MLB Player News

Cueto (elbow) threw a bullpen session Saturday, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Cueto is nearly ready to go following last summer's Tommy John surgery. The veteran right-hander was expected to rejoin the rotation last weekend before he experienced some upper-back soreness, but it now looks as though he could start sometime next week, perhaps as early as Tuesday, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Castillo (14-6) took the loss against Arizona on Saturday, pitching 7.2 innings and giving up two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out ten.

Castillo gave up both runs in the fourth inning on two hits, a walk, and an RBI groundout. The 26-year-old did not give up another hit until the eighth inning, departing after 111 pitches. Castillo tossed six or more innings for the 14th time in his last 17 outings. He'll carry a 3.21 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 208:69 K:BB into his next scheduled start, on the road in Seattle on Thursday.

Stripling will start Wednesday's game against the Orioles, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Stripling threw 31 and 36 pitches in his first two appearances since coming off the injured list last weekend, so he'll likely be limited to a few innings again Wednesday. Stripling was followed by Dustin May in his last start, but May's status remains up in the air after he was hit in the head by a line drive during that outing.

Hendricks will start Monday in San Diego, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The Cubs have decided to flip-flop Hendricks and Jon Lester in the rotation order; Lester is now starting Sunday's series finale in Milwaukee. This assures that Hendricks will be available to start a game during the team's Sept. 19-22 series against the Cardinals. Hendricks has allowed one run in 23 innings against St. Louis this season.

Keller (wrist) will start Tuesday against the Giants, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

A 105-mph line drive off the bat of Garrett Cooper hit Keller in the wrist and forced him from Tuesday's start after 1.2 innings. Keller is not quite ready to make his next start on schedule -- James Marvel will start Sunday in his absence -- but it sounds like Keller will not even miss a full turn through the rotation. He lines up to oppose fellow rookie Logan Webb in San Francisco.

Wacha will be deployed as a traditional starter for the opener of a three-game series versus the Rockies on Tuesday, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Wacha was utilized as a bullpen-day opener in his last turn, firing two scoreless innings against the Giants last Wednesday while pitching on short rest. However, he'll be back to serving as a conventional starter moving forward and will take the hill against Colorado with the benefit of a full five days off. Wacha has been slightly better as a starter than reliever in what's been a rough season, generating a 4.89 ERA across 99.1 innings, compared to a 5.68 figure over 12.2 frames out of the bullpen.

Wood, who was scratched from his scheduled outing Tuesday against the Phillies due to lower-back soreness, said he's hopeful to pitch again this season, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Wood indicated that he first experienced back stiffness the morning after his Aug. 29 start in Miami, with the Reds opting to skip his subsequent turn in the rotation after he failed to show much improvement in the days that followed. Considering Wood missed the first three months of the season with a related injury, the Reds could be inclined to err on the side of caution and hold him out of the pitching schedule for additional turns. Tyler Mahle is expected to serve as the Reds' fifth starter for the duration of Wood's absence.

Gonsolin will start Saturday's game against the Giants.

An off day Thursday allowed the Dodgers to temporarily reshuffle their rotation, resulting in ace Clayton Kershaw moving ahead of Gonsolin in the pitching schedule. The rookie will rejoin the rotation Saturday on seven days' rest and will continue to stake his claim to a spot on the Dodgers' postseason roster. Through his first six outings in the big leagues (five starts), Gonsolin has posted a 2.89 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 22:6 K:BB in 28 innings.

Davies (9-7) picked up the win Friday, allowing one run on three hits and a walk over five innings while striking out four in a 7-1 victory over the Cubs.

The red-hot Nicholas Castellanos touched him up for a solo shot, but otherwise Davies cruised through his five frames before being lifted after 79 pitches (47 strikes). He'll take a 3.69 ERA and 91:46 K:BB through 141.1 innings into his next start Wednesday in Miami.

Hamels (7-6) took the loss Friday as the Cubs were blasted 7-1 by the Brewers, giving up five runs on nine hits and two walks over 3.1 innings while striking out three.

Familiarity definitely bred some contempt in this case -- facing Milwaukee for the second straight start, the veteran lefty wasn't fooling anyone, with Yasmani Grandal and Christian Yelich both taking him deep. Hamels will carry a 3.95 ERA and 125:47 K:BB through 130 innings into his next outing Wednesday in San Diego.