MLB Player News

Ober (groin) is scheduled to make his second rehab start Tuesday with Single-A Fort Myers, Brandon Warne of Access Twins reports.

Ober joined the affiliate last week for his first game action in three months and looked good over his three-inning outing, striking out three while allowing one run on three hits. The 42-pitch appearance suggests that Ober will be built up as a starter during his rehab program, so he'll likely require at least one or two additional outings beyond Tuesday before the Twins bring him back from the 60-day injured list. Before being shut down with an aponeurotic plate injury, Ober made seven starts for Minnesota and produced a 4.01 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 29:7 K:BB across 33.2 innings.

The Cubs placed Steele (back) on the 15-day injured list Monday.

The transaction is retroactive to Friday, making Sept. 17 the earliest date Steele will be eligible to rejoin the Cubs. Steele hadn't pitched since Aug. 26, as he missed his subsequent turn through the rotation while he was on the restricted list due to him being ineligible to cross the Canadian border for the Cubs' series in Toronto. He had been expected to rejoin the rotation for the Cubs' first game of the week Tuesday against the Reds, but he was still experiencing back soreness stemming from the Aug. 26 start. The Cubs will now give the prized lefty some extra time to heal up, while prospect Hayden Wesneski was called up from Triple-A Iowa to presumably fill Steele's spot in Chicago's six-man rotation.

The Cubs selected Wesneski's contract from Triple-A Iowa on Monday.

In a corresponding move, Chicago moved starter Justin Steele (back) to the 15-day injured list. Wesneski looks to be the top candidate to assume Steele's spot in the rotation this weekend against the Giants, assuming the 24-year-old righty isn't needed Tuesday against the Reds to serve as a piggyback pitcher behind starter Wade Miley (shoulder), who may be on a limited pitch count in his return from the 60-day IL. Acquired from the Yankees in the Aug. 1 deal that sent reliever Scott Effross to New York, Wesneski generated a 3.92 ERA and 1.16 WHIP while striking out 106 across 110.1 innings between Iowa and the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Perez (10-6) took the loss against Houston on Monday, allowing one run on six hits and one walk while striking out five batters over seven innings.

Perez bounced back nicely with a quality start after allowing five runs over five innings against the Astros six days ago. However, the southpaw was outdueled by rookie hurler Hunter Brown and was tagged with his second straight loss. Perez nonetheless lowered his season ERA to 2.82, which ranks seventh best among qualified American League starters. Prior to this season, his lowest season ERA was 3.62 in 2013, so he's been one of the most pleasantly surprising starters in the majors this season.

Brown (1-0) earned the win over Texas on Monday, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out five batters over six scoreless innings.

Brown has been very good in the minors this season, posting a 2.55 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 134:45 K:BB over 106 innings in Triple-A. The right-hander didn't disappoint in his first major-league outing, holding the Rangers to one extra-base hit and no runs across six impressive frames. Brown walked only one batter after posting a 10.6 percent walk rate in the minors, and control could be the key as he continues to face big-league batters moving forward. The excellent debut will likely allow Brown get another turn in the rotation, though the eventual return of Justin Verlander (calf) could push him to a bullpen role or a return to the minors.

Snell (6-8) took the loss against Arizona on Monday, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out 10 batters over six innings.

Though Snell was tagged with the loss, he picked up his second straight quality start and eighth of the campaign. The left-hander also notched double-digit strikeouts for the fourth time this season, and he racked up an impressive 20 swinging strikes. Snell has rebounded from a rough start against Cleveland on Aug. 24 to allow just one run over 12 innings while posting an 18:4 K:BB across his subsequent pair of starts.

Nelson (1-0) earned the win over San Diego on Monday, pitching seven scoreless innings during which he gave up four hits and struck out seven batters without issuing a walk.

Nelson wasn't overly impressive in the minors this season, posting a 5.43 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 128:47 K:BB over 136 innings across 26 Triple-A starts. He looked every part a major-leaguer in his big-league debut, however, holding the Padres to four hits and no runs. The rookie right-hander threw 61 of 87 pitches for strikes in an efficient seven frames. Given his impressive performance Monday, Nelson is likely to get another turn in what currently shapes up as a six-man rotation.

Heaney (2-2) allowed six runs on six hits, a walk and a hit batsman while striking out eight over 5.1 innings as he took the loss versus the Giants on Monday.

All of the runs against Heaney came via the home run -- he allowed four long balls in this outing and has given up 10 over his last four starts. This was arguably his worst start of the season, and it raised his ERA to 2.94 with a 1.08 WHIP and 78:13 K:BB through 52 innings across 11 starts. The southpaw is projected for a road start in San Diego this weekend.

Gonzales (10-13) was tagged with the loss against the White Sox on Monday, pitching seven innings and allowing three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out three batters.

Gonzales limited Chicago to four hits, though two of those were home runs. He finished with his third straight quality start but nonetheless had his three-game winning streak snapped. Gonzales' 13 losses are tied for second-most in the majors. However, he also has 10 wins, making him one of two big-league pitchers (along with Miles Mikolas) to reach double figures in both wins and losses so far this season.

Webb (12-8) allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits and no walks with six strikeouts in six innings to earn the win over the Dodgers on Monday.

The Giants hit five home runs in the contest, giving Webb plenty of support to take down the rival Dodgers. This ended a three-start losing streak for the right-hander, and it was his first quality start since he pitched eight scoreless innings Aug. 13 versus the Pirates. Webb has a 2.89 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 143:56 K:BB through 171 innings across 28 starts this year. He'll look to build off of this outing in his next start, tentatively scheduled as a road date versus the Cubs this weekend.