MLB Player News

Sanchez (shoulder) has been throwing from 60 feet without problem, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Sanchez has increased his throwing distance from 45 to 60 feet within roughly the last week. However, his return is far from imminent, as general manager Kim Ng told the media Wednesday that Sanchez is "a ways out" from taking the mound in game action.

Oviedo is expected to be recalled from the Cardinals' alternate site to make a spot start next week, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The Cardinals already have a full five-man rotation, with John Gant filling in as the fifth starter for the injured Miles Mikolas (shoulder). However, with Friday marking the beginning of a stretch of 17 games in 17 days, manager Mike Shildt is eager to work a sixth starter into the mix to give some extra rest to the other rotation members. Oviedo appears to have emerged as the most likely starter to join the big club after he dazzled in his lone outing with the Cardinals back on April 11, when he struck out four over 4.2 innings of long relief in a loss to Milwaukee. With St. Louis already setting its rotation for the next five games, Oviedo tentatively lines up to make a spot start next Wednesday against the Phillies in St. Louis.

Castillo did not factor into the decision, allowing one earned run on seven hits and three walks in four innings while striking out four in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to Arizona, a completion of Tuesday's suspended game.

The righty has fallen short of expectations so far this season, pitching to a 6.05 ERA and allowing three home runs along with six walks. Opposing batters hit .233 against Castillo last year, but that number has risen to .317 through four 2021 starts. Despite his early struggles, the 28-year-old boasts the elite stuff to turn things around in his fifth season and justify the high price fantasy managers paid to roster him.

Soroka (shoulder) has yet to resume throwing, although Atlanta manager Brian Snitker believes he might be able to toss a ball soon, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The right-hander's recovery from Achilles surgery got derailed by shoulder soreness at the alternate training site soon after the season began, and given that he's been shut down for more than two weeks, Soroka will need a full build-up period before he's ready to join the rotation. Atlanta's pitching depth is being tested with Max Fried (hamstring) and Drew Smyly (forearm) also currently on the IL, but the team won't rush Soroka back onto the mound.

Brubaker is lined up to make his next start Friday against the Twins, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Pittsburgh had previously listed Brubaker as the probable starter for Thursday's series finale in Detroit, which would have allowed him to throw on five days' rest following his 83-pitch, six-inning outing in Milwaukee on April 16. Rather than a desire to give Brubaker some extra recovery time, Pittsburgh may have opted to push the right-hander back a day in the schedule so he could draw a tougher assignment in Minnesota rather than Mitch Keller, who has been lit up in his first three starts. Keller will flip spots in the pitching schedule with Brubaker and start Thursday, leaving the latter -- who has been Pittsburgh's top starter so far this season -- to take the hill for the series opener in Minnesota.

Keller is slated to start Thursday's series finale in Detroit, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Earlier in the week, the Pirates initially listed JT Brubaker as their projected starter for Thursday, but since the right-hander has been the team's top pitcher so far this season, manager Derek Shelton may have wanted to save him for the weekend series with a more formidable opponent in the Twins. Keller will thus trade spots with Brubaker in the pitching order, getting a matchup upgrade as a result. Even so, fantasy managers probably can't rely on Keller to deliver a quality performance, considering how poorly he's fared in his first three starts. He's surrendered 11 runs on 16 hits and eight walks over 11.1 innings this season.

Peterson (1-2) allowed six runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out three over 3.1 innings as he took the loss against the Cubs on Wednesday.

Peterson started out fantastic after retiring the first 10 batters he saw in order but completely fell apart thereafter. The 25-year-old let up his first hit of the game on an infield single by Willson Contreras with one out in the fourth and just could not get out of his own way afterward. He eventually loaded the bases only to end up walking in a run to tie the game up at 2-2 and then was punished by David Bote on a two-run single to shallow right to put the Cubs up 4-2. He exited the ballgame and was hit with two more runs to his final line after Robert Gsellman was unable to keep the inherited runners from scoring after relieving Peterson. It's been an up-and-down start to the year for the left-hander. He's had one very good start sandwiched between a pair of bad ones as his ERA now sits at a 6.75 heading into his next start against the Red Sox on Tuesday.

Gallen did not factor into the decision in Wednesday's win over the Reds, the completion of Tuesday's suspended game. He allowed three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out six over 5.2 innings.

Gallen made his second start of the season after spending time on the injured list with a hairline fracture of his right forearm. He built on both his innings and pitch count, throwing 98 pitches while pitching into the sixth inning. Gallen's next start is scheduled for Sunday at Atlanta.

Kelly allowed three earned runs on five hits and one walk while striking out three across five innings Wednesday against the Reds. He did not factor into the decision.

Kelly began his outing with three scoreless frames, but he surrendered all three of his earned runs in his last two innings. Things went particularly poor for him in the fifth, when he allowed a leadoff single followed by a triple and sacrifice fly. Kelly was spared the loss after Arizona made a comeback late in the game, though it still hasn't been an ideal start to the campaign for him. Through 21 innings, Kelly has posted a 7.71 ERA with a 13:5 K:BB. He'll look to get on track in his next turn the rotation, projected to come Tuesday against San Diego.

Mahle allowed two hits and two walks while striking out nine across 6.2 scoreless innings in Wednesday's loss to Arizona. He did not factor into the decision.

Mahle cruised through the Diamondbacks lineup, allowing no extra-base hits in his scoreless effort. He also racked up 22 swinging strikes on 103 total pitches to back up his impressive nine-strikeout outing. It was also encouraging to see Mahle work deep into the game, as he managed to complete no more than five innings in any of his first three starts of the season despite showcasing the ability to prevent runs. Mahle has maintained a 1.74 ERA and 31:9 K:BB across 20.2 innings to begin the campaign and will draw his next start in a tough matchup Monday at the Dodgers.