MLB Player News

The Pirates had already announced that right-hander Charlie Morton was set to start Monday against Miami, but they had to take care of some business first.

That was accomplished when they reinstated him from the 15-day disabled list. His start will be his first since he underwent labrum surgery in September.

The team designated fellow righty Radhames Liz for assignment to make room for Morton.

Concern is growing that the right elbow ailment plaguing Reds ace Johnny Cueto is worse that first anticipated, per Associated Press.

Cueto is having the elbow examined Monday after missing his Sunday start in Cleveland with stiffness. Though he exclaimed Sunday that he was not worred about it, the elbow was still not feeling right Monday.

The loss of Cueto for any significant period would be devastating for a Cincinnati team on an eight-game losing streak. He has eight quality starts in nine outings and a 3.03 ERA.

Mets manager Terry Collins said Monday that pitcher Jacob deGrom is on an innings limit this season, The Star-Ledger reports. Collins also spoke about his plans to use a six-man rotation when Dillon Gee returns from the disabled list, saying that he told his pitchers it was to keep them fresh late in the year.

deGrom threw 178 1/3 innings last season, with a majority of them coming in the majors during his Rookie of the Year campaign. He's up to 55 2/3 innings this season through nine starts and owns a 2.75 ERA and 54:13 K:BB ratio.

The team is looking to limit the innings of deGrom, Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard in the event of a possible playoff run, MLB.com reports.

"The six-man rotation, at this point, is in large part to manage innings, manage appearances, manage pitches," general manager Sandy Alderson said "There is always the risk that guys are getting too much rest. But at the same time, we don't want to run out of innings for any of our starting pitchers at the end of the season."

Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel allowed four runs on five hits in seven innings of work in Chicago's 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks on Sunday. 

Hammel allowed a run in the first inning, but had his most issues in the third. After allowing a leadoff triple to Nick Ahmed, Hammel gave up a run when pitcher Jeremy Hellickson hit a sac fly to center. Then, Hammel surrendered a two-run home run to Paul Goldschmidt. 

"(The Diamondbacks) are a very first-pitch fastball hitting team," Hammel said to the Chicago Tribune. "They ambushed a lot of them, and I started throwing sliders and the results were better."

Hammel, now 3-2, alos struck out nine with just one walk and moved his ERA to 2.98 on the year. He will look to get back on track on Saturday against the Royals.

Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha allowed one run, unearned, on five hits in seven innings of work in Sunday's 6-1 win over the Royals.

Wacha cruised throughout his start, expect for one issue in the fifth. Alex Gordon was able to reach safely on a throwing error and advanced to second base. Salvador Perez then singled him home for Kansas City's only run of the game. Wacha, now 7-0, recorded four strikeouts with two walks in the contest. 

"I missed with a couple of fastballs in," Wacha said to MLB.com. "I knew I didn't want to go 3-0 on him, so I just had to try and paint the inside corner. Luckily, I got it in there enough."

Wacha will look to keep things rolling Saturday against the Dodgers.

"We continue to watch him improve," manager Mike Matheny said. "We've watched Michael be very special in some big situations as a young pitcher. As he has been able to add confidence and add pitches ... we're watching him take advantage. We just want to keep him moving in a positive direction and thinking about what's the next step."

The Rockies are unsure if pitcher Jordan Lyles will be able to make his next scheduled start, according to The Denver Post. 

Lyles sprained the big toe of his left foot during Saturday's start against the Giants. 

"As far as the status of his next start, we aren't sure yet," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "There are some things that have to happen. He has to throw his side (session), and those are determining factors."

Lyles has been known to play through pain. Earlier this month, he took an Albert Pujols' comebacker to his hand and was able to make his next start. Lyles is scheduled to start this Friday. 

"I just over-extended my big toe and something popped," Lyles said Sunday. "Hopefully I will try to be out there for my next start, like I did last time with my hand."

Cubs infielder Jonathan Herrera will start at second base on Sunday for the Cubs with Addison Russell getting the day off. He will bat ninth, with starting pitcher Jason Hammel hitting eighth. 

Herrera is slashing .220/.238/.268 for the season. 

The rest of the Cubs' lineup is the same from Saturday. 

Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is scheduled to take the hill again on Sunday against the Royals, his ninth start of the season. Wacha has already logged 50 1/3 innings of work, something the team wants to monitor very closely throughout the season, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"It's probably something to look at later," said Matheny. "Right now, we don't want him to be concerned with that stuff. And I don't think right now is the time to conserve. I seems like this game shows you when it’s time to conserve.

"We'll monitor his workload as much as possible but when he's throwing the ball well and he feels as good as he does, we need to take advantage of it. But we have some parameters in sight of where we’d like to keep him at."

Wacha, 6-0, has a 2.13 ERA with 31 strikeouts so far this season. 

Rockies starting pitcher Jordan Lyles was removed from the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Giants with a sprained left toe. Lyles exited the game in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and no one out. He suffered the injury after he landed awkwardly following a pitch in the fourth inning.

Lyles (2-5) had been checked on by the team's trainer three times before finally exiting with the injury. 

"He was throwing the ball well to start, but noticeably different after that," manager Walt Weiss said, per the Denver Post. "It got to the point where we thought he was spinning off of it when he tried to protect that landing foot."

The right-hander wound up going four innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on seven hits. He struck out four without issuing a walk, throwing 41 of his 62 pitches for strikes. He is considered day-to-day in advance of his next start, currently scheduled for Friday against the Phillies.

Reds pitcher Anthony DeSclafani allowed one run on three hits in seven innings of work in Cincinnati's 2-1 loss to the Indians on Saturday, but did not factor into a decision.

DeSclafani coasted through the first five innings of the game, picking up five of his six strikeouts, before having issues in the sixth. With two outs, DeSclafani put two men on for David Murphy, who singled to center to plate a run.

"I don't want to overlook [DeSclafani's effort]," Reds manager Bryan Price said, per MLB.com. "It's another loss, but it's a big step in the right direction for Anthony and it's important to our rotation that he's pitching consistently. Considering the way that we've been pitching lately, a game like that was a lift.

DeSclafani, who remains 2-4, lowered his ERA to 3.46 in 52 innings of work. He will look to get back in the win column on Friday against the Nationals.

"I've been waiting to have a start like that," DeSclafani said. "I've been struggling the last couple of times. I was really happy to keep my team in the game."