MLB Player News

Littell is listed as the Reds' probable starting pitcher for Tuesday's game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

After making his final start for the Rays this past Wednesday before being dealt to the Reds later that evening, Littell will be taking the hill on five days' rest for his Cincinnati debut. Right-hander Hunter Greene (groin) has already completed two rehab starts and could be activated from the injured list in the next week or two, but his return is unlikely to dislodge Littell from the rotation, given how well he had been pitching for the Rays this season. Over his 22 starts with Tampa Bay, Littell spun a 3.58 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 133.1 innings, though he had served up a MLB-high 26 home runs.

Soroka is slated to start Monday's game against the Reds at Wrigley Field.

After coming over from Washington in a deadline deal, Soroka will claim a spot in the back end of the Cubs rotation in place of right-hander Ben Brown, who appears to have been moved to the bullpen. Over his 16 starts with the Nationals this season, Soroka sported a 4.87 ERA, but his 1.13 WHIP, career-best 18.4 K-BB% and 4.05 xFIP all suggest that he pitched better than his ERA indicated.

Kelly went 2-for-3 with a run scored in Friday's 1-0 win over the Orioles.

Kelly had half of Chicago's hits and scored the team's lone run in the low-scoring affair. The veteran catcher had a productive July, slashing .290/.370/.581 with four home runs and 10 RBI in 18 games, and he's off to a good start in August. Kelly is locked in as the Cubs' top backstop, though the eventual return of Miguel Amaya (oblique) could cut into his playing time a little bit.

Kittredge tossed a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts to earn a hold in Friday's 1-0 win over the Orioles.

Kittredge was traded from the Orioles to the Cubs on Wednesday, and he was sharp in his Chicago debut facing his former team. The righty now has eight holds this season to go along with a strong 3.34 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 34 strikeouts across 32.1 innings. Kittredge won't be closing games for the Cubs, as Daniel Palencia has emerged in that role, but the former will slot in as a valuable setup man along with Caleb Thielbar, Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz and Taylor Rogers in a revamped Chicago bullpen.

Whisenhunt is slated to start Sunday's game against the Mets at Citi Field.

Whisenhunt will remain in the rotation for at least one more turn after he had a so-so showing in his MLB debut against the Pirates on Monday, when he took a no-decision after giving up four earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three over five innings. Landen Roupp (elbow) could be on track to return from the injured list by the end of next week, but the Giants will still have one rotation spot left over for either Whisenhunt or right-hander Kai-Wei Teng, who will be making his first MLB start Saturday. How Whisenhunt and Teng both fare this weekend may be a deciding factor in which of the two sticks around in the big-league rotation on a longer-term basis.

Giants manager Bob Melvin said that Teng will start Saturday's game against the Mets at Citi Field, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Teng made four appearances out of the San Francisco bullpen in the opening month of the 2024 season, but he had pitched exclusively in the minors ever since then before the Giants called him up from Triple-A Sacramento on Friday. The right-hander had been limited to 1.2 innings in his most recent outing with Sacramento on July 25, but that was largely because the Giants wanted to keep him fresh for a potential start with the big club last week that ended up falling to Carson Whisenhunt. The Giants still had another opening in the rotation with Landen Roupp (elbow) recently landing on the injured list, so Teng will be needed for at least one start. Over 25 appearances (four starts) with Sacramento on the season, the 26-year-old righty owns a 3.67 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 86:21 K:BB in 54 innings.

Atlanta added Ornelas to its active roster Saturday.

Atlanta will be allowed to carry an extra player on its roster for the Speedway Classic in Bristol on Saturday, and the team will take the opportunity to add extra depth to its bench. Ornelas owns a .617 OPS in Triple-A this season and is 0-for-5 in the majors, making him likely to head back to Triple-A Gwinnett following Saturday's contest.

Kershaw (5-2) tallied the win Friday against the Rays, allowing five hits and no walks in six shutout innings. He struck out three.

Friday marked just the fourth quality start of the year for Kershaw, who scattered five singles. The 37-year-old left-hander has now pitched at least five innings in seven of his last nine outings, though he's recorded more than five punchouts on just one occasion through 13 appearances this season. Kershaw owns a serviceable 3.29 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 42:18 K:BB across 65.2 frames, and he'll try to build on Friday's success in a tough matchup versus the first-pace Blue Jays at home next week.

Junk took a no-decision in Friday's 13-12 win over the Yankees, allowing six runs on six hits and one walk in five innings. He struck out four.

After throwing three spotless innings to begin the night, Junk was tagged for six runs over his final two frames. The six runs allowed also set a season high for the 29-year-old right-hander, who at least managed to toss at least five innings for a sixth consecutive start. Junk still owns a decent 3.86 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 48:6 K:BB over 65.1 frames, but his streaming appeal could be limited his next time, when he's projected to take on the first-pace Astros in Miami next week.

Fernandez went 1-for-1 with a two-run home run during Friday's 17-16 win over the Pirates.

With the Rockies down by six in the bottom of the eighth, Fernandez jumpstarted the final wave of the Colorado comeback with a two-run home run off the bench, his first as a big leaguer. Since being called up from Triple-A Albuquerque in early July, the 22-year-old has seen relatively irregular playing time and has been limited to a .224/.240/.327 slash line over 50 plate appearances.