MLB Player News

Burns (illness) is slated to make his next start Wednesday against the Royals after being scratched from his scheduled outing in Monday's series opener, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.

Burns came down with a fever overnight, and though the Reds are expecting his symptoms to subside quickly, he'll be given a couple extra days to rest up and recuperate. The Reds will opt for a bullpen game Monday, with right-hander Lyon Richardson opening the contest and expected to cover the first two or three innings before exiting.

The Reds scratched Burns from his scheduled start Monday against the Royals due to an illness.

Cincinnati will turn to right-hander Lyon Richardson to serve as their opening pitcher for Monday's contest in what will likely be an impromptu bullpen day as a result of Burns feeling under the weather. The severity of Burns' ailment isn't known at this time, making it unclear if the right-hander will merely be pushed back a day or two in the pitching schedule or if he'll have his turn through the rotation skipped entirely. After entering spring training with some uncertainty whether he would be part of the Reds' Opening Day rotation, Burns has been Cincinnati's top starter so far this season, posting a 7-1 record, 1.96 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 72:20 K:BB over 64.1 innings.

McDougal (forearm) has been playing catch out to 90 feet and expects to be ready for a rehab assignment by the end of June, James Fegan of SoxMachine.com reports.

McDougal has been on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Charlotte since late April due to right forearm tightness. The young right-hander is tracking toward beginning a rehab assignment in a few weeks and hopes to have 2-to-3 starts under his belt before the All-Star break rolls around. McDougal held a 3.00 ERA and 27:13 K:BB over 24 innings with Charlotte before getting hurt.

Skubal (elbow) worked four innings in a simulated game Monday at Tropicana Field, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Unofficially, Skubal allowed two hits and one walk and struck out six batters while inducing 10 swings and misses on 64 pitches (45 strikes). The workload marked a substantial increase from Skubal's previous sim game last Tuesday, when he tossed 39 pitches over 2.2 innings. Though manager A.J. Hinch previously indicated that the Tigers were expecting Skubal complete a third sim game during the upcoming weekend, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News suggests that Detroit could nix that plan and instead have the two-time Cy Young Award winner head out on a minor-league rehab assignment. The Tigers will wait and see how Skubal bounces back from Monday's sim game before deciding his next step, but if the southpaw is cleared to join a minor-league affiliate, he may need just one start before returning from the 15-day injured list and slotting back into the Detroit rotation.

The Rangers selected Ahlstrom's contract from Triple-A Round Rock on Monday, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.

Ahlstrom earned the promotion by putting up a 2.76 ERA and 33:8 K:BB over 29.1 innings with Round Rock. The left-hander will turn 27 later this month and will be making his major-league debut when/if he gets into a game.

Waldrep (elbow) allowed no hits and walked two batters over two scoreless innings during a rehab start Monday in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.

Waldrep tossed 26 pitches (14 strikes) in his first official game action since September, after he ended up missing all of spring training and the first two-plus months of the season while recovering from a Feb. 23 arthroscopic procedure to remove loose bodies from his right elbow. The 24-year-old is expected to need close to the entire 30-day rehab window to build up his pitch count and iron out his control and command, so he's unlikely to re-emerge as an option for the Atlanta rotation until late June.

Bloss (elbow) struck out four and allowed four earned runs on seven hits and one walk across three innings during his rehab start Saturday with Single-A Dunedin.

After turning in a 1.04 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 12:0 K:BB in 8.2 innings over his first three rehab starts between Dunedin and the Blue Jays' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate, Bloss endured a bumpy outing for the first time during his minor-league assignment. On a positive note, Bloss built up to 58 pitches in Saturday's outing and continued to look good in terms of raw stuff, turning in a 42.9 percent whiff rate while averaging 95.5 mph with his four-seamer. The 25-year-old right-hander -- who is working his way back from May 2025 Tommy John surgery -- is likely to require another rehab start or two before being activated from Triple-A Buffalo's 60-day injured list. If he continues to maintain the success he's enjoyed thus far during his rehab assignment once he joins the Buffalo rotation, Bloss could get a look in Toronto as a back-end starter or multi-inning option out of the bullpen at some point later on this summer.

Boyd (knee) struck out two batters and allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and one walk across four innings Sunday in a rehab start with Triple-A Iowa.

The southpaw required a meniscectomy on his left knee May 7 but has made a swift recovery from the procedure, as he resumed facing hitters May 22 before receiving the green light to report to Iowa. During Sunday's outing, Boyd tossed 63 pitches (41 strikes) while inducing five whiffs and averaging 93.1 mph with his four-seamer, which was up about a half-tick from his average over five starts with Chicago (92.5 mph). According to Marquee Sports Network, Cubs manager Craig Counsell said he received good feedback from Boyd's rehab start and noted that the lefty is set to rejoin the team in Chicago on Monday. Though Boyd had been expected to make one more rehab start to get further stretched out before returning from the 15-day injured list, the Cubs could elect to activate him early to make an abbreviated start during this weekend's series versus the Giants if he checks out well during his upcoming bullpen session.

Cabrera (finger) threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Thursday and had been scheduled to throw off the mound Sunday with greater intensity, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Cubs haven't confirmed that Cabrera was in fact able to throw again Sunday, but Montemurro notes that the right-hander was able to use his entire pitch mix during Thursday's session. Cabrera's ability to use his full arsenal suggests that the blister on his right middle finger isn't providing any complications with his off-speed pitches, so the 28-year-old looks like he could have a realistic chance at avoiding a rehab assignment and returning from the 15-day injured list this coming weekend when he's first eligible. If he's deemed ready to go for the Cubs' weekend series with the Giants, Cabrera would presumably replace Jordan Wicks as the team's fifth starter.

Walston (elbow) paused his rehab program earlier in the season, but he was expected to start building back up around the middle of May, MLB.com reports.

Arizona hasn't provided any concrete information regarding where Walston currently stands in the rehab process, but he's not expected to be a realistic candidate to return from the 60-day injured list until after the All-Star break. The 24-year-old left-hander hasn't made an appearance in an official game since spring training of last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery March 26, 2025.