MLB Player News

Maeda (hamstring) has been officially activated from the disabled list ahead of Thursday's start against the Cardinals, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

The Dodgers placed center fielder Joc Pederson on the 7-day concussion DL to clear a roster spot for Maeda, who had been shelved with a hamstring injury. Maeda had his best start of the season prior to going on the DL, holding the Pirates to two earned runs over 8.1 innings. He'll face a St. Louis lineup that ranks 16th in MLB in wOBA in May.

DeGrom will slide back to start Friday's game against the Pirates due to the threat of inclement weather Thursday night, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The Mets are worried that if deGrom starts Thursday night, his start may be abbreviated if a rain delay pops up partway through the contest, so they'll simply slide him back a day to ensure that he'll get a full start. Rafael Montero will move in to start Thursday's bout against the Padres.

Lyles fired a scoreless frame Tuesday against the Phillies.

After a wretched month of April that saw his ERA rise above 10.00, Lyles has settled down a bit in the month of May. Three of his five outings have been scoreless, although his ERA for the month still sits at a tough 5.40 mark. He seems to be locked into a middle-relief role for Colorado, and with performance like this, it doesn't seem like he'll be getting higher-leverage innings any time soon.

Hill said that his lingering blister issues were not present during Wednesday's rough outing against the Cardinals, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

The veteran southpaw was out of sorts Wednesday, walking a season-high seven batters while giving up five runs over four innings. Hill owned up to the poor outing, not using his blister issues as an excuse. With a 4.76 ERA through four starts, the 37-year-old will have to show good health and stronger outings going forward in order to stick in the Dodgers' crowded rotation.

Nicasio has only given up four runs in 20.2 innings this season.

Nicasio has been pitching especially well of late, only giving up one run in his last 14 games. Over that span, he has held hitters to nine hits and five walks while striking out eight. For the season, his ERA is down at 1.74, a big improvement from last season when it was 4.50 in 118 innings. He'll continue to see plenty of chances for Pittsburgh but will probably be limited to earlier innings unless he can prove his new-found ability to keep hitters from scoring is more than just a hot streak.

Strasburg will start Saturday against the Padres, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports.

The Nationals confirmed the right-hander's specific assignment for the weekend against the lowly Padres. Strasburg will match up with San Diego southpaw Clayton Richard.

Lugo (elbow) is expected to make at least one more start in the minors before being activated from the 10-day disabled list, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The Mets had been hopeful that one of Lugo or Steven Matz (elbow) would be able to return from the disabled list over the weekend to assume the rotation spot previously occupied by Tommy Milone (knee), but it appears that's no longer a consideration for the organization after both pitchers labored through rehab outings Tuesday. Making his second start with High-A St. Lucie, Lugo surrendered seven runs (six earned) over just three innings to put a damper on the Mets' enthusiasm about bringing him up to the big club. Matz seems more likely of the two pitchers to be activated from the DL first, but there could be room for both hurlers in the rotation. In addition to the unsettled fifth starter spot created by Milone's move to the DL, Robert Gsellman, who has turned in a 6.45 ERA and 1.66 WHIP over 44.2 innings this season, seems to be hanging on to a rotation spot by a thread.

Matz (elbow) is likely to receive another rehab start at Triple-A Las Vegas before returning from the 10-day disabled list, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The Mets had been entertaining the idea of activating Matz over the weekend had he pitched well during his start for Las Vegas on Tuesday, but the left-hander was beaten up for five runs on five hits over four innings, effectively putting the kibosh on that plan. Matz didn't report any issues with his elbow following the rehab outing, so if he's able to find more success his next time out with Las Vegas, he could make his subsequent start with the Mets.

Lorenzen pitched one inning in relief for the win Wednesday against Cleveland.

Lorenzen came into the bottom of the eighth and pitched around an Edwin Encarnacion single to win his third game on the year, lowering his ERA to 3.20. At 25 years old, he has been the bullpen workhorse for Cincinnati this season, leading all relievers with 25.1 innings pitched and four holds. He's striking out 7.8 per nine innings and has a WHIP of 1.14 -- not outstanding numbers but good enough to keep hold of the setup position in a young and inexperienced bullpen.

Taillon (groin) threw a 35-pitch bullpen session Thursday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

This outing was deemed "more competitive" than Tuesday's workout, per Berry, and is a positive sign for Taillon, who underwent surgery for testicular cancer on May 8. Expect Pittsburgh to release more details on the right-hander's upcoming schedule and prognosis for a possible return in the coming weeks.