MLB Player News

Burnes' return timeline will be unclear until the end of the week, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The righty was placed on the COVID-19 list at the end of a dominant April in which he struck out 49 batters and walked zero. Burnes figures to return sooner rather than later, and manager Craig Counsell's update at the end of the week will likely hint at his return date.

Kelly (undisclosed) is expected to start Saturday or Sunday against the Mets, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports.

Kelly was placed on the injured list for an unspecified reason Tuesday, but manager Torey Lovullo said that the right-hander is expected to make his next start. In his last three starts, Kelly has posted a 3.24 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 16.2 innings.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Strasburg (shoulder) is scheduled to throw a 35-to-40-pitch simulated game Thursday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Strasburg will be stepping in against hitters in a game setting -- albeit a controlled one -- for the first time since April 13. The Nationals will likely want Strasburg to build his pitch count up to around 75 or so before clearing him to return from the 10-day injured list. Even if Thursday's outing goes off without a hitch, Strasburg will still likely need to complete one more simulated game or minor-league rehab start early next week before the club considers activating him.

DeGrom (lat) said he's "feeling good" and plans to play catch Thursday before the Mets determine whether he'll be able to make his next start Sunday against the Diamondbacks, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record reports.

DeGrom was scratched from his scheduled turn Tuesday in St. Louis due to right lat inflammation, but the Mets are hopeful he'll be able to avoid a trip to the injured list after an MRI revealed nothing overly concerning. In addition to seeing how he feels during Thursday's throwing session, deGrom will meet with a doctor that day to gain further clarity on how to treat the injury moving forward.

Lopez will now start Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks, Craig Mish of SportsGrid.com reports.

Lopez isn't dealing with any injury, but he'll now start Thursday's series finale against Arizona while Nick Neidert starts a bullpen game Wednesday. Lopez has posted quality starts in each of his last three outings and has generated a 0.47 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 19 innings during that time.

Freeland (shoulder) is scheduled to pitch in a simulated game in St. Louis this weekend, Kyle Newman of The Denver Post reports.

Freeland's left shoulder checked out fine after he faced hitters Tuesday, so he'll join the Rockies on their road trip and complete another simulated game, presumably Sunday. Manager Bud Black suggested that Freeland would likely require a minor-league rehab assignment before rejoining the Rockies, so don't expect him to be activated from the 10-day injured list until the second half of May.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler said Gausman (COVID-19 injured list) is in line to start Saturday's game against the Padres, Mark W. Sanchez of KNBR 680 San Francisco reports.

Gausman was moved to the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday, but his placement on the IL was merely a result of the side effects he experienced from a vaccine shot rather than a positive test or because of close contact with an infected person. Assuming Gausman feels better within the next day or two, he shouldn't face any restrictions Saturday while starting on five days' rest.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler confirmed that Cueto (lat) would be activated from the 10-day injured list over the weekend to start Sunday's game against the Padres, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The Giants have previously earmarked this upcoming Sunday as Cueto's most likely return date when he was shut down with the Grade 1 right lat strain in mid-April, so his rehab program appears to have unfolded as expected. Since Cueto hasn't pitched in a game in three weeks, the Giants could be conservative with his workload Sunday, so fantasy managers may want to hold off on activating him right away. Cueto's impending return will likely result in Aaron Sanchez or Logan Webb losing out on a starting role, assuming Kapler doesn't choose to expand the rotation to six men.

Fried (hamstring) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Wednesday.

Fried's activation was expected, as the southpaw will start Wednesday's game against the Nationals. The 27-year-old completed a live batting practice session with no issues Thursday and will be pitching on normal rest. Fried posted an 11.45 ERA and 2.55 WHIP in 11 innings across his first three starts of the season before he was placed on the injured list.

Keller (2-3) tossed 5.2 shutout innings against San Diego on Tuesday to earn the win, allowing two hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Keller turned in his best performance of the season against a strong San Diego offense. He ran into trouble the third time through the order and needs to work on going deeper into games to live up to his billing as a former top prospect in the organization. The right-hander will take a 6.29 ERA into his next start.