MLB Player News

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Monday that Flexen could enter the rotation in place of the injured Shota Imanaga (hamstring), Tony Andracki of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Counsell also mentioned prospect Cade Horton as a possibility, but Flexen, unlike Horton, is already on the 26-man and 40-man rosters, giving him a potential edge. After changing his arm slot, Flexen posted a 1.16 ERA and 21:8 K:BB over 23.1 frames with Triple-A Iowa and then tossed three scoreless frames this past Friday out of the bullpen against the Brewers. Imanaga's next turn comes up this weekend in New York versus the Mets.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said that Law (forearm) threw again from 60 feet on flat ground Monday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Law finally appears to be trending in the right direction after battling a right forearm issue that's bothered him since late last season. He'll need to go out on a rehab assignment before being activated from the 15-day injured list and it's unclear when he might be ready for that.

Kittredge (knee) started a minor-league rehab assignment with High-A Aberdeen on Sunday, allowing one run on two hits and no walks with two strikeouts in one inning, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Kittredge threw 14 pitches, and he wasn't sharp in his first rehab appearance. Left knee surgery limited the veteran right-hander to a lone outing during spring training, but he's now tracking toward making his season debut for the Orioles at some point in late May following several outings in the minors. Once he's reinstated from the injured list, Kittredge figures to be eased in as a middle reliever initially before eventually working alongside Yennier Cano and Seranthony Dominguez as one of Baltimore's right-handed setup men behind closer Felix Bautista.

The Cubs recalled Hollowell from Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Chicago placed ace Shota Imanaga (hamstring) on the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move, but Hollowell won't be a candidate to replace him in the rotation and will instead slot into a low-leverage role in the bullpen. Hollowell made one relief appearance for Chicago earlier this season, tossing two scoreless frames April 22 against the Dodgers.

Casparius is in line to serve as the bulk reliever for the Dodgers on Monday in Miami behind opening pitcher Jack Dreyer, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Casparius hasn't pitched in more than a week, having struck out five over 3.2 scoreless innings on April 27 against the Pirates. He threw a season-high 54 pitches in that outing but has been used primarily as a starter throughout his minor-league career. Casparius could earn additional bulk relief outings and/or traditional starts as the Dodgers navigate injuries to Clayton Kershaw (toe), Blake Snell (shoulder), and Tyler Glasnow (shoulder) and continue to wait on Shohei Ohtani being available to pitch.

Dreyer will serve as the Dodgers' opening pitcher in Monday's game against the Marlins, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Ben Casparius is expected to eat the bulk of the innings in relief, but he'll be preceded by Dreyer. The left-handed Dreyer has been excellent on the whole this season but has struggled lately, allowing six runs over his last four appearances.

The Cardinals recalled Graceffo from Triple-A Memphis on Monday.

Graceffo registered his first major-league win last week, when he tossed five innings of one-run ball out of the bullpen in the second game of a doubleheader against the Reds. He will be available in long relief again for the Cardinals on Monday as the club opens its series with the Pirates.

The Red Sox acquired Holobetz from the Brewers on Monday to complete the April 7 trade for RHP Quinn Priester.

A fifth-round pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, Holobetz has made three starts and two relief appearances this season with Single-A Carolina, collecting a 3.00 ERA and nifty 31:5 K:BB over 24 innings. The 22-year-old will likely be developed as a starting pitcher by Boston.

The Mets promoted McLean from Double-A Binghamton to Triple-A Syracuse on Monday, John Sparaco of SI.com reports.

Selected as a two-way player with the No. 91 overall pick in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, McLean has been focusing exclusively on pitching since the middle of the 2024 season. He's solidified himself as one of the top prospects in the Mets organization after getting hot a hot start to the 2025 campaign, having compiled a 1.37 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 30:12 K:BB over 26.1 innings with Binghamton. McLean will be part of a talented Syracuse rotation that also includes buzzy prospects in Brandon Sproat and Blade Tidwell, the latter of whom made his MLB debut Sunday before being optioned back to Triple-A.

The Blue Jays optioned Walker to Triple-A Buffalo on Monday.

He'll cede his spot on the 26-man active roster to right-hander Jose Urena, whose signing was officially announced Monday. Walker has coughed up four runs in five innings with the big club this season but owns an 8:2 K:BB.