MLB Player News

Clevinger (knee) completed two scoreless innings in a rehab start with Low-A Lake Elsinore on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out five.

Clevinger impressed in his first rehab outing, throwing 24 of 31 pitches for strikes and registering five of his six outs via punchout. Most importantly, the right-hander emerged from the outing without any setbacks to his sprained right knee, per Jim Bowden of The Athletic. Clevinger will likely make at least one more rehab appearance before potentially returning to the Padres by the end of the month, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Flaherty (shoulder) played catch on flat ground ahead of Friday's game at Milwaukee, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Flaherty has been building up his arm and shoulder strength with plyometric exercises, and he's now been cleared to start a throwing program. The 26-year-old was shut down from throwing in mid-March after receiving a PRP injection to address inflammation in his right shoulder, so he'll likely require a significant buildup period before progressing to mound work.

Watkins is Baltimore's probable starter Monday against Oakland, Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com reports.

The 29-year-old surrendered four runs (one earned) over three innings Tuesday against the Brewers and will receive at least one more turn through the rotation. John Means (elbow) has joined Dean Kremer (oblique) on the injured list, so more starting opportunities will be available for Watkins if he can pitch well enough to stave off the Orioles' long relievers, such as Keegan Akin and Alexander Wells.

Means was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday with a left elbow strain, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

The 28-year-old departed Wednesday's start against the Brewers after only 51 pitches due to forearm tightness, and the injury has now been clarified as an elbow strain following an MRI. The severity of the strain remains unclear, but it's safe to assume Means will spend more than the 10-day minimum on the shelf. It's a big blow to the Orioles' starting rotation, which was already short on established options.

The Diamondbacks list Gallen (thumb) as their probable starting pitcher for Saturday's game against the Mets.

Gallen was initially lined up to make his season debut earlier this week against the Astros, but the Diamondbacks opted to push him back four days in the schedule while he contended with a small cut on his thumb. The injury apparently wasn't anything that hindered him in his throwing session after he was pushed off Tuesday's start against Houston, so he'll take the hill for the second game of the Diamondbacks' weekend series in New York.

Contreras (1-0) allowed one hit and one walk while striking out five across three scoreless innings to earn the win Thursday against the Nationals.

JT Brubaker was knocked out of the game after just 4.1 innings, which left a lot volume to be covered by the Pittsburgh bullpen. Contreras stepped up and delivered an excellent three frames of work, highlighted by nine swinging strikes on only 46 pitches. Though he's pitching in a relief role for the time being, Contreras has already thrown 4.2 innings this season and could enter the rotation should Brubaker or others falter in a starting role.

Sale (ribs) played catch prior to Friday's game against Minnesota, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Sale has been sidelined since the start of spring training due to a stress fracture on the right side of his ribcage, but it's encouraging that he's now able to begin a throwing program. The southpaw is on the 60-day injured list and won't be eligible to appear in major-league games until at least early June. He said Friday that he's thrown approximately five times in the last week but doesn't yet have a timetable to begin mound work.

Walker (shoulder) played catch for a second straight day Friday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Walker felt good following Friday's throwing session, and he hopes to throw a bullpen Sunday, Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News reports. He's hopeful that he'll be able to make a rehab start sometime next week, which would put him on track to join the Mets' rotation early the following week as long as he's built up enough strength and is feeling good.

DeGrom (shoulder) will undergo a follow-up MRI on April 25, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

DeGrom is in the midst of a four-week shutdown due to a stress reaction in his right scapula, and his MRI should provide an idea of his recovery progress. The right-hander got a bone scan recently to confirm the original diagnosis of a stress reaction. A timetable for deGrom's return to game action is unlikely to be set until he's cleared to resume throwing.

Buehler pitched 5.2 innings against Cincinnati on Thursday, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out four. He didn't factor in the decision.

Buehler wasn't at his sharpest in the Dodgers' home opener, throwing only 60 of 98 pitches for strikes and walking three batters. However, he kept the Reds off the scoreboard for five innings and needed one more out to notch his first quality start of the campaign before Aristides Aquino ended his night with a two-out, two-run homer in the sixth. Buehler has been fine through his first two starts, allowing four runs and registering a 9:5 K:BB across 10 frames. He was commonly drafted as a top-five pitcher in fantasy leagues, however, so his managers would love to get more from him, especially in terms of strikeouts. Buehler's next start is lined up to come at home against Atlanta on Tuesday.