MLB Player News

Fried will work only four or five innings with a low pitch count in place for Saturday's start against the Giants, Mark Bowman of MLB.comreports.

Fried has thrown 156.2 innings this season after pitching 110 total in 2018. Given that the team has clinched the NL East and that Fried has topped his 2018 workload by nearly 50 frames, this isn't a major surprise.

Gausman was sent home Saturday with flu-like symptoms, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Gausman was sent home sick along with Freddy Galvis, Michael Lorenzen, Robert Stephenson and Josh VanMeter. Depending on how they feel Sunday, some or all of them could stay away from the club until Tuesday.

Lorenzen was sent home Saturday with flu-like symptoms, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

The Reds' clubhouse has been thinned out by the flu bug; five players were sent home sick. Lorenzen is the best defensive center fielder on the team right now, but he's not a big-league regular with the bat, so he may work primarily out of the bullpen again once healthy.

Hamels (shoulder) has yet to resume throwing, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Manager Joe Maddon said Saturday that the lefty is "progressing," but Hamels is not to the point where he can pick up a baseball. With that, it's looking like we may not see Hamels again this season, though another start for Hamels has not been ruled out. Alec Mills seems like a strong bet to get the start if Hamels can't go next week.

Woodruff is slated to start Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Woodruff returned from the injured list Tuesday to make his first start in nearly two months, tossing 37 pitches and two scoreless frames in a win over the Padres. As was the case Tuesday, the Brewers are once again planning to use a piggyback arrangement of Woodruff and Gio Gonzalez on Sunday, but the workload could be more even between the two this time around. Per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, manager Craig Counsell suggested that Woodruff would add around 15-to-20 pitches in both of his final two starts of the regular season, setting the right-hander up to take on a more conventional starting role in the playoffs, should Milwaukee qualify. With that in mind, Woodruff could cover around 50-to-55 pitches Sunday, which may be enough for him to factor into the decision.

Lorenzen is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets.

Lorenzen is an exceptional athlete and his ability to pinch hit and play center field in addition to his pitching is quite valuable to the Reds, but realistically, he's not a good enough hitter to be a regular in the lineup. He's gone just 3-for-24 with a homer and seven strikeouts this month. Brian O'Grady is starting in center field Saturday and it figures to be mostly O'Grady and Phillip Ervin over the final week of the season.

Ryu's next start has been moved to Sunday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Ryu was in line to pitch against the Rockies on Saturday, but he will instead be on the mound for the finale of the series Sunday. The switch means that Ryu will be pitching on seven days' rest and also sets him up to start Game 3 in the NLDS behind Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler.

Buehler will start Saturday's game against Colorado, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Buehler was originally scheduled to start Sunday, but manager Dave Roberts announced that Buehler and Hyun-Jin Ryu would flip starting assignments for the final two games of the series against the Rockies. The decision was likely made in order to set up preferred pitching assignments in the NLDS.

Nix (elbow/shoulder) will not join the Padres this season, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

There had been hope that Nix would be able to return to the big club at some point in September, but he experienced discomfort in his shoulder during his final rehab start Sept. 11 and will be shut down as a result. Nix sat out most of 2019 after being diagnosed with a torn UCL in his right elbow during spring training, though he did work his way back to make eight minor-league starts -- including two in the playoffs -- with mostly positive results. He'll be a long shot to earn a spot in the rotation in 2020.

Anderson (7-4) picked up the win in Friday's 10-1 rout of the Pirates, giving up three hits and a walk over six scoreless innings while striking out four.

After lasting only four innings in each of his last four outings, Anderson delivered his third quality start of the year at a crucial time for the Brewers, who now sit two games ahead of the Cubs for the second wild-card spot in the NL. The right-hander will take the bump one more time in the regular season, carrying a 4.30 ERA and 122:48 K:BB through 134 innings into a road start against the Reds on Thursday.