MLB Player News

Morejon (shoulder) was evaluated by doctors Wednesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Morejon landed on the minor-league injured list earlier in the week after experiencing tightness in his back and shoulder, though the injury isn't thought to be anything overly serious. Depending on how the young lefty feels in the coming days, he could be cleared to resume throwing over the weekend.

Jackson has turned in 10 consecutive scoreless appearances out of the Atlanta bullpen while posting a 15:4 K:BB across 10.1 innings.

Jackson served up a grand slam to Rhys Hoskins on Opening Day, but he's been lights-out ever since to slowly work his way up the bullpen pecking order. With several Atlanta relievers either injured or not performing up to expectations early on this season, Jackson was included as part of the bridge to closer A.J. Minter in Tuesday's 3-1 win, notching his second hold in the process. He may now rank as one of manager Brian Snitker's top options for saves on days when Minter isn't available.

Rolison threw six scoreless innings in his debut for High-A Lancaster, allowing two hits and zero walks while striking out seven.

Rolison allowed just one earned run while striking out 14 through three starts (14.2 innings) with Low-A Asheville to start the season, leading to a quick promotion to the California League. He doesn't have electric stuff, but he has an advanced repertoire and excellent command. His numbers will likely suffer from pitching half his games in the extremely hitter-friendly ballpark in Lancaster.

Edwards (hand) threw a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts in Triple-A Iowa's win over Nashville on Wednesday.

Making his return from the 7-day injured list, Edwards turned in probably his best outing at any level this season, retiring the side with two punchouts on 15 pitches (nine strikes). The Cubs decided to hit the reset button with Edwards after the right-hander walked five in his first 1.2 big-league innings of 2019. Once he's shown more consistency with his command and control, Edwards should be back up, but it will likely be a while before he sniffs the late innings again.

The Cubs optioned Collins to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

Collins was deemed expendable from the active roster with the Cubs requiring a spot for Jon Lester (hamstring), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start versus the Dodgers. During his two-week stint with the big club, Collins appeared in four games, working 3.1 innings and giving up one run on five hits and two walks.

Minter struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his third save of the season in a 3-1 win over the Reds.

The southpaw has had a couple of rough appearances this season, leading to a 5.87 ERA through 7.2 innings, but Minter's 9:4 K:BB is solid and he's 3-for-3 in converting save chances. With Arodys Vizcaino (shoulder) done for the year, Minter will have a long leash in the closer role for Atlanta.

Strop walked one while striking out one through a scoreless inning to record his third save in a 7-6 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Strop immediately walked the first batter he faced but recovered to face the minimum after forcing a double play to nail down the save. The 33-year-old returned to form after blowing his last save opportunity. Strop has three saves with a 3.52 ERA through nine appearances this season.

Pomeranz (1-2) allowed two hits and two walks while striking out five across six shutout innings to earn the win Wednesday against the Blue Jays.

Pomeranz didn't allow a baserunner until the fifth inning when he surrendered a walk and single to consecutive batters. However, he escaped the jam before repeating the same pattern again in the sixth inning. While he didn't rack up strikeouts at the same volume he had in previous outings, Pomeranz illustrated the ability to work efficiently by requiring only 87 pitchers to retire 18 batters. It was his longest outing of the season, and he'll look to build on that in his next start, likely to come Tuesday against the Dodgers.

Hicks earned the save by striking out the lone batter he faced in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Brewers.

It wasn't a typical one-out save for Hicks as he had to face reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich with the bases loaded, but Hicks managed to strike him out on five pitches. The 22-year-old is 7-for-8 in save opportunities and has a 2.61 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 13:5 K:BB through 10.1 innings.

Yates got the save against the Mariners on Wednesday, working around one hit to throw a scoreless ninth inning and close out San Diego's 1-0 victory. He didn't record a walk or a strikeout.

Yates continues to rack up saves at a torrid clip, as this was his 12th straight successfully converted opportunity to start the season. He allowed a bloop single to Daniel Vogelbach in this contest, but was able to get Domingo Santana to ground into a game-ending double play to protect the one-run lead. He's been the best closer in baseball at the outset of 2019; this latest easy effort gives him a 0.64 ERA and 0.86 WHIP to go along with a stellar 20:3 K:BB through 14 innings.