MLB Player News

Verlander (shoulder) is expected to begin throwing off a mound this weekend and is scheduled to make at least one minor-league rehab start before being activated from the 15-day injured list, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Verlander won't travel with the Mets when the team begins a three-city, 10-day West Coast road trip this Friday and will instead fly to the organization's spring training facility in Florida to begin the next phase of his throwing program. The Mets haven't outlined what exact days he'll throw his side sessions, but Verlander is expected to complete at least two before he faces hitters and then makes a rehab start. Verlander had previously said he didn't want to pitch in a minor-league outing prior to being activated from the 15-day injured list, but he'll do so at the request of the Mets, per Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News. If Verlander experiences no setbacks in his ramp-up from a low-grade teres major muscle strain, he could make it back from the IL in the final week of April.

Junk (0-1) took the loss Wednesday, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.2 innings during a 7-3 loss to Arizona. He struck out two.

Junk was just called up from Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday and filled in for Brandon Woodruff, who was recently moved to the 15-day injured list with a shoulder injury. The young right-hander struggled early and often, but his biggest blemish came on a three-run homer by Lourdes Gurriel in the third, which gave Arizona a 4-0 lead. Junk figures to remain in the rotation for another turn or two, but he's currently not an attractive streaming option.

Urena did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk over five innings during a 7-4 loss to the Cardinals. He struck out six.

After failing to get through the third in each of his first two outings, Urena's performance Wednesday was certainly a step in the right direction. However, it was far from perfect, and he was in line for the loss until the Rockies tied the game at 4-4 in the seventh. All three of Urena's runs came via homers, and he's now given up five home runs over his first 10 innings this season.

Flaherty did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing one earned run on five hits and one walk over 5.1 innings during a 7-4 win over the Rockies. He struck out six.

Flaherty allowed a leadoff homer to Jurickson Profar in the first, but he was able to lock in after that and recorded nine consecutive outs at one point. The right-hander surrendered an unearned run in the fourth due to a passed ball by Willson Contreras, but he was still in line for the win after getting pulled in the sixth with one out and runners on second and third. Zack Thompson got out of the jam, so no more runs were charged to Flaherty, who's had mixed results to start the campaign. Through three outings (15.1 innings), Flaherty has given up just three earned runs on nine hits, but he's walked 14 compared to just 13 strikeouts.

Stroman (2-1) took the loss Wednesday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings during a 5-2 loss to Seattle. He struck out six.

Stroman was sharp early and posted two scoreless innings to start the game, extending his streak to 14, but he got into trouble in the third after surrendering a leadoff double to nine-hole hitter J.P. Crawford. The right-hander walked two and gave up RBI singles to Teoscar Hernandez and Eugenio Suarez before getting back-to-back outs to end the inning. The quality start marked Stroman's third of the season, but he couldn't get any run support and picked up his first loss. Not known for having swing-and-miss stuff, Stroman has 20 strikeouts through his first 18 innings.

The Pirates announced that Brubaker (elbow) underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery Wednesday.

Brubaker showed promising swing-and-miss stuff in the Grapefruit League this spring, but he went down with forearm/elbow discomfort just as he was set to break camp as a member of the Pirates' starting rotation. With Pittsburgh estimating that the 29-year-old right-hander will be sidelined for the next 14-to-16 months following surgery, he can be safely ruled out until sometime near the middle of the 2024 season.

Suarez (forearm) is on track to throw live batting practice early next week, Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Suarez tossed 35 pitches in a bullpen session Wednesday, using his entire arsenal, and he'll extend himself a bit more in another full-arsenal bullpen session Friday. Then comes live BP, and a minor-league rehab assignment could soon follow. The 27-year-old appears on track to join the Phillies' starting rotation just before the end of April as he works past a bout of left forearm inflammation.

Marquez (forearm) is expected to need only a minimum stay on the 15-day injured list, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports.

The forearm injury which sent Marquez to the IL is muscle-related, so he just needs a few days of rest for it to calm down. It's unclear whether Marquez will make a rehab start before returning, but it sounds like he'll be back with the big club before the end of the month.

Elbis (shoulder) made his season debut at High-A Visalia last Thursday, covering 2.1 innings while allowing two runs on two hits and two walks and striking out one batter.

Elbis didn't make an appearance for Visalia after April 26 of last season due to a shoulder issue, but he received a clean bill of health heading into the 2023 campaign. Due to the development time that he missed out on in 2022, he returned to Visalia and will likely need to string together several quality outings before the Diamondbacks entertain promoting him to High-A Hillsboro.

Rockies manager Bud Black said that Senzatela (knee) is scheduled to throw two innings in an extended spring training game Wednesday, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports.

Senzatela continues to make steady progress from the surgery he underwent last August to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. The right-hander will likely need to make several rehab appearances in the minors to build up arm strength but he has a chance to make starts for Colorado in May, perhaps even in the early portion of the month.