MLB Player News

Nicasio (knee) played catch Monday and recently received a cortisone shot after experiencing swelling in his right knee, Rob Shore of MLB.com reports. "The doctor is going to look at him today and see where he goes from there," manager Scott Servais said. "But he's doing much better, I just met with him a little while ago. He's upbeat."

The right-handed reliever had originally pledged to only spend the minimal amount of time on the disabled list, but that prognosis may be in danger given recent developments. However, Servais sounded somewhat optimistic, so perhaps there's a chance that Nicasio still meets his goal. The veteran has had his share of struggles in the first year of a two-year, $17 million contract, going 1-3 with a 5.34 ERA over 28.2 innings.

Bundy tossed eight scoreless innings in a no-decision Monday against the Red Sox, allowing three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.

Bundy turned in one of the best outings of his career, but the offense could't muster a single run of support. He allowed just one man past first base and induced eight groundball outs as he stifled one of the best offenses in baseball. Bundy has now delivered four consecutive quality starts and hasn't allowed a run over his last 16 innings pitched. He'll have the opportunity to continue his outstanding form in a favorable matchup with the Marlins this weekend.

Stroman's (shoulder) rehab start Wednesday will come with High-A Dunedin, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet 590 The Fan reports.

The Blue Jays had previously announced the rehab appearance but not the location. Stroman has now been out for a month with shoulder fatigue and posted an ugly 7.71 ERA before hitting the disabled list. With the Blue Jays already 11 games out of a playoff spot, the team will likely prioritize Stroman's long-term health over getting him back in the rotation as soon as possible. He's set to throw four innings Wednesday, which means he'll presumably need at least one more rehab appearance after that before returning from the DL.

Gonzales -- who missed all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery -- has thrown 74 innings across 13 starts, but manager Scott Servais remains unconcerned about his workload, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. "I'm not concerned right now," Servais said. "We're just trying to win games. There may be some starts down the road where Marco hits a little bump and you recognize it and get him out of the game. But he's been really good, really consistent for us."

The 26-year-old southpaw has proven to be one of the American League's steadiest starters, generating a 7-3 record and 3.28 ERA. Gonzales totaled 126.1 innings last season between Triple-A Tacoma and the big-league club, and he's never thrown more than 156.2 innings in any professional stop. However, Gonzales has shown solid stamina thus far, and some of the tips he's picked up from fellow lefty and staff mate James Paxton about conditioning between starts seem to be serving him well. Servais has particularly taken note that Gonzales' velocity has encouragingly sustained into later innings. "With Marco, his stuff is carrying deep into games. He was throwing 91 mph in the eighth inning the other night and it still looked as sharp as it did early in the game."

Paxton reportedly felt forearm cramping after the third inning of his Sunday start against the Rays, but he was checked out by trainers and deemed okay to continue, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Paxton went on to strike out 10 in another impressive performance, but the third and fourth innings were notably his trouble spots during the outing. Divish reports that Paxton was hesitant on some of his fourth-inning offerings as a result of the discomfort he was feeling, but he continued to work through it and ultimately realized he was back to normal. Given that he worked a full seven frames and held the Rays scoreless over his last three, there's no indication Paxton's next start is in any jeopardy.

Stroman (shoulder) is scheduled for another rehab outing Wednesday, but the Blue Jays have yet to decide whether he'll toe the rubber for a minor-league affiliate or pitch in a simulated game at extended spring training, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reports.

Stroman resumed mound work in late May before advancing to facing hitters in a three-inning simulated game Friday. With Stroman experiencing no renewed soreness in his right shoulder coming out of that outing, it's expected that he'll bump up his pitch count when he returns to the mound Wednesday. Given that Stroman has been on the disabled list for a month with the injury, it seems likely that he'll require at least one more rehab start beyond Wednesday before the Blue Jays will seriously entertain activating him.

Severino (9-2) took the loss against the Mets on Sunday, giving up two earned runs on five hits over five innings, striking out seven and walking two as the Yankees fell 2-0.

Severino was cruising through four innings, but he gave up a two-run home run to the Mets' Todd Frazier in the fifth that proved to be the difference in this defeat. He's still in the midst of a monster campaign, as Severino has put up a 2.27 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP and a 109:23 K:BB over 91 innings, making him one of the safest fantasy starters around through the first part of the season.

Keller didn't factor into the decision against Oakland on Sunday, giving up two earned runs on five hits over 5.1 innings, striking out four and walking four in Kansas City's 3-2 loss.

This was Keller's longest outing as a starter since he moved to Kansas City's rotation from the bullpen on May 30, and his overall numbers on the season are solid, as he's got a 2.31 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP and 23 strikeouts over 35 innings. He's likely pitched well enough to keep a spot in the rotation with Eric Skoglund out with an elbow injury, but at this point, there isn't enough of a body of work here to tell if Keller is more than a roll of the dice for fantasy purposes.

McCullers is scheduled to start Tuesday against the Athletics.

McCullers will be seeking his third win over Oakland in 2018. He's allowed two runs, seven hits and four walks while striking out 10 in 12 innings over his previous two starts.

Cobb (2-8) surrendered nine runs on 11 hits and one walk while striking out five across 3.2 innings Sunday as he took the loss against the Blue Jays.

Cobb allowed two runs in the second inning, another in the third and six in the fourth before being chased from a disastrous outing. He'd been decent in his prior two starts, surrendering four runs with 10 strikeouts across 13 innings, but he turned in his worst performance of the year Sunday. Cobb sits with an ugly 7.23 ERA and 1.77 WHIP with a 37:14 K:BB over 56 innings this season.