MLB Player News

Darvish underwent a minimally invasive arthroscopic debridement procedure of his right elbow Wednesday. He is expected to be "100 percent ready" for spring training in 2019, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Darvish underwent this "routine cleanup" by Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas after getting a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews in recent days. The right-hander was officially ruled out for the rest of the 2018 campaign over three weeks ago once he was diagnosed with a stress reaction on the tip of his elbow, which caused him to exit his rehab start after just one inning of work. The Cubs failed to provide any sort of concrete timetable outside of announcing that he is expected to be ready by the spring, so expect updates on his progress throughout the offseason.

Castillo's two-seam fastball was averaging 97.1 mph in Tuesday's start against the Dodgers, and he topped out over 98 mph, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports.

This is an encouraging sign for Castillo. His velocity had dipped earlier in the season, to the point where he was averaging 95.4 mph on his two-seamer overall, down two mph from 2017. One consequence of the velocity improvement is that it made his changeup that much more effective. It's been a bumpy season for Castillo, but his post-break numbers are a good reason to be encouraged.

Mahle will have his next start pushed back, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Mahle was expected to take the mound this weekend against the Cubs, but interim manager Jim Riggleman elected to bypass the right-hander and go with Matt Harvey, Cody Reed and Luis Castillo in Chicago. Anthony DeSclafani will take the mound during Monday's series opener in Milwaukee, which likely leaves Mahle in line to pitch Tuesday.

Wainwright will start Sunday against the Dodgers, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

The veteran right-hander's second consecutive start was confirmed by manager Mike Shildt on Tuesday, and it could well be a pivotal one. The Cardinals currently hold a two-game lead over the Dodgers for the second National League wild-card spot, and Sunday's contest will mark the finale of a four-game series between the clubs. Wainwright struggled early in his first start back from the disabled list Monday, but he wrapped up the outing by retiring eight straight batters.

Wood will no longer take the mound Sunday in St. Louis, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Manager Dave Roberts has yet to explain his reasoning behind this move, though it may have something to do with Wood's shaky outing Monday against the Reds. During that start, he allowed seven runs (six earned) and wasn't able to get out of the fourth inning. In his place, Ross Stripling -- who is starting Wednesday's game -- may pitch on short rest Sunday, or Hyun-Jin Ryu could remain on normal rest after facing the Reds on Tuesday. It's unclear whether Wood will toe the rubber against the Rockies next week or get skipped in the rotation altogether.

Urena (6-12) tossed six innings of one-run ball Tuesday to earn the win against the Mets, allowing four hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

Urena scattered baserunners throughout the evening and was only scored upon via a solo home run from Michael Conforto in the sixth inning. He induced 12 swinging strikes and got ahead against 17 of 26 batters while inviting weak contact as he recorded 10 flyouts. Urena was coming off a stellar outing versus the Phillies and now has a 12:3 K:BB in 13.1 innings over two consecutive quality starts. He'll take a diminishing 4.29 ERA into his next scheduled start this weekend.

DeGrom (8-9) allowed two runs on three hits and two walks across seven innings Tuesday to take the loss versus the Marlins. He struck out nine.

DeGrom didn't allow a hit outside of the fourth inning, but he unfortunately allowed three in a row that inning, culminating in a two-run double by Lewis Brinson. He threw 71 percent of his pitches for strikes and induced eight groundball outs, but he once again received next to no offensive support and amazingly has a losing record despite being a frontrunner for the National League Cy Young Award. DeGrom continues to pitch at the highest level at virtually every turn through the rotation and will take a 1.71 ERA to go along with a 0.95 WHIP into this weekend's scheduled start against the Red Sox.

Senzatela (4-6) took the loss Tuesday, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings against the Diamondbacks.

Senzatela fell into a hole just three batters into the game after allowing a two-run homer in the first, but he settled down in the middle innings before allowing two more runs to come around in his sixth and final frame. The young righty has been tagged with a loss in three of his last four starts, and now sees his ERA and WHIP sit at 5.01 and 1.44, respectively. He'll look to right the ship Sunday against the Giants.

Greinke (14-9) got the win Tuesday, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out five over 6.2 innings against the Rockies.

Greinke was tagged for a couple of runs in the first inning, but he settled in from that point on to earn a quality start for the fourth time in five tries. The 34-year-old was able to keep the ball in the yard in this one after he entered Tuesday's tilt having allowed at least one home run in nine of his last 10 starts. It was also his first outing since July without a walk. He'll take a solid 3.11 ERA into Sunday's start in Houston.

Mikolas (15-4) allowed one run on five hits in a win over the Pirates on Tuesday, striking out seven and walking one in seven innings.

Mikolas surrendered just one extra-base hit and threw 75 of 107 pitches for strikes on the way to his 15th win and 18th quality start this season. Mikolas is now tied with Jon Lester for third in the NL in wins and ranks sixth in the league with a 2.99 ERA. The right-hander doesn't feature preeminent strikeout stuff (6.3 K/9) but rather makes his living by limiting walks and home runs, as he's allowed just 28 walks and 14 home runs in 180.2 innings this year. His next start will be a matchup with the Dodgers at home.