MLB Player News

Cabrera (hamstring) is slated to make the second start of his rehab assignment Wednesday with Triple-A Iowa, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Cabrera kicked off his rehab assignment at Iowa last Friday, tossing 43 pitches and striking out three over 1.2 innings while surrendering three earned runs on two hits and two walks. The right-hander, who has been shelved since June 24 due to a left hamstring strain, is expected to need around three total rehab starts before he'll be viewed as a viable option for the Chicago rotation. With the Cubs shoring up their rotation with the trade-deadline additions of Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes (fibula), Cabrera may need to show improvement in his next two rehab outings to ensure he'll have a starting role waiting for him once he returns from the injured list. Cabrera had struggled over his first 14 starts of the season with Chicago, serving up 14 home runs in 72.1 innings while pitching to a 5.10 ERA and 1.40 WHIP.

Pivetta (forearm) exited Tuesday's rehab start with Single-A Lake Elsinore due to elbow tightness, but he threw in the bullpen after leaving the outing and felt fine, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Pivetta abruptly left the mound in the middle of an at-bat in the fourth inning. Despite that departure, Pivetta went to the bullpen and threw 30 more pitches without issue, according to Nightengale. It sounds like the right-hander has avoided a significant setback in his return from a forearm strain, but the Padres could take another look at Pivetta's arm before he makes his next rehab start.

The Cubs designated Little for assignment Monday.

Little ended up being an odd man out for a spot on the 40-man roster after the Cubs brought Braxton Garrett, Tyrone Taylor, Clay Holmes (fibula) and Ryan Zeferjahn aboard in trades Monday. The 25-year-old lefty was up in the big leagues with the Cubs for a week in April but has otherwise spent the entire season in the minors, logging a 5.03 ERA and 1.68 WHIP in 39.1 innings between Triple-A Iowa and Double-A Knoxville.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday that Rea will have his turn in the rotation skipped this week, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Rea had been a model of consistency of late for the Cubs, covering between five and six innings in each of his last eight starts while submitting a 3.30 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 34:13 K:BB in 43.2 innings. Despite his solid numbers, Rea will at least temporarily find himself as the odd man out of the rotation while the Cubs clear room for Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes (fibula), both of whom were acquired leading up to Monday's trade deadline. Even if the Cubs elect to expand the rotation to six on a more permanent basis, Rea could still face competition for a spot from Javier Assad, who will start Tuesday's game versus the Dodgers. Edward Cabrera (hamstring) is also in the midst of a rehab assignment and could factor into the Cubs' rotation plans once he's activated from the 15-day injured list.

Manager Craig Counsell said that Gausman is in line to make his first start with the Cubs this weekend in Kansas City, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Cubs will at least temporarily move Colin Rea to the bullpen to clear room in the rotation for Gausman and Clay Holmes (fibula), who were both acquired within the final two days leading up to Monday's trade deadline. Based on the Cubs' current alignment, Gausman appears likely to start Friday's series opener, while Holmes is expected to get the ball Saturday. Gausman went 5-10 and pitched to a 4.38 ERA and 1.29 WHIP over 127.1 innings in 23 starts with Toronto this season, but most of his underlying metrics (3.85 SIERA, 3.95 xERA, 3.51 FIP) paint a rosier picture of his performance.

Manager Craig Counsell said that Holmes (fibula) is expected to be activated from the 60-day injured list to make his Cubs debut with a start this weekend in Kansas City, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Before the Mets traded him Monday, Holmes hadn't made an appearance at the big-league level since May 15, but the Cubs are confident that the right-hander is fully recovered from a fractured right fibula and sufficiently stretched out after completing a three-start minor-league rehab assignment. During his final rehab appearance this past Sunday at High-A Brooklyn, Holmes tossed 5.1 innings and 73 pitches, so he's not expected to have a major workload restriction as he slots into the Chicago rotation. For at least this week, the Cubs will skip Colin Rea's turn in the rotation to open up starting roles for Holmes and fellow trade-deadline pickup Kevin Gausman. Holmes posted a 2.39 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 45:18 K:BB over 52.2 innings in his nine starts with the Mets prior to landing on the IL.

The Cubs transferred Brown (neck) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.

The transaction removes Brown from the 40-man roster and clears a spot for one of the five players the Cubs acquired in the two days leading up to Monday's trade deadline. Brown was placed on the shelf June 24 due to a stress reaction in his neck and isn't projected to complete his rehab program until late August or early September, so the move to the 60-day IL shouldn't alter his timeline for a return. Per MLB.com, Brown rejoined the Cubs on Friday after conducting his rehab at the organization's facility in Arizona over the previous week, and he's currently pain-free and has commenced throwing daily. Brown opened the season in a relief role but had thrived after moving into the rotation in early May, turning in a 1.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 41:11 K:BB in 42.1 innings in eight starts before landing on the IL. The Chicago rotation is much more crowded following the deadline, so Brown may be ticketed for the bullpen upon his return from the IL, despite his prior success as a starter.

The Padres optioned Duran to Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday.

Though he initially stuck around as a third catcher behind Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermin after Fermin returned from the injured list coming out of the All-Star break, Duran will be moved off the active roster with the Padres needing to clear a spot for one of their trade-deadline additions. Across 91 plate appearances with the big club this season, Duran has slashed .146/.222/.305 with three home runs, eight RBI and eight runs.

The Padres optioned Sears to Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday.

Sears will end up losing his spot on the 26-man active roster after the Padres needed to clear room for right-hander Casey Mize, who was acquired from the Tigers on Monday. After being called up from Triple-A on June 23, Sears had started or worked in bulk relief in his first seven appearances for San Diego, logging a 4.26 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 25:10 K:BB in 31.2 innings. The 30-year-old lefty had shifted to a more traditional relief role by the end of the past week, as he gave up two runs in a one-inning appearance in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants.

Happ isn't in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Dodgers,

Manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday that Happ will see significantly less action against left-handers going forward, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com, as Happ has posted just a .530 OPS in 125 plate appearances while hitting right-handed this season. Southpaw Tarik Skubal will be making his Dodgers debut Tuesday, so Happ will retreat to the bench while Tyrone Taylor starts in left field in what will be his Cubs debut.