MLB Player News

Manager Craig Counsell said that Gausman is in line to make his first start with the Cubs this weekend in Kansas City, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Cubs will at least temporarily move Colin Rea to the bullpen to clear room in the rotation for Gausman and Clay Holmes (fibula), who were both acquired within the final two days leading up to Monday's trade deadline. Based on the Cubs' current alignment, Gausman appears likely to start Friday's series opener, while Holmes is expected to get the ball Saturday. Gausman went 5-10 and pitched to a 4.38 ERA and 1.29 WHIP over 127.1 innings in 23 starts with Toronto this season, but most of his underlying metrics (3.85 SIERA, 3.95 xERA, 3.51 FIP) paint a rosier picture of his performance.

The Padres optioned Sears to Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday.

Sears will end up losing his spot on the 26-man active roster after the Padres needed to clear room for right-hander Casey Mize, who was acquired from the Tigers on Monday. After being called up from Triple-A on June 23, Sears had started or worked in bulk relief in his first seven appearances for San Diego, logging a 4.26 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 25:10 K:BB in 31.2 innings. The 30-year-old lefty had shifted to a more traditional relief role by the end of the past week, as he gave up two runs in a one-inning appearance in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants.

The Brewers optioned Sproat to Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday.

Sproat made the Brewers' Opening Day rotation and has shown flashes this season, but the consistency hasn't been there, with the righty turning in a 5.27 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 100:48 K:BB over 95.2 innings. His spot in the Milwaukee rotation will be absorbed by Dustin May, who was acquired at Monday's trade deadline.

The Cardinals optioned Mathews to Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday.

Mathews had a decent major-league debut last week in Toronto, allowing two runs with a 3:3 K:BB over five innings. With Hunter Dobbins replacing Dustin May in the Cardinals' rotation, Mathews will head back to Memphis for the time being. However, he is a good bet to make additional starts down the stretch for the big club.

Glasnow (back) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Ontario on Tuesday.

Glasnow has gone almost a full two months without making a start, but he's finally ready to pitch in games again following a longer-than-expected recovery from lower-back spasms. Given the length of his absence, Glasnow is likely to require at least 2-to-3 rehab outings before he's ready to be re-inserted into the Dodgers rotation later this month.

Clarke (arm) was activated from High-A Peoria's 60-day injured list Tuesday.

Clarke had surgery in January to address an aneurysm in his left arm, delaying his season debut until mid-July. In four rehab outings, the lefty permitted five runs (four earned) with a 10:7 K:BB over 7.1 innings. Clarke has electric stuff, but he'll need to improve his control and durability to reach his immense ceiling.

Franklin was promoted from High-A Peoria to Double-A Springfield on Tuesday.

Franklin had been on a roll in his last four starts with Peoria, logging a 1.83 ERA and 28:2 K:BB over 19.2 innings. The hard-throwing righty can lose the strike zone on occasion -- he's sporting a 10.3 percent walk rate for the season -- but Franklin has emerged as one of the Cardinals' better pitching prospects as he transitions from college reliever to minor-league starter.

Dobbins is slated to start Tuesday's game against the Yankees in New York, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Though they still had five starters in place even after dealing Dustin May to the Brewers on Monday, the Cardinals appear set to at least temporarily expand the rotation to six men with the addition of Dobbins, who was recalled from Triple-A Memphis in the aftermath of the trade deadline. Dobbins has previously made four starts and three relief appearances for St. Louis, going 2-1 with a 3.74 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 32:11 K:BB across 33.2 innings.

Littell is expected to pitch in bulk relief behind opening pitcher Carson Palmquist during Tuesday's game in Philadelphia, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Though he started in his last appearance Wednesday against the Blue Jays and tossed 4.2 scoreless frames, Littell has performed much better as a primary pitcher out of the bullpen throughout the season. Over his eight relief appearances, Littell has logged a 2.79 ERA and 1.11 WHIP across 38.2 frames. Palmquist will likely cover between one and three innings to begin Tuesday's contest before Littell takes over.

Palmquist will serve as the Nationals' opening pitcher for Tuesday's game against the Phillies, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Palmquist hasn't covered more than 3.1 innings in any of his prior five opener assignments, so that workload likely represents the upper range of what he'll handle Tuesday. Zack Littell is slated to pitch in bulk relief behind Palmquist and is the Nationals pitcher most likely to qualify for a win.