MLB Player News

The Cubs plan to use Civale out of the bullpen after claiming him off waivers from the White Sox on Sunday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Civale was reluctant to pitch out of the bullpen for Milwaukee before he was traded to the White Sox on June 13, but he'll have to settle for a relief role as he moves on to his third team of the season. The veteran righty had a stretch of three straight scoreless outings coming out of the All-Star break, but he otherwise turned in an unremarkable 13-start run with the White Sox, logging a 5.37 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 55:26 K:BB in 67 innings. The Cubs will likely keep Civale stretched out in a long-relief role in the event that a spot in the rotation opens up in September, but for now, the team appears set to proceed with Colin Rea and Javier Assad as its back-end starters until Jameson Taillon (groin) and/or Michael Soroka (shoulder) return from the injured list.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that Sheehan will have his next turn through the rotation skipped, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.

Since Blake Snell returned from the injured list earlier in August, the Dodgers had been running a six-man rotation featuring Sheehan, but the team will temporarily scale back to five starters amid a stretch of three games in five days. Because Sheehan is in his first season back from May 2024 Tommy John surgery, the Dodgers have some added incentive to hold the right-hander out for a turn. Sheehan was available out of the bullpen but went unused in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks, and assuming he's not needed in relief for the Dodgers- upcoming three-game series in Pittsburgh, he could re-enter the rotation next weekend in Baltimore.

Mlodzinski is listed as the Pirates' starting pitcher for Tuesday's game against the Dodgers at PNC Park, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Mlodzinski will receive another turn through the Pittsburgh rotation, but for the second outing in a row, he'll most likely be deployed in tandem with rookie Bubba Chandler. In his previous start this past Wednesday versus the Cardinals, Mlodzinski was lifted after allowing one earned run over three innings and 46 pitches, with Chandler then taking over and getting credited with the win after tossing four shutout frames. Even if he's able to keep the Dodgers offense at bay Tuesday, Mlodzinski is unlikely to reach the five innings he would need to qualify for a win, making him an unappealing streaming option.

Ramirez went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and a walk in Sunday's win against the Mets.

Ramirez snapped a 12-game homerless drought with his two-run blast in the third inning Sunday. He's up to 19 on the year, though just two of those have come in his last 26 appearances. Ramirez was stuck in a 4-for-33 (.121) skid over nine contests before collecting multiple hits in back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday. He's now slashing .233/.290/.430 with 48 extra-base hits and 60 RBI through 482 plate appearances.

Senga (7-6) yielded five runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.2 innings Sunday, striking out six and taking a loss against Miami.

Senga never settled into a groove Sunday and was chased after just 75 pitches (43 strikes). Four of the five runs against him came after the second inning, including Agustin Ramirez's two-run shot in the third. Senga went into the All-Star break with a stellar 1.39 ERA, but he's since produced a 6.56 ERA over 35.2 innings. He's allowed at least three earned runs in six of his last eight outings, and he hasn't turned in a quality start since June 6. Senga will carry a 3.02 ERA into his next matchup, which is projected to be in Cincinnati next weekend.

Burrows struck out two and allowed one earned run on five hits over two innings of relief In Saturday's 10-3 win over the Red Sox.

Though Burrows had been one of the team's top starters since the All-Star break with a 3.53 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over his previous seven outings, the Pirates opted to shift him to the bullpen this weekend. The role change was seemingly motivated by a desire to keep Burrows' workload in check, as the right-hander has already totaled 108.2 frames between the majors and minors in 2025 after accruing 54.2 innings in 2024 once he completed his recovery from his April 2023 Tommy John surgery. The Pirates haven't offered up a precise target for Burrows' innings count this season, and it's unclear if or when he might rejoin the rotation. Per Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com, the Pirates aren't listing Burrows among their starters for their three-game series with the Dodgers that begins Tuesday, so the 25-year-old appears set to remain in the bullpen for at least this week.

Alcantara (8-11) yielded one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings Sunday, striking out six and earning a win over the Mets.

Alcantara fired seven shutout frames before the Mets finally put a run on the board in the seventh inning. He's completed seven innings in three straight outings and has produced four consecutive quality starts. Alcantara produced a season-high 17 swinging strikes -- including seven each with his fastball and changup -- on 104 total pitches. He's registered a 1.67 ERA with a 29:5 K:BB over his last four outings, dropping his season ERA to 5.66 through 148 innings. Alcantara is lined up to face the Phillies at home next weekend.

Gilbert went 3-for-5 with a triple, a double, three RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 13-2 win over the Orioles.

Gilbert supplied a two-run triple in the fourth inning and added an RBI double in the eighth. He remains in a part-time role, but he has logged three multi-hit efforts over his last 13 games. On the season, the rookie outfielder is hitting .190 with one home run, seven RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base across 42 plate appearances. He's also struck out 10 times and has yet to draw a walk. Gilbert figures to continue functioning as a fourth outfielder unless injuries open up more playing time.

Ramos went 3-for-5 with one walk, one RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 13-2 win over the Orioles.

Ramos has logged three multi-hit efforts over his last five games, putting together a strong finish to August after a rough patch in the middle of the month. He didn't add much power this month -- just five of his 29 hits went for extra bases (two home runs, three doubles), and he batted .271 over 26 games. On the season, Ramos is at a .268/.341/.408 slash line with 16 homers, 58 RBI, 70 runs scored and six stolen bases over 133 contests.

Lord (4-8) yielded seven runs on five hits and two walks over three innings Sunday, striking out three and taking a loss against the Rays.

The Rays jumped on Lord early with a huge six-run second inning, capped off by Brandon Lowe's grand slam. Lord gave up another run in the third and ended his afternoon with 62 pitches (36 strikes). Since rejoining the Nationals' rotation in late July, he had thrown at least four innings in all seven starts before Sunday's ugly outing. Lord posted a 4.54 ERA during that seven-start span. He now owns a 4.34 ERA with an 85:35 K:BB through 103.2 innings this season. Lord is projected for a road start against the Cubs next weekend.