MLB Player News

Nola (9-9) took the loss Wednesday against Atlanta, surrendering three runs on seven hits and a pair of walks over six innings. He had four strikeouts.

Atlanta jumped on Nola for a pair of runs in the first inning with an Austin Riley RBI single and an Adam Duvall run-scoring groundout. Nola settled down after that, giving up just one run the rest of the way, but it wasn't enough to avoid the loss. The 28-year-old finishes a disappointing 2021 regular season with a 4.63 ERA -- his highest since 2016 -- despite a sparkling 223:39 K:BB over 180.2 innings.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Overton (shoulder) is expected to resume throwing in early-to-mid November, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Overton was shuttered for the season on Tuesday after being diagnosed with a right shoulder strain, but after taking the next month or so to rest up and recover, he should be in store for a relatively normal offseason. In nine big-league appearances (three starts) between Toronto and Pittsburgh this season, Overton submitted a 4.70 ERA and 1.24 WHIP across 15.1 innings.

Whitlock (pectoral) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

If Whitlock checks out fine following the bullpen session, he could be activated from the 10-day injured list as soon as Saturday, provided the Red Sox are still in the mix for one of the American League's two wild-card spots. The 25-year-old rookie right-hander has been Boston's most valuable reliever in terms of WAR (1.5) this season, posting a 1.99 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while collecting 15 holds, eight wins and two saves over 72.1 innings.

Paddack received an injection in his right elbow earlier this week and is expected to make a full recovery from a slight UCL sprain in 6-to-8 weeks, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Paddack had his elbow checked out by Dr. Keith Meister, who previously oversaw the right-hander's Tommy John surgery in 2016. Fortunately for Paddack, he was recommended to treat the elbow injury through non-surgical means this time around, setting him up for what should be a relatively normal offseason. Before being shut down for good Sept. 13, Paddack turned in a 5.08 ERA across 108.1 innings.

Manager Gabe Kapler said Cueto (elbow) will be activated from the injured list at some point this weekend and is likely to be used out of the bullpen, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Scott Kazmir will start Thursday's contest for the Giants, while the team plans to utilize Cueto in relief to help determine whether he'll be included on the playoff roster. Cueto has been on the injured list since suffering the elbow strain Aug. 31, and he covered only 1.2 innings during his lone rehab outing last week. The veteran righty was operating as San Francisco's No. 5 starter when healthy, so he may have been shifted to the bullpen for the postseason regardless of the injury.

Brubaker (shoulder) won't return prior to the end of the regular season, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

Brubaker will increase his throwing distance by playing catch off flat ground from 120 feet in the coming days, and he'll use all of his pitches during the throwing session. Although the right-hander is making progress and should have a relatively normal offseason, he won't have enough time to return by the end of the regular season. Brubaker made a career-high 24 major-league starts this year and posted a 5.36 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 124.1 innings.

The Brewers selected Rea's contract from Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday.

Milwaukee cleared room for Rea on the 40-man roster and 28-man active roster by designating utility man Tim Lopes for assignment and by placing Devin Williams (hand) on the 10-day injured list. Rea should fill a long-relief role for Milwaukee over its final five games of the regular season after he submitted a 2.27 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in seven starts for Nashville upon joining the Brewers on a minor-league deal in August.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Taillon will undergo further testing on his right ankle when the club returns to New York this weekend before a timeline for the pitcher's recovery established, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

While Boone noted that Taillon was feeling "better than expected" after aggravating a right ankle tendon injury in Tuesday's start against the Blue Jays, the skipper was unwilling to speculate whether the right-hander would pitch again in 2021. Considering Taillon missed just under three weeks the first time he succumbed to the injury, he would seem to be at major risk of missing the entire ALDS, should the Yankees clinch a wild-card spot and win in the wild-card game. Taillon had been lined up to start Sunday's regular-season finale against the Rays, but the Yankees' plans for that contest are now unclear.

The Yankees optioned Heaney to the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Wednesday, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

After being moved out of the rotation in late August, Heaney didn't notice dramatically better results while working out of the bullpen. In seven relief appearances spanning 9.2 innings, Heaney served up 11 runs on 18 hits and one walk while striking out 10. He had gone unused since Sept. 18 and wasn't expected to factor back into the bullpen mix the rest of the way while the Yankees look to secure a wild-card berth.

The Pirates recalled Contreras from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday against the Cubs.

Pittsburgh moved third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes (wrist) to the 10-day injured list to open up a spot on the 28-man active roster for Contreras, who will be making his MLB debut at PNC Park. Acquired in January in the deal that sent Jameson Taillon to the Yankees, Contreras dazzled between stops at Indianapolis and Double-A Altoona this season, submitting a 2.64 ERA while striking out 35 percent of the batters he faced. Since Contreras hasn't covered more than five innings in any minor-league outing since June 22, the Pirates may not allow him to work deep enough into Wednesday's start to qualify for the win, regardless of how well he performs.