MLB Player News

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Saturday that Pushard (knee) will need "several more" rehab appearances at Triple-A Memphis before being activated from the 10-day injured list, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Pushard, who was a Rule 5 pick, has made six rehab appearances so far, allowing six runs (four earned) with a 2:3 K:BB over 6.2 innings. Marmol said that Pushard's future outings will mimic how he's expected to be used in the majors, which will likely include some multi-inning appearances. Pushard's 30-day rehab window will run out in mid-May, so the team will have to make a decision at that point whether to activate him. The 28-year-old is working his way back from right knee tendinitis.

The Padres activated Canning (Achilles) from the 15-day injured list in advance of his scheduled start Sunday against the White Sox.

Canning is ready to make his 2026 MLB debut after completing a five-outing rehab assignment, which signaled the end of his journey back from Achilles surgery last June. The right-hander built up to five innings and 68 pitches during his final rehab appearance with Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday, so he'll likely have some workload limitations in his first outing with the Padres.

Lodolo (finger) is expected to return from the 15-day injured list to start Friday's home game against the Astros, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Lodolo -- who has been on the shelf all season due to a blister on his left index finger -- made the third and final start of his rehab assignment Saturday, striking out six batters and allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks over 4.1 innings for Triple-A Louisville. The left-hander built up to 79 pitches in the outing, so he should be ready to handle a fairly normal workload next weekend in what would be his 2026 debut for the Reds. Before the Reds lock Lodolo into their upcoming pitching schedule, he'll likely need to complete a bullpen session Monday or Tuesday without incident.

Littell is expected to pitch in bulk relief behind opener PJ Poulin in Sunday's game against the Brewers, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Poulin is expected pitch one or two innings before giving way to Littell, who will work behind an opener for the second time this season. The Nationals are hoping that the arrangement will yield better results from the veteran right-hander, who has an 8.37 ERA and 1.77 WHIP in 23.2 innings over his last five starts.

The Brewers optioned McGee to Triple-A Nashville on Sunday.

McGee will cede his spot on the 26-man active roster to right-hander Logan Henderson, who was recalled from Triple-A ahead of his start Sunday. After being called up from Triple-A on Friday, McGee tossed a scoreless inning out of the bullpen in his lone appearance with the big club.

The Brewers recalled Henderson from Triple-A Nashville to start Sunday's game against the Nationals, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The right-hander was briefly up with the Brewers for a doubleheader in early April but has otherwise spent the first month-plus of the season at Triple-A. Henderson has been dominant for Nashville with a 1.02 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 26:9 K:BB across 17.2 innings. The 24-year-old is now expected to get at least a couple turns through the rotation with Milwaukee after the placement of Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) on the injured list.

Atlanta reinstated Strider (oblique) from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday's game at Colorado.

The right-hander has missed the first month-plus of the regular season while working his way back from an oblique strain, but he's ready to make his first big-league appearance of the year after a three-start rehab assignment. Strider built up to 82 pitches and five innings during his final rehab outing, so his workload shouldn't be significantly limited in his 2026 debut. In last year's return from internal brace surgery on his elbow, Strider had an up-and-down campaign with a 4.45 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 131:51 K:BB across 125.1 innings.

The Giants optioned McDonald to Triple-A Sacramento on Friday.

McDonald had been up with the Giants to serve as their 27th man for Thursday's doubleheader with the Phillies. After going unused out of the bullpen in either contest, he was sent back to Sacramento, where he'll continue to work out of the rotation.

Giolito struck out six and allowed three earned runs on five hits and one walk over 4.1 innings Thursday in his start for Single-A Lake Elsinore.

After remaining unsigned until reaching a one-year deal with the Padres on April 22, Giolito reported to Lake Elsinore shortly thereafter to essentially complete his own version of spring training. He's now made two starts for Lake Elsinore, and after covering 4.1 innings and tossing 70 pitches Thursday, Giolito looks to be close to fully stretched out. Giolito hasn't been especially sharp in either outing, however, so the Padres will likely have him make one or two more starts in the minors before he slots back into the big-league rotation. San Diego will have until May 16 to add him to its active roster.

McLean did not factor into the decision in Saturday's 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Angels, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts over four innings.

McLean didn't have his best stuff, inducing just six whiffs on a season-low 78 pitches and departing with a 3-1 deficit after allowing two runs in the fourth inning. It was a rare hiccup for the 24-year-old, though he's still yielded three earned runs or fewer in each of his seven outings this season. He owns a 2.97 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 51:11 K:BB across 39.1 innings and lines up for a road matchup against the Diamondbacks next weekend.