MLB Player News

Manager Pete Mackanin acknowledged Wednesday that Nola (elbow) could miss the rest of the season, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

The Phillies scratched Nola from his scheduled start Wednesday and subsequently placed the 23-year-old on the DL with a right elbow strain. While Nola hopes his season isn't finished, Mackanin offered a sobering but perhaps more realistic take on the matter, suggesting Nola may just remain shut down for the remainder of the year with mid-September looking like a best-case scenario for his return. The right-hander had struggled mightily since the start of June but the team was adamant that there was nothing wrong with him, physically. Regardless, Phil Klein is starting in place of Nola on Wednesday, and prospect Jake Thompson will be an option to join the rotation the next time through.

Thompson is being considered to join the Phillies' rotation after Aaron Nola was placed on the DL with an elbow strain, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

The team had talked about adding Thompson as a sixth starter, but Nola heading to the DL makes this scenario even more likely. Thompson has been lights out over his last 10 starts at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, going 7-0 and posting a 1.32 ERA.

Nola was placed on the 15-day DL on Wednesday with a right elbow strain.

While the Phillies have maintained throughout Nola's struggles that he was healthy, this helps explain why the velocity on his sinker was down to 88.3 mph in his last start -- down from 91 mph at the start of the season. He got off to an excellent start to the season (3.55 ERA in April, 2.31 ERA in May), but he has been brutal ever since. The nature of the injury certainly suggests that Nola could be sidelined for quite some time, so in mixed leagues without DL spots, owners can probably cut bait at this point. Phil Klein was called up from Triple-A as a corresponding move and will slot into the Phillies' rotation on Wednesday against the Giants.

Hammel was placed on the bereavement list Wednesday, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Hammel tossed six scoreless innings in a win over the Marlins on Tuesday night, but he'll now head to the bereavement list while dealing with an undisclosed personal issue. He'll be required to miss a minimum of three days and a maximum of seven, but with the Cubs off Thursday, Hammel is unlikely to miss his next start. In a corresponding move, the Cubs recalled Justin Grimm to temporarily fill Hammel's spot on the roster. That leaves the Cubs with a nine-man bullpen for the time being.

Ray (5-11) allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits and two walks with nine strikeouts over six innings in Tuesday's win over the Nationals.

Ray has now served up at least five runs in each of his past three starts despite striking out 30 batters over 16.2 innings in that span. It's hard to get a beat on Ray, who continues to post fantastic strikeout numbers and has a sharp 46 percent groundball rate. And yet, he has allowed 17 home runs in 121 innings and owns a rough 4.83 ERA. His stuff is worth watching, but he hasn't put it together yet.

Eflin gave up six runs on six hits over five innings, but came away with a no-decision as the Phillies' offense exploded for a 13-8 win over the Giants. He walked three and struck out four.

Eflin shouldn't make a habit of expecting Philadelphia's 29th-ranked offense to bail him out, and it's disappointing that he couldn't hang on for a win after being staked to a six-run lead through two innings. The rookie has hit a wall since pitching a complete game three-hitter against the Pirates, surrendering 13 earned runs in just 10 innings over two starts since. Perhaps a road date with a below-average Padres lineup can help cure his recent woes.

Gray (8-4) threw five shutout innings, allowed just two hits and two walks and struck out six in a win over the Dodgers.

The only problem for Gray was inefficiency, as he needed 96 pitches to get through five innings. Dodgers hitters managed a ridiculous 31 foul balls against him, which kept Gray from closing out at-bats early enough to go deeper into the ballgame. Still, he pounded the strike zone (65 strikes, 31 balls) and kept the ball in the ballpark, which allowed him to record his first home scoreless start of the season, an impressive feat for any Rockies pitcher.

Cole (7-6) allowed a pair of runs over five innings while scattering seven hits and two walks, striking out four in a win over the Braves.

Cole needed 97 pitches to get through five innings, mostly due to his nine baserunners allowed. His 65 strikes in 97 pitches aren't terrible, but fantasy owners were probably hoping for just a little more from Cole against a last-place Braves team. Cole held Freddie Freeman and Matt Kemp, the big bats for the Braves, to a combined 0-for-9, but it was the bottom of the Braves lineup that caused danger: the seven and eight hole hitters collected two hits apiece. Cole now has a 2.73 ERA and 1.28 WHIP, and will next take the hill against the Reds on Sunday.

Hammel (11-5) threw six scoreless innings and allowed just four hits and two walks in a win Tuesday over the Marlins.

Since allowing a season-worst 10 runs on July 1 against the Mets, Hammel has allowed two or fewer runs in each of his five starts. Hammel owns a 3.07 ERA -- remove that disastrous July 1 start, and it falls to 2.40. Combine his consistency with the excellent Cubs offense and Hammel should be in line for plenty more wins over the stretch run.

Wainwright lasted just five innings Tuesday in a start against the Reds, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six.

The outing was unusually short for Wainwright, who is typically able to pitch deeper into games due to his exceptional strike-throwing capabilities. But Wainwright threw just 60 of 101 pitches for strikes Tuesday, and the five innings matched his shortest outing of the season. Though of no use to most fantasy owners, Wainwright helped himself out by hitting his second homer of the season, a third-inning blast off Reds starter Dan Straily. The Cardinals went on to lose the game in the ninth inning, leaving Wainwright with his third consecutive no-decision. His ERA now sits at 4.14.