MLB Player News

Snell (shoulder) will draw another start with Single-A Ontario on Tuesday.

Snell will be on the mound for the second outing of his minor-league rehab assignment. The southpaw gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk while throwing 21 or his 32 total pitches for strikes in his first start with Ontario on Wednesday. Snell is expected to slowly work his way up to 75 pitches or five innings on the mound during his rehab assignment before he'd potentially be activated from the 15-day injured list at some point in May, and Tuesday's outing will be another step in that direction.

Dobbins (knee) is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Thursday in Pittsburgh, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The right-hander will be making his Cardinals debut Thursday after opening the season on the shelf while continuing to recover from a torn ACL in his right knee that he suffered last July. Dobbins has made five starts with Triple-A Memphis during his minor-league rehab assignment, producing a 4.37 ERA and 1.35 WHIP with 19 punchouts over 22.2 innings. The Cardinals are expected to temporarily transition to a six-man rotation to make room for Dobbins, who will likely need to perform well in his initial opportunities with the big club to ensure he sticks around in a starting role when St. Louis eventually scales back its rotation to five members.

Pirates manager Don Kelly said that Dotel will be utilized as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Mason Montgomery in Monday's home game against the Cardinals, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Monday had been Braxton Ashcraft's (personal) turn in the rotation, but he won't be eligible to rejoin the Pirates until Tuesday after recently getting placed on the bereavement/medical emergency list. The Pirates will thus turn to Dotel to cover extended innings in Monday's series opener. Dotel has appeared in two contests since being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on April 19, giving up one run on two hits and three walks while striking out one batter over 2.2 innings. He had previously gotten stretched out to 5.2 innings over his three starts at Triple-A Indianapolis this season prior to being promoted earlier this month.

Montgomery will operate as the Pirates' opening pitcher in Monday's series opener against the Cardinals, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Montgomery will serve as Pittsburgh's opener for the second time this season, having tossed a scoreless first inning in the team's 2-0 win over Washington on April 15. The southpaw has recorded seven straight scoreless appearances, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out 11 over 6.2 innings during that stretch. Wilber Dotel is expected to follow Montgomery on the mound, handling the bulk role against St. Louis on Monday.

Perez is scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Tigers at Truist Park, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

The veteran left-hander has been impressive while working as both a starter and long reliever early this season, posting a 2.70 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 14:6 K:BB over 23.1 innings. Perez will replace Reynaldo Lopez in the rotation Tuesday, though it'll likely be just a spot start since Spencer Strider (oblique) is due back from the injured list in the near future.

Dollander is starting Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader against the Mets, Kevin Henry of The Denver Gazette reports.

Dollander has been effective pitching behind an opener early this season, but he'll make his first start of the campaign to close out Sunday's doubleheader. After posting a 6.52 ERA in 21 starts as a rookie last year, the right-hander has showcased his potential across his first six outings of 2026 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 32:7 K:BB over 25 innings.

The Cubs designated Velasquez for assignment Sunday.

The veteran right-hander was added to the big-league roster Friday but won't retain his roster spot despite firing 2.1 scoreless frames Saturday versus the Dodgers. Velasquez will now go through the waiver process, after which he could elect to become a free agent, assuming he goes unclaimed.

The Cubs recalled Barnes from Triple-A Iowa on Sunday.

The left-hander was demoted nearly two weeks ago but is now back in the majors with Riley Martin (elbow) heading to the injured list. Barnes allowed three runs on four hits with one strikeout and three walks over three innings during his lone big-league appearance this year.

The Rockies recalled Castano from Triple-A Albuquerque to serve as the 27th man for Sunday's doubleheader against the Mets.

Castano was claimed off waivers from Seattle on Tuesday and will now receive his first look in the majors with his new organization. The right-hander has allowed one earned run over 7.1 innings at Triple-A between Albuquerque and Tacoma.

Rea (3-1) took the loss against the Dodgers on Saturday, allowing six runs on six hits and four walks while striking out four batters over 3.1 innings.

Rea got through two scoreless frames before giving up a two-run homer to Max Muncy in the third inning. Things went even further south for the righty in the fourth -- he retired the first hitter he faced, then allowed four straight batters to reach base, all of whom eventually came around to score (two after his departure). Rea hurt himself by issuing four free passes in the loss after handing out no more than two walks in any of his first five outings. He came into Saturday on a three-game win streak and having given up no more than three earned runs across any of his first five appearances, so he'll look to return to that form in what's projected to be a home start against Arizona next week.