MLB Player News

Ponce de Leon (shoulder) is scheduled to make the fourth appearance of his rehab assignment Tuesday with Double-A Springfield.

Ponce de Leon is expected to follow starter Miles Mikolas (forearm), who is expected to cover around five innings or 70 pitches in his third rehab start. With both Mikolas and Jack Flaherty (oblique) on the comeback trail from injuries and with the Cardinals acquiring two starters (Jon Lester and J.A. Happ) at the trade deadline, Ponce de Leon likely won't be under consideration for a spot in the St. Louis rotation once activated from the 10-day injured list. The Cardinals are seemingly preparing for Ponce de Leon to serve as a long-relief option when he returns, as the right-hander worked three innings in his third rehab outing last Wednesday.

Finnegan (4-2) earned the win in relief Sunday against the Cubs after pitching a scoreless inning.

Finnegan tossed a scoreless frame in the top of the ninth and only needed 15 pitches to get the job done, extending his streak of scoreless appearances to eight in a row. The right-hander, who's expected to work as the Nationals' primary closer following the departures of Brad Hand and Daniel Hudson, has been pitching well over the last few weeks and owns a 1.42 ERA across 12 appearances (12.2 innings) since the beginning of July.

Rodriguez (0-1) took the loss in relief Sunday against the Nationals after allowing one run on one hit.

Rodriguez entered the game in the bottom of the ninth inning with a 5-5 tie but only lasted one batter, as Yadiel Hernandez greeted him with a blast to left center field that gave the Nationals a walkoff win. This was Rodriguez's second appearance of the season after being called up in late July following the trade deadline, and there's not a lot of clarity regarding his role going forward considering all the trades the Cubs made over the last few days.

The Brewers acquired Axford from the Blue Jays on Monday in exchange for cash considerations.

Per Will Sammon of The Athletic, Axford will be active for Milwaukee's series opener against Pittsburgh on Monday, so the Brewers will clear room on the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster for the 38-year-old reliever. Axford -- who hasn't appeared in the big leagues since 2018 -- enjoyed the best years of his career in Milwaukee, most notably setting the franchise single-season record for saves (46) in 2011. After linking up with the Blue Jays on a minor-league deal in late June, Axford proved he still had something left in the tank, as he posted a 0.84 ERA, 0.49 WHIP and 14:3 K:BB across 10.2 innings at Triple-A Buffalo. He'll provide aid to a Brewers bullpen that recently lost three members to the COVID-19 injured list.

Frias pitched a seven-inning no-hitter for Double-A Amarillo on Sunday. He walked one batter and struck out six.

Frias faced one batter over the minimum in the first game of a doubleheader for the Sod Poodles, setting down the first 16 batters before issuing the lone walk. The 23-year-old right-hander with the big fastball has a 5.27 ERA (3.90 FIP) over 14 games for the Soddies.

Knehr allowed one earned run on two hits while striking out two across three innings in the win over the Rockies on Sunday. He did not factor into the decision.

Knehr replaced Chris Paddack (oblique) in the starting rotation, making his second start of the season Sunday. Although he only made it through three innings, his only blemish came on a second-inning solo home run by Sam Hilliard. It was his third appearance; however, his 1.2 innings and three runs against Atlanta on July 21 aren't official yet as the game was rained out and has yet to be completed. The 24-year-old has allowed runs in each of his appearances and will likely continue to serve as a temporary option until Paddack returns.

Alzolay allowed four runs across five innings and did not factor into the decision Sunday against the Nationals. He gave up seven hits and four walks while striking out four.

Alzolay managed to avoid his 12th loss of the season but continued a run of mediocre starts, as he hasn't earned a win since June 2. Over his last nine outings, he has a 1.51 WHIP and has allowed either three or four earned runs eight times. The 26-year-old isn't getting shelled but hasn't dominated hitters in a while, either. Alzolay will carry a 4.85 ERA into his next scheduled start Saturday against the crosstown White Sox.

Kelly (hamstring) appeared in relief in Friday's 6-5 loss and Saturday's 8-3 win against the Diamondbacks, tossing perfect innings in both outings.

Before he was summoned out of the bullpen Friday, Kelly had been out of action since July 30 while recovering from a minor hamstring injury. He's seemingly come out of both appearances without any setbacks, so he should be an integral part of the bridge to closer Kenley Jansen moving forward.

Bednar allowed one run on three hits and no walks in one inning during Saturday's win over the Phillies.

Bednar hadn't allowed any runs in July prior to Saturday's appearance, but he gave up Pittsburgh's one-run lead in the eighth inning against the Phillies. Per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the right-hander profiles as the Pirates' closer after Richard Rodriguez was traded to Atlanta on Friday. However, Chris Stratton earned the win Saturday by tossing a scoreless ninth inning, and manager Derek Shelton said before Saturday's game that the Pirates will use a closer-by-committee approach, Jake Crouse of MLB.com reports.

Hader struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning Sunday, earning a save over Atlanta.

Since earning his last save on July 8, Hader had been tagged with five runs across just 3.2 innings. He bounced back Sunday, needing just 11 pitches to secure the save over Atlanta. The 27-year-old southpaw is now 22-for-23 in save chances with a 1.83 ERA on the year.