MLB Player News

Kershaw (shoulder) tossed three scoreless and hitless innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday, allowing one walk and striking out five batters.

Kershaw was impressive in the outing, allowing just one baserunner while throwing 38 pitches before tossing another 12 pitches in the bullpen after the start, according to Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register. The veteran lefty made his second minor-league rehab appearance, and his first since June 19. Kershaw also went three innings in his initial rehab outing but experienced soreness in a subsequent bullpen session and was temporarily shut down from throwing. Per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that he received positive reports on Kershaw's outing, and the 36-year-old is set to cover 4-to-5 innings in another rehab appearance with Oklahoma City on Friday. If that goes well, Kershaw could return from the 60-day injured list the following week.

Verlander (neck) threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session Sunday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Verlander used his entire arsenal in the session and finished the bullpen without incident, per McTaggart. He had originally been expected to toss 10-to-15 pitches, so all signs are that he's trending in a positive direction. A timeframe for Verlander's return isn't yet clear, but it is possible that he could rejoin Houston's rotation before the end of July.

Medina, who was placed on the injured list Saturday with a right elbow sprain, is expected to miss "significant time" according to manager Mark Kotsay, MLB.com reports.

Kotsay added the team will likely seek a second opinion on the elbow after the All-Star break, but Medina's absence looks as though it could stretch well into August, if not longer. For the time being, the right-hander is expected to be shut down from any throwing for multiple weeks.

Rea is expected to serve as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Rob Zastryzny in Sunday's game against the Nationals, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Rea was roughed up for a season-high seven earned runs in his previous start Tuesday versus the Pirates, so manager Pat Murphy will have the right-hander work behind an opening pitcher for Rea's final turn through the rotation before the All-Star break with the hope of netting better results. Zastryzny is unlikely to cover more than an inning or two before giving way to Rea.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Brubaker (elbow) suffered an oblique strain during his most recent rehab start Thursday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and and has been shut down from baseball activities, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Brubaker appeared to be close to completing his recovery from October 2022 Tommy John surgery, as he had been expected to come off the 60-day injured list before the end of July. It's not yet clear how far back the oblique issue will set his return timeline, but it's now doubtful that the right-hander will be able to join the Yankees before the end of the month. Brubaker had taken part in five minor-league rehab appearances prior to injuring his oblique, posting a 3.29 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 7:8 K:BB over 13.2 innings.

Mercado is expected to serve as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Orion Kerkering in Sunday's game against the Athletics, Tim Kelly of PhilliesNation.com reports.

Manager Rob Thomson announced Tuesday that Mercado was being moved to the bullpen, but because Zack Wheeler (back) is unable to take the hill for the Phillies' final game before the All-Star break Sunday, Mercado will end up serving as the club's de facto No. 5 member of the rotation to close out the first-half schedule. Though Kerkering is drawing the start, he hasn't recorded more than five outs in any appearance this season and is unlikely to work more than an inning or two before turning the game over to Mercado. Through his first three big-league outings (two starts), Mercado has given up six earned runs on seven hits -- including three home runs -- and five walks while striking out six across 7.2 innings.

Cease (8-8) picked up the win Saturday, allowing only one hit and three walks over six scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory over Atlanta. He struck out 11.

The Padres got on the board with a run in the second inning, and it's all the support Cease and the bullpen would need. The right-hander racked up double-digit Ks for the third time this season en route to his 11th quality start, and Cease produced an impressive 27 swinging strikes among his 106 pitches. He'll head into the All-Star break with a 3.99 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 149:36 K:BB through 115 innings, putting him just one strikeout behind former teammate Garrett Crochet for the major-league lead.

Lopez (7-3) took the loss Saturday, giving up three runs on 11 hits over six innings as Atlanta was downed 4-0 by the Padres. He struck out two without walking a batter.

The right-hander didn't give up a lot of hard contact, as nine of the 11 hits were singles and the other two were well-placed doubles, but it was still a season high in knocks allowed for Lopez. It's his first loss since May 25, snapping a seven-start stretch in which he'd gone 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 46:16 K:BB through 38.1 innings. Fatigue could be creeping in for the converted reliever, as his 95.2 innings on the year are already his highest total since 2019, but he may not get much of a rest over the break after earning an All-Star Game berth for the first time in his career.

Arrighetti came away with a no-decision in Saturday's 2-1 extra-inning loss to the Rangers, allowing one run on two hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out seven.

The rookie right-hander needed 85 pitches (53 strikes) to produce his third quality start of the season as he got locked in a pitchers' duel with Nathan Eovaldi. Arrighetti has had his moments, but he's been very erratic this season, and since the beginning of June he has only one win in eight outings with a 5.20 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 42:21 K:BB through 36.1 innings. Those numbers are good enough to keep him in the rotation coming out of the All-Star break, but Arrighetti could eventually lose his spot if Houston adds significant reinforcements to its staff, either from the injured list or at the trade deadline.

Eovaldi came away with a no-decision in Saturday's 2-1 extra-inning win over the Astros, allowing one run on eight hits over seven innings. He struck out seven without walking a batter.

The veteran righty was outstanding, firing 68 of 95 pitches for strikes en route to his third straight quality start and eighth of the year, but Eovaldi got little run support. He's lasted at least six innings in five straight trips to the mound, going 3-0 over that stretch and giving the Rangers bullpen a break while posting a 2.65 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and dazzling 28:2 K:BB over 34 innings.