MLB Player News

Desclafani (oblique) struck out four over three perfect innings Monday in his first rehab appearance for Double-A Pensacola, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati reports.

DeSclafani hasn't pitched in a major league game since 2016 due to a UCL injury in 2017 and an oblique injury to open the 2018 season. He managed a 3.28 ERA in 123.1 innings for the Reds in 2016, and at just 28, the rebuilding Reds would love to see if they still have a piece they can use to build for the future in DeSclafani. He's targeting a return in either late May or early June.

Peralta will start Saturday against the Twins, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

It's no surprise that Peralta will stay in the rotation after his electrifying debut start in which he struck out 13 Rockies at Coors Field, and injuries to Zach Davies and Chase Anderson made Milwaukee's decision even easier. Peralta relied heavily on his fastball against Colorado, and it will remain to be seen if he can still baffle opposing hitters now that there's some major league tape on him. But Peralta does have two varieties of fastball, and if he can mix it up like he did last time out against Colorado, which led to a whopping 18 swinging strikes on his fastballs, he has a chance to continue to impress in his rookie season.

Anderson (illness) believes he was suffering from food poisoning and is nearing a full recovery, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports Monday.

Anderson was placed on the disabled list and won't be eligible to return until May 21. Considering the Brewers will be working with a four-man rotation until his return, expect Anderson to return as soon as he is eligible. Barring a setback, Anderson will have a two-start week on his hand when he returns, with a start May 21 against the Diamondbacks followed by a May 26 outing against the Mets, both coming at Miller Park.

The Pirates have not announced whether Taillon (finger) will make his scheduled start Wednesday.

General manager Neal Huntington said that the organization would "rather err on the side of conservatism" and have him miss one start instead of risking a protracted absence. On the other hand, one of the potential replacement options for Taillon on Wednesday, Nick Kingham, started for Double-A Altoona on Monday -- leading to speculation Taillon could make his start. Fortunately for fantasy owners, it doesn't sound as though the righty will miss more than one start, if it all.

Despite throwing 5.2 shutout innings for Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday, Musgrove (shoulder) will need one more minor-league start before making his season debut for Pittsburgh, DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.

General manager Neal Huntington wants Musgrove stretched out to 100 pitches before pitching for the Pirates. He threw 79 pitches (60 for strikes) Saturday, retiring 17 of 18 batters without allowing a hit. "I finally felt all of the pieces come together with the delivery and the release point and everything. I'd say tonight (Saturday's game) was the best I've felt." Barring another setback, the 25-year-old could debut in Cincinnati during the May 22-24 series.

Eflin isn't listed among the Phillies' probable starters for the team's two-game series with the Orioles that begins Tuesday, MLB.com reports. That means Eflin's next start will likely come Friday or Saturday in St. Louis.

Rather than moving Eflin back a day in the pitching schedule after his scheduled start over the past weekend against the Mets was postponed, the Phillies appear set to skip the right-hander's turn in the rotation entirely. Aaron Nola started Sunday's series finale and will be followed in order by Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez and Jake Arrieta. Nola could then start Friday against the Cardinals on his normal four days' rest if the Phillies desire, so Eflin may not be needed again until Saturday at the latest. The extended break comes at a poor time for Eflin, whose fantasy ownership rates soared after he delivered quality starts against the Marlins and Giants in his first two turns through the Philadelphia rotation.

Irvin was named the International League Pitcher of the Week on Monday, The Morning Call reports.

Irvin made two starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley during the week, winning both and allowing just one earned run on seven hits and three walks over 14 innings, striking out 13. The lefty was a fifth-round pick back in 2016 and has steadily risen up the minor-league ranks without generating too much buzz. He has a ceiling as a back-end starter, with decent command but a slow fastball (mostly in the high 80s) and no particularly noteworthy secondaries. As a southpaw in Triple-A, though, he's never far from a promotion to a bullpen role, especially for a Phillies team that has only one reliable lefty in Adam Morgan.

Woodruff is listed as the Brewers' starting pitcher for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

It wasn't immediately clear if Woodruff would receive another turn through the rotation after getting blasted for seven runs over three innings at Coors Field on Friday, but he'll be afforded at least one more start with Zach Davies (shoulder) not on track to return until at least next week. If the Brewers are confident that one of Davies or Chase Anderson (illness) are ready to come off the 10-day disabled list by the beginning of their homestand May 21, Woodruff would seem unlikely to garner any further starts for Milwaukee beyond Wednesday. Freddy Peralta, who struck out a franchise rookie record 13 hitters in Sunday's win over the Rockies, seems to have surpassed both Woodruff and Brent Suter in Milwaukee's hierarchy of spot-start options.

Kershaw (biceps) played catch prior to the Dodgers' game Sunday against the Reds, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic Los Angeles reports.

It's encouraging sign that Kershaw has been able to play catch for several days in a row, but with the lefty having yet to resume mound work, it appears unlikely that he'll be activated from the 10-day disabled list this week. That presumably puts Ross Stripling on track for at least one more turn through the rotation over the weekend in Washington, though the Dodgers have yet to confirm as much. Expect a more defined target date for Kershaw's return to become crystallized once the ace is able to face hitters in batting practice.

Nola (6-1) tossed six one-run innings while earning the win Sunday against the Mets, allowing nine hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

Nola was constantly working around trouble on the afternoon, with the only run on his ledger coming on a solo home run from Yoenis Cespedes in the sixth inning. He threw 70 percent of his pitches for strikes, including first-pitch strikes to 16 of 25 batters, and got nine groundball outs to help minimize the damage. It wasn't his prettiest start, but Nola has a 1.99 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP heading into Saturday's start against the Cardinals.