MLB Player News

The Cardinals optioned Woodford to Triple-A Memphis on Saturday.

Woodford moved back to the minors after he was up with the Cardinals as the 27th man for Friday's doubleheader with the Cubs. He worked in long relief of starter Johan Oviedo in the Cardinals' 6-1 loss in Game 1, covering three innings while allowing three earned runs on five hits and one walk.

Gutierrez will be shut down for two weeks with a first-degree UCL strain but has avoided a more serious injury, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Gutierrez hit the injured list Sunday with what was originally called right forearm soreness. Any time a UCL is involved, things seldom look particularly good, but it at least seems as though Tommy John surgery is off the table at this time. Given that he won't be throwing for two weeks, however, it will be quite a while before he's back in action at the big-league level.

Keuchel signed a minor-league contract with the Diamondbacks on Monday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Keuchel was designated for assignment and ultimately released by the White Sox in late May, but he'll now attempt to generate production within the Diamondbacks' minor-league system. The southpaw will report to Triple-A Reno after he posted a career-worst 7.88 ERA and 2.16 WHIP in 32 innings over eight starts with the White Sox to begin the season. Keuchel's agreement with the Diamondbacks reunites him with pitching coach Brent Strom, whom he worked with for five years in Houston.

Williams has a 1.40 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 67:14 K:BB across nine starts (45 innings) for High-A Lake County.

He's given up one or zero runs in seven consecutive outings and most recently pitched a season-high 6.1 innings on Friday, striking out eight while allowing a single run on five hits and a walk. This has been an incredible pro debut for Williams, who went 23rd overall in last year's draft, and with the way he's dominated at High-A, a promotion should be forthcoming very soon.

Odorizzi (leg) threw a 57-pitch bullpen session Saturday and had no complications, Robert Falkoff of MLB.com reports.

Odorizzi continues to ramp up his activity and has completed bullpen sessions of 41 and 57 pitches. Despite the progress, manager Dusty Baker stated there is still no timetable for Odorizzi to embark on a rehab assignment. That likely leaves him in line for a return in late June at the earliest.

The Phillies promoted Painter on Monday from Single-A Clearwater to High-A Jersey Shore.

The 19-year-old right-hander received the promotion after he submitted a 1.40 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 69:16 K:BB across 38.2 innings in his nine starts with Clearwater. With Jersey Shore, Painter will be part of a rotation that also includes one of the Phillies' other top pitching prospects in 2020 first-round pick Mick Abel.

Flaherty (shoulder) struck out three over three perfect innings Sunday in his first rehab start at Double-A Springfield.

Pitching for the first time this season at either the major- or minor-league level, Flaherty needed only 30 pitches to retire nine batters and threw 21 strikes. The 26-year-old will likely require multiple rehab outings before the Cardinals bring him back from the 60-day injured list, as he'll presumably need to build up to around 75 pitches prior to re-entering St. Louis' rotation.

Baz (elbow) struck out 10 over 4.1 innings Sunday in his fourth rehab start with Triple-A Durham. He was charged with one earned run on four hits and a walk.

The 10 strikeouts equaled a career-high for Baz, who built up to 79 pitches in the outing and looks ready to return from the 60-day injured list to make his next start in the big leagues. In order to make room for Baz in the rotation, the Rays could either choose to expand from a five-man to a six-man setup or demote Ryan Yarbrough to the bullpen, after the lefty was lit up for six runs in 1.2 innings Sunday in Tampa Bay's loss to the White Sox. Either way, fantasy managers who have stashing Baz on the IL should be prepared to activate him ahead of his 2022 Rays debut, which will likely come Saturday or Sunday in Minnesota.

Cabrera is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday against the Nationals in Miami.

The matchup with the 21-35 Nationals at LoanDepot Park is a far more favorable draw for Cabrera than last week, when he was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville to start the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Rockies at Coors Field. Though he issued four walks and hit two batters in the outing, Cabrera more than earned a second turn through the rotation after striking out nine and allowing only one hit over 6.1 scoreless frames. With both Jesus Luzardo (forearm) and Cody Poteet (elbow) on the 15-day injured list and facing unclear return timelines, Cabrera should be in good shape to hold down a back-end rotation spot beyond Tuesday's outing.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Paxton (elbow) threw up to 120 feet Saturday and is feeling good, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.

Paxton had been dealing with posterior soreness in the elbow, but the left-hander is progressing toward a return to the mound. He's pushing to get on a mound, but the team is holding off on that for time being.