MLB Player News

Cole (triceps) was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday retroactive to June 11, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

According to Berry, the Pirates are officially calling Cole's injury a "right triceps muscle strain" after getting the results of his MRI back. Cole suffered the injury Friday when he left his start in the third inning with tightness in his right triceps. The move to place him on the DL is retroactive to June 11, so he could theoretically be back by June 26 if he's ready, but the Pirates have yet to release an expected timetable for his return. Pitching prospect Jameson Taillon was recalled from Triple-A to start Tuesday and take Cole's spot on the active roster for the time being.

Mahle, 21, has a 2.50 ERA and 76:17 K:BB through 79.1 innings for High-A Daytona.

Mahle tossed a no-hitter in his last start Monday, with the only blemish being a hit batsman. Otherwise, he has not walked a batter in three straight starts for the Tortugas. Opposing batters are hitting just .206 against him. A seventh-round selection in the 2013 draft, it appears that Mahle is already surpassing expectations.

Reed, 20, has been promoted to High-A and has a 3.00 ERA and 17:7 K:BB through 15 innings at this level.

Reed dominated Low-A prior to the promotion, posting a 1.82 ERA and 55:3 K:BB in 39.2 innings. The southpaw has already been a tad more wild at his new level, though the results have been nearly as impressive, even with the small sample size. Reed should make a huge jump in the prospect rankings if he continues to pitch like this.

Soroka, 18, has a 2.59 ERA and 61:14 K:BB through 66 innings for Low-A Rome.

Soroka works down in the zone and has been effective in getting swings and misses as well as groundballs. He has not allowed a single home run through the first 100 innings of his professional career. His control has also been excellent, as shown by just 19 walks in those 100 innings.

Fried, 22, has a 4.25 ERA and 57:34 K:BB through 59.1 innings for Low-A Rome.

Not surprisingly, Fried has struggled with his command after missing all of the 2015 campaign following Tommy John surgery. Still, he is nearly averaging a strikeout per inning at this level, and getting more ground ball outs than fly outs. Fried was known to induce a bevy of ground balls prior to the injury.

The Phillies selected Eflin's contract from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday.

Eflin will start Tuesday against the Blue Jays in Toronto. It is a tough first assignment for the rookie. He was 5-2 with a 2.90 ERA and a 55:11 K:BB in 68.1 innings for Lehigh Valley this season.

Velasquez (biceps) will be reevaluated Tuesday, Dhiren Mahiban of CSN Philadelphia reports.

The Phillies will decide when Velasquez will be allowed to start throwing again after Tuesday's examination. He is sidelined with a right biceps strain.

Greinke (9-3) allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts over seven innings in a win Monday over the Dodgers.

Greinke managed to scatter four extra-base hits, including a home run. As such, he extended his quality start streak to three and now has five such outings in his last six chances. Excepting his first two starts, when Greinke allowed 11 runs in 10 innings, he has just a 3.01 ERA with a sharp 69:14 K:BB in 83.2 innings. It was rough to open the season, but since then, Greinke has been pretty much exactly what the Diamondbacks paid for.

Anderson allowed four runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts in a no-decision Monday against the Giants.

Anderson was a bit wild, as he managed just 10 first-pitch strikes to 21 hitters and received just 12 called strikes in 95 pitches. He also gave up his 14th home run in just 13 starts. While he has been better of late -- Anderson had a 2.43 ERA and 29:4 K:BB in his previous six starts -- the home run ball continues to be a huge blight on his game and one he'll have to get over to improve his 4.42 ERA.

Rea was lit up for eight runs (six earned) on nine hits and two walks as he lasted just 2.2 innings in a loss Monday to the Marlins.

Rea hasn't held an opponent to fewer than three runs since May 5 against the Mets (8 IP, 1 ER). He has just three quality starts in 12 sstarts all year. Rea has just a 48:27 K:BB in 65.1 innings this year, and the combination of a mediocre strikeout rate with constant baserunners (1.45 WHIP) is too much for him to to overcome and will lead to the occasional hit parade like he allowed Monday night.