MLB Player News

Stripling was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday.

Stripling has recorded eight starts in 2016, for an ERA of 4.53 and WHIP of 1.36, along with 34 strikeouts and 18 walks in 45.2 innings pitched. He pitched three innings in Sunday's 16-inning game against the Padres before being removed and will be replaced by Mike Bolsinger while he spends a stint in the minors.

Wheeler (elbow) threw off the slope of the mound Monday and will next progress in the next few weeks to a tossing a full bullpen session, ESPN's Adam Rubin reports.

No timeframe has been set yet for Wheeler to toss a bullpen session. But he has progressed steadily from stage to stage in his rehab, save for a slight setback to remove a stitch in his elbow in April. All signs currently point to a July 1 return, thought that's dependent on no setbacks.

Rea was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Monday.

Rea owns an ERA of 4.47, and most recently pitched on Sunday during the Padres 16-inning loss to the Dodgers. Rea will be replaced by bullpen pitcher Keith Hessler for the time being, as the Padres need some relief help after the long game Sunday. Rea can return to the major league rotation in 10 days.

Lyles gave up six runs -- four earned -- on five hits over 2.1 innings in a spot start against Pittsburgh on Monday afternoon.

He's not scheduled to pitch as a member of the rotation this weekend, and the ongoing struggles could punch Lyles' ticket back to Triple-A in the near future if the Rockies decide to bring up a fresh arm from Albuquerque in the coming days. Monday's blow-up pushed his season ERA to 8.55 in five starts.

The Diamondbacks seem committed to Ray as the fifth starter despite Archie Bradley's strong numbers at Triple-A Omaha, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Ray is 2-3 with a 4.18 ERA and 1.61 WHIP across 47.1 innings, while Bradley is 2-2 with a 1.99 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 40.2 innings at Triple-A. Ray does have 52 strikeouts in those 47.1 innings, and manager Chip Hale said he's been encouraged with Ray's results of late. However, it'd be nice to see the lefty go deeper in games, as he's only gone more than six innings in two of his nine starts.

Giolito, 21, has posted a 3.82 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 30:22 K:BB ratio over 35.1 innings at Double-A Harrisburg.

Giolito's control has been shakier than advertised through his eight starts with Harrisburg, but he's at least receiving the green light to begin working deeper in games. After having not thrown more than four innings in his first five starts of the season, Giolito has gone at least five innings in his last three turns.

Nicasio won't start until his next turn of the rotation, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Nicasio was originally slated to pitch Sunday against the Rockies, but after that game was rained out and moved to Monday, the Pirates instead decided to have Ryan Vogelsong take the ball for the makeup game. This may seem a bit puzzling that they wouldn't just slide Nicasio to Monday, but considering that the 29-year-old spent nearly all of 2015 as a reliever and only fired 58.1 innings all of last year (as opposed to the 42.1 he's already thrown this year), it seems the Pirates are simply watching his workload in an effort to keep him fresh all season. His next matchup will now likely come Saturday against the Rangers, who are averaging 4.5 runs per game over the past week.

Montas (ribs) allowed a run on two hits over two innings with two strikeouts in his first rehab assignment for Double-A Tulsa on Sunday, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

Montas is going to be stretched out as a starter, but he could be of use in a relief capacity as well depending on team needs. He's eligible to be activated on June 2.

Anderson (2-6) allowed three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings Sunday while striking out six in a 3-1 loss to the Mets.

It wasn't a terrible outing by any means, although he only threw 59 of 101 pitches for strikes, but Anderson and the Brewers' hitters were simply outmatched by Noah Syndergaard. Anderson still has a 3.66 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 16:4 K:BB over his last three starts (19.2 innings) and has a potentially favorable matchup in his next outing at home against the Reds on Saturday.

Eickhoff tossed seven scoreless innings Sunday against the Braves to pick up his second win of the season. He allowed five hits, struck out three and walked one.

Eickhoff had good command of his fastball Sunday and needed only 85 pitches to complete his seven shutout innings. It was a major improvement over his last start against Atlanta, in which he was bounced from the game after allowing four runs in 4.1 innings. Eickhoff will make his next start in Chicago against the Cubs.