MLB Player News

Cleavinger (oblique) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday, per Eric Stephen of SBNation.com.

Cleavinger is currently on the 60-day IL, so he isn't eligible to return to the big club this season. That said, he is clearly progressing from his oblique injury given his ability to pitch in minor-league games. In two rehab outings, he has given up two runs (one earned) while striking out four batters over 1.2 innings.

Hernandez (1-3) took the loss Wednesday against Washington, yielding four runs on seven hits and two walks over four innings. He had seven strikeouts.

The long ball was a problem for Hernandez, who was taken deep by Yadiel Hernandez, Juan Soto and Luis Garcia and trailed 4-0 after throwing his 78th and final pitch in the fourth inning. Since joining the rotation in mid-August, Hernandez has logged a 4.72 ERA and 34:13 K:BB over 34.1 innings in his seven starts. He's slated for a road matchup with the Mets in his next scheduled start.

Rainey tossed a perfect two-thirds of an inning to earn the save in Wednesday's win over the Marlins.

The Marlins put three runs on the board off Washington reliever Ryne Harper to cut the Nationals' lead to 7-5 with one out in the ninth inning. Rainey was called upon to put out the fire, and he quickly induced groundouts from Miguel Rojas and Jazz Chisholm to secure his second save of the year. It's been a lost season for Rainey, who owns a 6.91 ERA in 35 appearances, but he has managed to provide three straight scoreless outings since returning from Triple-A Rochester.

Jackson was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Jackson was promoted from Triple-A last week and has delivered a scoreless outing in 10 of his past 11 appearances. Overall he has a 3.74 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 28:12 K:BB in 21.2 innings this season and remains a strong candidate to rejoin the big-league club.

Ponce de Leon cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.

Ponce de Leon was designated for assignment Monday, but he'll remain in the organization after he went unclaimed on waivers. The right-hander posted a career-worst 6.21 ERA in 33.1 innings with the major-league club this year but has tossed nine scoreless innings across five starts in Memphis this year.

Lambert (elbow) will start Friday's game at home against the Giants, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Lambert's rehab shifted to Triple-A Albuquerque last week, and he'll be activated from the 60-day injured list Friday to make his first major-league start since 2019 in the Rockies' opener against the Giants. The right-hander made seven appearances during his rehab assignment and posted a 3.94 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 16 innings.

The Cardinals announced Wednesday that Hicks (elbow) will be one of the players the organization sends to the Arizona Fall League, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

After sitting out the entire 2020 campaign following his July 2019 Tommy John procedure, Hicks was expected to hold down a key role in the St. Louis bullpen in 2021. However, he made just 10 appearances before being shut down in May with right elbow inflammation, and his slow recovery from the injury has prompted the Cardinals to keep him on the shelf for the remainder of the season. Hicks has at least resumed throwing since being shut down in May, and he looks like he'll be ready to prove his health by the time the AFL begins. With a strong showing in Arizona, Hicks should put himself in position to open 2022 with the big club.

Jansen (3-4) picked up the win against the Rockies on Tuesday, pitching a scoreless ninth inning during which he walked two and struck out one.

It wasn't the most efficient of outings for Jansen -- he threw only nine of 20 pitches for strikes and put the winning run in scoring position with a pair of free passes -- but the right-hander was able to keep Colorado off the scoreboard. He earned the victory as a result of Los Angeles tallying one run in the top of the 10th. The veteran closer has notched two wins and 12 saves since the start of August, posting a 1.54 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 29:8 K:BB across 23.1 innings over that stretch.

Moreta's contract was selected from Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday.

Moreta has been dominant in Louisville this season, and he began serving as the team's closer in August. The right-hander posted a 0.68 ERA and 0.65 WHIP in 26.1 innings across 24 relief appearances at the Triple-A level this year and will now be available to make his major-league debut.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Wilson (hamstring) will face a 2-to-4-week recovery timeline, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Though Wilson looks like he'll be in store for a relatively normal offseason once he's cleared to resume full activities in October, he won't pitch again for the Pirates in 2022. After coming over in a deadline deal with Atlanta, Wilson made eight starts for Pittsburgh, posting a 4.91 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 23:10 K:BB in 40.1 innings. The 23-year-old righty should have an inside track to a back-end spot in the Pirates' 2022 Opening Day rotation.