MLB Player News

Spiers threw four scoreless innings out of the bullpen in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Pirates, allowing three hits without a walk. He struck out one batter.

Nick Martinez started the game but only went three innings before handing the ball off to Spiers, who bounced back with a scoreless outing after a brutal stretch in which he gave up 19 earned runs in 12 innings. The Martinez-Spiers tandem was effective, but both pitchers may be needed for starts this week with the Reds playing seven games in six days, including a doubleheader Friday against the Brewers. Cincinnati will have to make do with a patchwork rotation with Andrew Abbott (shoulder) now on the injured list alongside Hunter Greene (elbow) and others.

The Phillies optioned Allard to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday.

Infielder Buddy Kennedy will join the Phillies' active roster as a replacement for Allard, who was summoned from Lehigh Valley to make a spot start Sunday. Allard scooped up a win while limiting the Royals to two runs over five innings, and he now owns a 3.50 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 13:2 K:BB over 18 innings. Though he'll head back to the minors, Allard's solid performance at the big-league level this season likely puts him ahead of Tyler Phillips and Kyle Tyler for a promotion if a rotation spot with the Phillies opens up again at some point.

The Padres recalled Vasquez from Triple-A El Paso on Monday.

He'll draw the start for the Padres in Monday's series opener in St. Louis, taking over the rotation spot vacated by knuckleballer Matt Waldron, who was optioned to Triple-A last week after giving up 22 earned runs across his last three starts. Vasquez has previously made 17 starts for the Padres this season, going 3-6 with a 4.63 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 53:22 K:BB over 81.2 innings. He'll likely head to the bullpen or return to Triple-A once Yu Darvish (elbow) is ready to return from the 15-day injured list.

Scott (elbow) could begin throwing off a mound soon, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

The right-hander has been playing catch for over a week now, and he's closing in on the next step in his recovery from a sprained UCL. Scott hasn't pitched in a game since July 21, but the Mets could use the boost to their rotation as they push for a playoff spot. A timeline for his activation from the IL could come into focus once he gets back on a mound.

Senzatela (elbow) will make his next rehab outing with Double-A Hartford at some point this week, MLB.com reports.

Senzatela made two appearances with High-A Spokane, working 2.1 and three innings, respectively. His last outing came Friday, so he won't take the mound any earlier than Wednesday of the current week. Senzatela is aiming for a potential return to the mound late this season.

Lynn (knee) is scheduled to throw another live batting practice session Monday but will likely require at least a couple more weeks to get stretched back out before the Cardinals activate him from the 15-day injured list, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Lynn was placed on the IL on July 31 with right knee inflammation and seems to be making good progress, as he already threw a live BP session of approximately 45 pitches on Aug. 20. According to MLB.com, Lynn is scheduled to push up his pitch count to 60 during Monday's session, but the Cardinals seem to be leaning toward having him toss some additional live BPs and/or minor-league rehab starts before bringing him back from the IL. Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak recently mentioned the possibility of the team deploying a six-man rotation in September, but Steven Matz (back) is scheduled to make his final rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Memphis and looks poised to beat Lynn back from the IL to fill a potential opening in the rotation.

Matz (back) will make another rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Memphis, MLB.com reports.

The upcoming start is expected to be the sixth and final outing of Matz's rehab assignment before he returns from the 60-day injured list. According to manager Oliver Marmol, the Cardinals are targeting Matz for around 90 pitches Tuesday, which suggests the left-hander remains in consideration to rejoin the rotation as soon as Sunday against the Yankees. Though St. Louis might expand its rotation to six men in September, Matz could still wind up heading to the bullpen at some point if the Cardinals elect to keep Andre Pallante in a starting role. Even in a six-man setup, the Cardinals would have just two spots available for Matz, Pallante and Lance Lynn (knee), the latter of whom looks set to return from the IL in the next couple of weeks, per Katie Woo of The Athletic.

Perez allowed one run on four hits and three walks while striking out a batter over 3.2 innings Sunday against the Mets. He did not factor into the decision.

Perez shut out the Mets through the first three innings before J.D. Martinez took him deep to center for the game's first run. He went on to walk three straight batters with two outs after giving up the home run and couldn't make it out of the inning. That's now back-to-back starts for Perez failing to make it to the fifth inning and he's combined for a 3:4 K:BB in 8.1 innings over that span. Perez's spot in the rotation is still secure for now with Matt Waldron optioned to Triple-A El Paso and Yu Darvish (elbow) being placed back on the 15-day injured list despite being reinstated from the restricted list. Perez owns a 4.60 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 87:39 K:BB in 109.2 innings and lines up to face the Rays in a road start over the weekend.

Quintana did not factor into the decision but fired 6.1 scoreless innings in Sunday's loss to the Padres. He allowed four hits and two walks and didn't strike out a batter.

Though he didn't strike anyone out, Quintana had his first quality start since July 29 and first scoreless outing since July 9. Quintana worked 13 groundball outs and allowed just one extra-base hit. The left-hander had an 8.27 ERA over his last four starts but has now lowered his season ERA to 4.36 to go with a 1.30 WHIP and 106:54 K:BB in 140.1 innings. He lines up to make his next start against the White Sox over the weekend.

The Pirates promoted Kennedy from Single-A Bradenton to High-A Greensboro on Sunday.

Kennedy was notified of his promotion shortly after he struck out five over five shutout innings Sunday in his final start in the Florida State League. The 19-year-old lefty has covered 68.1 innings for Bradenton this season while accruing a 3.95 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 73:14 K:BB.