MLB Player News

Collins was designated for assignment following Wednesday's win over the White Sox, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Collins pitched fairly well since being called up last week with one run allowed over three innings, but he gets bumped off the 40-man roster with Adbert Alzolay making his way to the majors. Collins is likely to return to Triple-A Iowa if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

Voth was optioned to Triple-A Fresno following Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Phillies, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Voth was called up as the 26th man for the twin bill and was in play to potentially serve as a spot starter, but he ended up not appearing in either contest. The 26-year-old returns to Fresno, where he has a 4.40 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 68:15 K:BB over 61.1 innings.

Alzolay will be called up from Triple-A Iowa by the Cubs on Thursday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Alzolay won't be starting Thursday's game -- Tyler Chatwood will take the mound -- but he could make his major-league debut in long relief with Chatwood not fully stretched out as a starter, per Rogers. The 24-year-old has a 3.09 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and impressive 46:6 K:BB through 32 innings at Iowa this season.

Strahm didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 8-7 win over the Brewers, allowing four runs on five hits and a walk over five innings while striking out two.

The southpaw didn't have his best stuff, managing only six swinging strikes among his 82 pitches (55 total strikes) and getting taken deep by Ryan Braun and Christian Yelich. Strahm will carry a 4.85 ERA and 62:16 K:BB through 68.2 innings into his next start Tuesday in Baltimore.

Kimbrel will pitch Friday with Triple-A Iowa, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Kimbrel struck out one across a scoreless inning during his first appearance with Triple-A Iowa earlier in the week. The reliever will likely make a couple more appearances with the minor-league club before joining the big-league roster.

Quijada was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans on Wednesday, Andre Fernandez of The Athletic reports.

Quijada will take the roster spot of Pablo Lopez (shoulder), who was placed on the injured list Wednesday. The 23-year-old southpaw has compiled a 2.25 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and 4:5 K:BB in four innings (four appearances) for the Marlins this season.

Maurer, who has been sidelined since late April after undergoing knee surgery, made a rehab appearance for short-season West Virginia on Tuesday. He struck out a batter as part of a perfect nine-pitch frame.

Maurer was assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis at the conclusion of spring training after failing to crack the Pirates' Opening Day roster. The historically brittle reliever only made six appearances for Indianapolis before succumbing to another setback on the health front, but he looks to be on the mend now. Expect him to make another appearance or two with the Pirates' lower-level affiliates before reporting back to Indianapolis.

Manager Gabe Kapler ruled out Medina as a candidate to join the big-league rotation when a fifth starter is required again Saturday versus the Marlins, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

With Jerad Eickhoff's homer-prone ways resulting in him losing his rotation spot before he was moved to the injured list Monday with biceps tendinitis, the Phillies are short on appealing alternatives. Though he's regarded as the Phillies' top pitching prospect in the upper rungs of the minors, Medina apparently isn't viewed as a potential solution at the big-league level just yet. Even if his MLB debut isn't imminent, Medina could at least make the jump to Triple-A Lehigh Valley in the near future after going 6-0 with a 1.03 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over his last six starts with Double-A Reading.

The Phillies list Pivetta as their probable starter for Thursday's series finale against the Nationals.

Initially lined up to start Wednesday, Pivetta was bumped back a day in the schedule on account of postponements Monday and Tuesday. Though Aaron Nola would have been available to face Washington on Thursday on his normal four days' rest, his recent struggles might have prompted manager Gabe Kapler to keep Pivetta ahead of the ace in the pitching order. Pivetta has been mostly stellar in his four starts since returning from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, posting a 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 27:4 K:BB in 26.2 innings.

Iglesias once again pitched in the eighth inning Tuesday, giving way to Michael Lorenzen for the save chance in the ninth, but manager David Bell said afterward that there has been no role change at the back of the bullpen, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

The skipper has made it clear that he will use Iglesias in the highest-leverage spot, regardless of inning, and for the second consecutive day, there was an urgency to get outs in the eighth. "If [Yuli] Gurriel came up in that inning, that's where the game was going to be. We wanted Iggy. That was the game. So he pitched," Bell said. Iglesias currently has a career-worst 1.39 WHIP through 31 innings -- his previous career high was 1.14 -- but he's improved his strikeout and home-run rates from last year and in turn has shaved his FIP down to 3.49 (from 4.23).