MLB Player News

Davies (0-1) was touched up for seven runs (six earned) on eight hits despite six strikeouts over 5.2 innings Monday against the Cardinals.

Davies was undone in a fifth inning by a home run by his counterpart for the Cardinals, starter Miles Mikolas. Everything was sharp for Davies until he approached that third time through the order. Davies showed top-half-of-the-rotation quality at times for the Brewers in 2017, but he'll have to show he can be more consistent if he is to take the next step in 2018.

Mahle was fantastic against the Cubs on Monday, shutting them out over six innings while striking out seven, allowing two walks and one hit. "I located my fastball really well," Mahle said to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "The slider and changeup came later -- maybe the last couple innings. For the most part, I was able to take over the game, kind of, with my fastball."

The hit was a triple off the bat of Javier Baez that was tough but arguably catchable. Mahle worked the corners well and got the benefit of a few calls, but showed the poise he had demonstrated throughout the minors. The Reds need more outings like this from their young starters if they hope to emerge from the seemingly perpetual rebuilding cycle.

Taillon (1-0) gave up two runs on four hits and struck out nine batters over 5.1 innings in Monday's winning effort against the Twins.

Taillon was dialed in from the start in his first game of the season, as he allowed just two batters to get on base over his first five innings of work. Although he gave up two runs in the sixth inning, one of which came from a home run hit by Brian Dozier, he made an impressive season debut. The righty showed tremendous control, throwing 61 of his 91 pitches for strikes while fanning nine batters and not surrendering any walks. Taillon will look to capitalize on his strong start when he returns to the mound Sunday against the Reds.

Musgrove (shoulder) will be shut down from throwing for the next 5-to-7 days, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic Pittsburgh reports.

Musgrove reported the shoulder issue prior to his scheduled side session Monday, prompting the Pirates to shut him down and send him to the disabled list. The 25-year-old, who was slowed by a shoulder injury throughout spring training, was on the cusp of making his season debut before suffering the setback -- tossing 92 pitches in a minor-league game over the weekend. Steven Brault will now start in his place Thursday against the Reds, and Brault will likely stick in the rotation until Musgrove is healthy. Given Musgrove won't resume throwing until later in the week, he'll need more than the minimum stay on the disabled list.

Finnegan (biceps) has a simulated game Wednesday and could return from the DL as early as April 9 against the Phillies, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Finnegan has already pitched in a minor-league spring training game to build up his innings. Without any setbacks, it appears that his absence from the Reds' rotation will be short.

Greene will make his Low-A debut for Dayton on Monday, April 9, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports. This is ahead of the Reds' original schedule for Greene. "Just looking at what he's accomplished this offseason and what his throwing program looked like to accomplish that, we wanted to get him out under the lights in front of the fans and take advantage of the fact that he's pretty sharp right now," Reds senior director of player development Jeff Graupe said.

Greene turned heads with his performances on the back fields in spring training, so instead of him toiling in extended spring training in Arizona, Greene will make the jump up to full-season ball. He will have some form of season-long workload limit this year, though the Reds haven't specified what that will be -- only that it will be based on total pitches thrown, not innings.

Lively will start Tuesday's game against the Mets, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

After Monday's game was postponed, the Phillies debated skipping Lively's turn and going with Aaron Nola on regular rest Tuesday, but manager Gabe Kapler ultimately decided to keep his rotation in its normal order. The 26-year-old, who is expected to stick in the Phillies' rotation until either Mark Leiter (forearm) or Jerad Eickhoff returns from the DL, posted a 4.26 ERA and 5.3 K/9 across 15 starts for Philadelphia in 2017.

Lugo will have his turn in the rotation skipped, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Following Monday's postponement, the Mets opted to push Matt Harvey's start back to Tuesday and skip Lugo in the rotation, keeping Noah Syndergaard and Jacob DeGrom in line to make their regular starts Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, instead. Lugo will likely be available in the bullpen over the next week, and he'll remain the top candidate to start when a fifth rotation member is next needed April 11 against the Marlins, assuming Jason Vargas (hand) isn't available by that point. Once Vargas returns, Lugo could stick in a relief role with the Mets or head back to Triple-A Las Vegas to work as a starter.

Lugo could have his turn in the rotation skipped, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports.

With Monday's game being postponed and rescheduled for July 9, the Mets have a few decisions to make regarding their rotation for the remainder of the week. With Matt Harvey, who was scheduled to start Monday, expected to take the ball Tuesday, New York could opt to push everyone in its rotation back by a day or skip Lugo altogether. If Lugo is skipped, he may not receive a turn in the rotation before Jason Vargas (hand) is ready to return.

Lively won't make his scheduled start Monday against the Phillies after the game was postponed due to inclement weather.

The two teams will make up the game July 9 as part of a doubleheader. It's unclear if the Phillies will push Lively's scheduled start back to Tuesday or choose to skip him altogether and give Aaron Nola the ball. Given Nola threw just 68 pitches in his season debut, manager Gabe Kapler seems likely to keep his well rested ace on schedule Tuesday, which would push Lively's next start to Saturday against the Marlins.