MLB Player News

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Sunday that Matz will require another pain-killing injection for the protruding disc in his lower back and won't resume throwing for at least another week, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

With Matz having yet to even resume playing catch since landing on the 15-day injured list May 3 due to the back issue, he appears safe to rule out for a return when he's first eligible to come off the IL next weekend. The southpaw had initially been scheduled to throw a bullpen session Tuesday, but the Cardinals opted to have him get another injection for his back after he hadn't responded to a week of rest as well as the team had hoped. The Cardinals will turn to Matthew Liberatore to make a second straight start in place of Matz on Monday versus the Angels.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Sunday that Wesneski has been moved to the bullpen, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Counsell noted that Wesneski will work out of the bullpen for the Cubs' upcoming turn through the rotation, so it's possible that the right-hander could still move back into a starting role at some point later this month. For now, however, Wesneski will likely need the Cubs to lose another starter to injury, or for a rainout or a busy portion of the schedule to create a need for a temporary sixth starter. Wesneski had made each of his past three appearances for the Cubs as a starter, going 0-1 with a 2.20 ERA and 1.16 WHIP across 16.1 innings.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Taillon (back) will start Tuesday's game in Atlanta, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

A bout with back stiffness resulted in Taillon being scratched from his scheduled start Friday in Pittsburgh, but the right-hander responded well enough from a bullpen session Saturday for the Cubs to clear him to take the hill in Atlanta. With Kyle Hendricks (back) coming off the 15-day injured list to start Sunday in Pittsburgh, Taillon will end up taking over the spot in the rotation that had previously belonged to Hayden Wesneski, who has been moved to the bullpen.

Pepiot (leg) threw a 15-pitch bullpen session Sunday, Steve Carney of StPeteNine.com reports.

Pepiot landed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday after sustaining a lower left leg contusion when he was hit by a line drive in his start against the Mets last Sunday. He noted that he felt good after the throwing session Sunday, and he could return from the IL when first eligible May 21. The right-hander confirmed after the bullpen session that he doesn't expect to need a rehab start in the minors prior to being activated.

The Cubs reinstated Hendricks (back) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his start Sunday in Pittsburgh, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Cubs initially planned to have Hendricks make the third start of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Sunday, but he'll end up returning from the IL earlier than expected after rotation mate Jameson Taillon (back) wasn't available to start this weekend. Hendricks struck out 13 and allowed just three walks while giving up three runs over 9.1 innings between his two rehab outings, but he struggled mightily over his first five starts with the Cubs before landing on the shelf (0-3 record, 12.00 ERA, 2.10 WHIP in 21 innings).

Brown covered five innings out of the bullpen in Saturday's 8-2 loss to the Tigers, giving up one earned run on five hits and no walks while striking out seven.

Though he worked in relief after starting in each of his previous seven appearances, Brown delivered arguably his best outing of the campaign, with the seven punchouts matching a season high. Despite Brown's strong showing, the fact that he was bypassed for a start and entered the game in the bottom of the third inning with the Astros trailing 7-0 speaks to the lack of trust he had from the coaching staff heading into Saturday. According to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, the Astros won't have Brown rejoin the rotation for any of their first three games of the four-game series with Oakland to open the upcoming week. Cristian Javier was lit up for seven earned runs while recording just four outs before exiting Saturday's contest, and the Astros aren't yet committing to Javier taking the hill for Thursday's series finale versus the Athletics. If the Astros want to give Javier at least one more day off to regroup from his rough outing versus the Tigers, Brown could re-enter the rotation Thursday.

Miller (3-3) was stuck with the loss against Oakland on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out nine.

All of the damage against Miller came in the top of the third, when the 25-year-old issued a leadoff walk to Lawrence Butler to open the frame, followed by back-to-back singles. The right-hander allowed only two hits outside of that inning and retired 10 of the final 12 batters he faced, but he still got stuck with his third loss of the season due to a lack of run support. Miller has allowed two runs or fewer in six of his eight starts this season and recorded his second-highest strikeout total of the campaign Saturday with nine punchouts.

Manager Bud Black said Saturday that Freeland (elbow) is "a week or 10 days away from getting on the mound," MLB.com reports.

Freeland played catch Thursday, Friday and Saturday and seems to have responded well to the workouts, but the Rockies aren't yet ready to have him advance to the next phase of his rehab program for his strained left elbow. While Freeland might join the Rockies for their upcoming road trip that begins Monday, the veteran southpaw will still be limited to playing catch and doesn't yet appear to be close to a return from the 15-day injured list. Given that he'll still need to complete a minor-league rehab assignment after he resumes throwing off a mound and facing hitters, Freeland doesn't look like he'll be an option for Colorado's rotation until around mid-June.

The Red Sox reinstated Bello (lat) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his start Sunday against the Nationals.

Bello landed on the IL on April 24 due to right lat tightness, which he experienced coming out of his start April 19 versus the Pirates. He was able to get the green light to rejoin the big-league rotation after making one rehab start with Double-A Portland on Tuesday, when he allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out five over 2.2 innings. Bello holds a 3-1 record through five starts for the Red Sox with a 3.04 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over 26.2 innings this season.

Estes (1-0) earned the win in Saturday's 8-1 victory over the Mariners, allowing one run on two hits and no walks over five innings while striking out five.

Estes was efficient throughout his five innings of work, doing much of the damage with his slider and four-seamer. While he threw only eight of his 17 first pitches for strikes, the right-hander was frequently able to work his way back from being down in the count and gave up only two hits on the night, though one of those was a home run. Estes also took a liner off his right bicep in the first but still managed to scoop it up and retire Julio Rodriguez for the out at first base before waving off the trainer and continuing on with the inning. Estes' 2024 MLB debut was an impressive one, but it's unclear if he'll stick around with the big club for another turn through the rotation.