MLB Player News

Ponce de Leon (shoulder) will start a rehab assignment and throw an inning for Triple-A Memphis on Thursday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

A right shoulder injury has sidelined Ponce de Leon since June 23, at which point he had pitched to a 7.03 ERA in 24.1 innings. It's unclear how many appearances he'll make before being activated, but the Cardinals' desperate need for starting pitching suggests they'll stretch the 29-year-old out a bit to make him a viable option for the rotation.

Merryweather (oblique) doesn't yet have a timetable to return to mound work, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Merryweather had a minor setback in his recovery in early July, but he's still been able to play catch recently. A better timetable for the right-hander's return could be revealed once he resumes mound work, but it appears as though he could be sidelined until at least mid-August.

Garza was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Garza served as a bulk reliever Wednesday and allowed a run on four hits and no walks while striking out one in 3.1 innings. He'll now return to the minors after first baseman Yu Chang was recalled in a corresponding move.

The Dodgers designated Reed for assignment Wednesday.

Los Angeles will swap Reed off its 40-man roster for outfielder Billy McKinney, whom the Dodgers acquired via trade from the Mets. Reed worked 5.1 innings and gave up two earned runs over his six appearances for the Dodgers before being optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City two days ago.

Howard will start Wednesday against the Yankees in what's expected to be a bullpen game for the Phillies, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Howard, who was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley earlier in the day, will be pitching on three days' rest after he covered three innings in his most recent start in the minors. Since he only tossed 51 pitches in that outing, Howard should be able to give the Phillies three or four innings if he's efficient Wednesday, but he'll still face an uphill battle to qualify for a win. Cristopher Sanchez is a candidate to cover multiple innings after Howard exits.

Loaisiga (illness) threw on flat ground Tuesday and will possibly be activated over the weekend, Max Goodman of SI.com reports.

The right-hander was placed on the COVID-19 injured list July 10 and didn't clear health and safety protocols until Sunday. He's expected to throw a bullpen Wednesday and will need a second bullpen or live throwing session before potentially returning this weekend for the Yankees' series at Boston. Loaisiga has been one of the team's most valuable bullpen pieces this season, registering a 2.11 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 46:10 K:BB across 47 innings. He has picked up seven wins, 10 holds and two saves.

The Diamondbacks designated Young for assignment Wednesday.

Arizona booted Young from its 40-man roster to make room for reliever Ty Tice, who was claimed off waivers from Atlanta. Young turned in some decent numbers over 15 starts with the Diamondbacks as a rookie in 2019, but he's been ineffective while working out of the rotation or in relief across the past two seasons. Dating back to the start of the 2020 season, Young has posted a 5.83 ERA and 1.53 WHIP over 88 innings.

Bukauskas was optioned to Triple-A Reno on Wednesday.

Bukauskas earned his second win of the season Tuesday by striking out two in a perfect inning against the Pirates, but he'll now head back to the minors after strong performances in each of his last two innings. Although the right-hander has a 7.98 ERA and 1.84 WHIP in 14.2 innings across 18 appearances in the big leagues this year, he could rejoin Arizona's bullpen at some point if he performs well at Triple-A Reno.

Moll has fired two scoreless innings over his first two appearances with the Athletics since being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas on July 3.

The 29-year-old has given up one hit and two walks over that span without recording any strikeouts, but Moll's second big-league stint has certainly started better than his initial one with Oakland back in 2017, when he pitched to a 10.80 ERA and 2.40 WHIP across 6.2 innings. Moll is likely to remain in low-leverage scenarios for the time being.

Howard (oblique) recently resumed playing catch, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Howard has been on the 10-day injured list for just over a week due to a right oblique strain. A better timetable for the southpaw's return could be revealed once he's able to resume mound work, but it appears as though he could spend more than the minimum of 10 days on the IL.