MLB Player News

Nelson will undergo a checkup on his surgically-repaired shoulder during a visit with Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Thursday, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

No setbacks have been reported during Nelson's recovery, so this does not appear to be anything more than a means of determining exactly where he stands via the doctor who performed Nelson's surgery last fall. Nelson has been throwing from 150 feet for a couple weeks, and it's possible he could be cleared to increase the intensity of his workouts if no issues are discovered Thursday.

Brebbia was called up from Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.

Brebbia continues to travel back and forth between St. Louis and Memphis, and will be back in the major-league bullpen for Wednesday's game against Minnesota. In six appearances with the Cardinals in 2018, he's logged a 2.70 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 10 innings of relief.

Blach gave up three runs (one earned) on five hits in a no-decision against the Reds on Tuesday, recording one strikeout and one walk in four innings.

Blach pitched well Tuesday, but got tagged for two runs following an error and was later lifted for a pinch hitter with the bases loaded. It was a nice bounce-back effort from his previous start, but still was his shortest outing on the season. Blach was only at 62 pitches when he was lifted in the fourth. The lefty has four quality starts this year and will face off against the Rockies at home in his next start.

Boxberger locked down his 12th save Tuesday, striking out two in a scoreless inning against the Brewers.

A runner reached with one out via an error, but Boxberger quickly retired the next two batters to lock down the save in his first attempt since taking his first blown save of the season last week. Outside of that one slip up, the 29-year-old has been very reliable. He's now got 24 strikeouts in 18 innings to go along with the 12 saves and a 2.00 ERA.

Hand earned his 12th save of the season in Tuesday's 4-0 win over the Rockies, allowing zero hits and one walk while recording two strikeouts across 1.1 innings.

Hand entered the game in the eighth inning with the tying run on-deck, allowing him to earn the save with the four-run lead. The 28-year-old now has a 2.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP and is 12-for-14 in save opportunities this season.

Edwards (2-0) picked up the win Tuesday against the Braves despite allowing a run in his inning of work.

Edwards has been shaky his last two outings, as he's now allowed four earned runs in 1.2 innings. He's also allowed home runs in consecutive games, which are his first two bombs allowed this season. Despite the recent struggles, Edwards still has a strong 2.41 ERA to go along with 32 strikeouts in 18.2 innings this year.

Pivetta will start Wednesday's game against the Orioles, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Pivetta was scheduled to start Tuesday's game, but the contest was ultimately postponed due to rain with a makeup date set for July 12. The Phillies will bump back each of their starters by one day, setting Pivetta up to start Wednesday's series finale if the weather permits. The forecast currently calls for more rain in Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon.

Pivetta was not able to make his scheduled start Tuesday against the Orioles as the game was postponed due to rain.

The teams will play a makeup game on July 12. Manager Gabe Kapler has not yet announced his plans for the starting rotation order following Tuesday's rainout.

Melancon (elbow) is scheduled to face hitters Thursday and could begin a minor-league rehab assignment Sunday or Monday, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Melancon has yet to pitch this season as he continues to rehab his injured throwing elbow. He tossed his first bullpen session 10 days ago and has advanced well enough to potentially begin a rehab assignment in the next week. He's eligible to return from the DL as soon as May 25, but an early June return may be a more realistic target, as the veteran reliever will likely require multiple rehab appearances before being activated.

Kontos will no longer be the Pirates' setup man, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic Pittsburgh reports.

Kontos was not putting up numbers suitable for a setup role, recording a 4.58 ERA through 17.2 innings and striking out just 8.9 percent of batters. The Pirates will use a setup by committee approach for now, meaning Kontos is no longer a likely choice to pick up save opportunities should closer Felipe Vazquez suffer an injury.