MLB Player News

Ashby (shoulder) is expected to begin playing catch in the coming days, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Ashby has been shut down since landing on the injured list, retroactive to Aug. 20. While he'll have more work to do prior to his return, it's a positive step that he'll be able to engage in his first activity since being sidelined.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Thursday that Strasburg (ribs) "feels a little bit better" than he did since landing on the injured list June 13, but the right-hander has yet to resume throwing, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.

Martinez wasn't willing to officially rule Strasburg out for the season, but the 34-year-old's lack of recent throwing activity along with the Nationals' status as a non-contender makes it highly unlikely that the three-time All-Star will pitch again in 2022. At this stage, Martinez noted that Strasburg is focusing on strengthening his shoulder since being diagnosed with a stress reaction of his ribs two and a half months ago, according to Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com. Since Strasburg won't require another procedure to address his latest injury after he previously underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last July, the Nationals are seemingly optimistic that he'll be a full participant for the start of spring training.

Gonsolin isn't progressing as quickly as the Dodgers had hoped in his recovery from a forearm strain, and manager Dave Roberts said the right-hander will undergo an MRI on Friday, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Roberts was careful to note that Gonsolin hasn't suffered a setback since being placed on the injured list Monday, but the 28-year-old All-Star was unable to do any light throwing over the past couple days as had been originally planned. The MRI should shed more light on a potential return date for Gonsolin, but for the time being, Roberts is optimistic the right-hander will miss only two turns through the rotation, according to Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA.

Soroka (Achilles) was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

The 25-year-old made his last rehab start with Gwinnett on Aug. 27 and gave up four runs over 4.2 innings while throwing 75 pitches, and he'll remain with the affiliate now that he's been fully cleared. Soroka figures to make his season debut for Atlanta at some point down the stretch, but for now he'll stick at Triple-A.

The Cubs transferred Miley (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Thursday.

Miley has been on the shelf since June 11 with a strained left shoulder, and because he's already missed more than two months, the transaction won't affect his timeline for a return. After a suffering a setback following an Aug. 16 rehab start, Miley was shut down for about two weeks, but he resumed his minor-league assignment Wednesday with High-A South Bend. Miley struck out two while allowing two earned runs on five hits and no walks over 3.2 innings in Wednesday's outing, and he'll likely require at least one or two more tune-up starts in the minors before potentially slotting back into the Cubs' rotation in the middle of September.

Oviedo was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Oviedo was assigned to Indianapolis after being acquired from the Cardinals on Aug. 1, but after a month on the farm, he'll rejoin the big-league club to start Friday's series opener against the Blue Jays. The right-hander was productive over 14 appearances (one start) with the Cardinals earlier in the season, logging a 3.20 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 25.1 innings. Assuming he performs well during his team debut Friday, he should have a chance to remain in Pittsburgh's rotation the rest of the way.

The Cubs reinstated Steele (back) from the restricted list Thursday.

Steele was moved to the restricted list Monday in advance of the Cubs' series in Toronto, as he was ineligible to enter Canada due to his vaccination status. When the lefty's turn in the rotation came up during the Toronto series, the Cubs replaced Steele with Luke Farrell, who covered two innings as a starter in Wednesday's 7-5 win. Though he'll be added back to the 28-man active roster now that the series in Toronto has concluded, Steele won't make a start this weekend in St. Louis, as the Cubs likely want to give him additional time to recover from the lower-back tightness he experienced in his last outing Aug. 26 in Milwaukee. If Steele is able to throw a bullpen session over the weekend without any discomfort, he's expected to be plugged back into the rotation for Tuesday's game against the Reds.

The Dodgers reinstated Kershaw (back) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Thursday against the Mets at Citi Field.

Kershaw returns to the Los Angeles rotation after missing just under a month due to lower-back pain. He received an epidural in early August to address the injury and responded well to the injection, as he was cleared to resume a throwing program just under a week later. While Kershaw wasn't sent out on a minor-league rehab assignment prior to being activated, he built up to 70 pitches in a simulated game last weekend. Even so, manager Dave Roberts said he expects Kershaw to be capped at around 4-to-5 innings Thursday, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

Rogers didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 2-1 extra-inning loss to the Rays, allowing one run on five hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out five.

Returning from a back issue that had sidelined him for a month, Rogers not only looked fully healthy, he appeared to have rediscovered his 2021 form as he posted just his second quality start of the season, and his first since late April. The southpaw fired 58 of his 84 pitches for strikes before exiting a pitcher's duel with Drew Rasmussen, and Rogers will have a handful of outings left this year to try and improve on his 5.57 ERA and 1.56 WHIP.

Feltner (2-6) took the loss against Atlanta on Wednesday, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out seven batters over 5.2 innings.

There were multiple positive takeaways for Feltner in the contest -- he tied a career high with seven strikeouts and fell one out shy of a quality start -- but he was outpitched by league wins leader Kyle Wright. Feltner's undoing was the long ball, as the three runs against him were produced on homers by Austin Riley and Ronald Acuna. Feltner has shown promise at times this season, but he's too inconsistent to trust in fantasy given his 5.78 ERA and 1.42 WHIP on the season.