MLB Player News

Wainwright (groin) will face live hitters Friday, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Lars Nootbaar (thumb) will be one of those hitters. Wainwright has been sidelined since he strained his groin during a weight training session with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, but he could begin a minor-league rehab assignment next week and appears on track to join the Cardinals' rotation before the end of April.

Butto is a candidate to join the Mets' rotation on the club's west coast road trip, which begins Friday in Oakland, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The trip runs through April 23 and also includes matchups with the Dodgers and Giants. DiComo notes the Mets have been discussing adding a starter to give every other member of the rotation an extra day of rest during the swing out west, which doesn't include any scheduled off days. Butto, 25, has pitched to a 1.86 ERA and 8:5 K:BB in 9.2 innings (two starts) this season with Triple-A Syracuse. He was scratched from his next scheduled start there Friday, presumably in anticipation of a promotion to the big leagues.

Anderson underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Thursday.

It was announced Tuesday that Anderson would require the reconstructive elbow procedure for a tear of his right ulnar collateral ligament. The 24-year-old will be sidelined will miss the rest of the season and is likely to be out until at least next summer.

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.