped without Los Angeles scoring before being chased with two outs in the fourth. In that inning, he yielded a hit to five of the six batters he faced and gave up two runs, though the damage could have been worse -- one of his outs came on a caught-stealing and the other on a sharp liner to center field. Cobb's 3.14 ERA and 14:2 K:BB on the campaign appear fine on the surface, but he's made it out of the fourth inning just once in three starts.

Kershaw (2-1) picked up the victory in Wednesday's 10-5 win over the Giants, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out four batters over six innings.

Kershaw got off to shaky start Wednesday, allowing a pair of runs in the first inning and another in the second. The veteran southpaw found his footing thereafter, retiring 12 of the final 14 batters he faced and ending up with the win. Kershaw is no longer striking out batters like he did in his prime, but he's given the Dodgers a steady presence in the rotation by going exactly six innings in all three of his starts and nabbing a pair of victories. He's posted a 3.50 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 17:4 K:BB through 18 frames.

Greene allowed three runs on seven hits and no walks over six innings in a no-decision against Atlanta on Wednesday. He struck out 10 batters.

Greene went toe-to-toe with opposing hurler and fellow rising star Spencer Strider on Wednesday, racking up 10 strikeouts and 21 swinging strikes to Strider's nine and 22. Greene was able to go six frames to pick up his first quality start of the season, but he was kept out of the win column as Atlanta pulled out the victory in the ninth inning. This was the 23-year-old's best start of the campaign thus far, as he pitched past the fifth inning for the first time and notched a season-high strikeout total. This was also the first time in 2023 that Greene didn't issue any free passes -- he walked three batters in each of his first two outings.

Strider did not factor in the decision against Cincinnati on Wednesday, pitching five innings and allowing three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out nine batters.

Strider's final line Wednesday was almost a carbon copy of his previous start against San Diego, when he also allowed three runs on four hits while striking out nine batters over five frames. The right-hander has struck out exactly nine hitters in each of his three outings this season, though he has just one win to show for it. Strider had his swing-and-miss stuff working against the Reds, as he racked up 22 whiffs, but he could go only five frames due to tossing 98 pitches. The 24-year-old has lived up to his billing as one of the game's top strikeout pitchers so far in 2023, as he is currently tied with Jacob deGrom for the league lead in punchouts.