MLB Player News

Kershaw (shoulder) tossed three scoreless and hitless innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday, allowing one walk and striking out five batters.

Kershaw was impressive in the outing, allowing just one baserunner while throwing 38 pitches before tossing another 12 pitches in the bullpen after the start, according to Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register. The veteran lefty made his second minor-league rehab appearance, and his first since June 19. Kershaw also went three innings in his initial rehab outing but experienced soreness in a subsequent bullpen session and was temporarily shut down from throwing. Per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that he received positive reports on Kershaw's outing, and the 36-year-old is set to cover 4-to-5 innings in another rehab appearance with Oklahoma City on Friday. If that goes well, Kershaw could return from the 60-day injured list the following week.

Rea is expected to serve as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Rob Zastryzny in Sunday's game against the Nationals, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Rea was roughed up for a season-high seven earned runs in his previous start Tuesday versus the Pirates, so manager Pat Murphy will have the right-hander work behind an opening pitcher for Rea's final turn through the rotation before the All-Star break with the hope of netting better results. Zastryzny is unlikely to cover more than an inning or two before giving way to Rea.

Mercado is expected to serve as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Orion Kerkering in Sunday's game against the Athletics, Tim Kelly of PhilliesNation.com reports.

Manager Rob Thomson announced Tuesday that Mercado was being moved to the bullpen, but because Zack Wheeler (back) is unable to take the hill for the Phillies' final game before the All-Star break Sunday, Mercado will end up serving as the club's de facto No. 5 member of the rotation to close out the first-half schedule. Though Kerkering is drawing the start, he hasn't recorded more than five outs in any appearance this season and is unlikely to work more than an inning or two before turning the game over to Mercado. Through his first three big-league outings (two starts), Mercado has given up six earned runs on seven hits -- including three home runs -- and five walks while striking out six across 7.2 innings.

Cease (8-8) picked up the win Saturday, allowing only one hit and three walks over six scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory over Atlanta. He struck out 11.

The Padres got on the board with a run in the second inning, and it's all the support Cease and the bullpen would need. The right-hander racked up double-digit Ks for the third time this season en route to his 11th quality start, and Cease produced an impressive 27 swinging strikes among his 106 pitches. He'll head into the All-Star break with a 3.99 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 149:36 K:BB through 115 innings, putting him just one strikeout behind former teammate Garrett Crochet for the major-league lead.

Lopez (7-3) took the loss Saturday, giving up three runs on 11 hits over six innings as Atlanta was downed 4-0 by the Padres. He struck out two without walking a batter.

The right-hander didn't give up a lot of hard contact, as nine of the 11 hits were singles and the other two were well-placed doubles, but it was still a season high in knocks allowed for Lopez. It's his first loss since May 25, snapping a seven-start stretch in which he'd gone 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 46:16 K:BB through 38.1 innings. Fatigue could be creeping in for the converted reliever, as his 95.2 innings on the year are already his highest total since 2019, but he may not get much of a rest over the break after earning an All-Star Game berth for the first time in his career.

Gibson came away with a no-decision in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Cubs, giving up four runs on 10 hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out three.

All four runs scored in the second inning as Chicago batted around, with the biggest blow being a two-run shot by Miguel Amaya. Gibson wound up exiting after 97 pitches (56 strikes) as he failed to last more than five innings for the fourth straight start, a stretch in which he's stumbled to a 7.50 ERA, 2.11 WHIP and 23:10 K:BB in 18 innings. The veteran righty will try to use the All-Star break to regroup, but there are warning signs his numbers could continue to regress after a promising start to 2024 -- his 91.0 mph average velocity on his fastball would be his lowest since 2016, while his 9.5 percent walk rate would be his highest over a full season since 2018.

Assad came away with a no-decision in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Cardinals, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks over 2.1 innings. He failed to strike out a batter.

Out since June 23 with a forearm strain, Assad was activated from the IL without having gone on a rehab assignment, so the poor results aren't a big surprise. The right-hander was lifted after 44 pitches (29 strikes) having served up first-inning solo shots to Masyn Winn and Willson Contreras, and keeping the ball in the park was an issue for Assad prior to the injury as well -- he's been tagged for 10 homers in his last eight starts and 37 innings, posting a 5.59 ERA, 1.76 WHIP and 37:20 K:BB over that stretch. Despite those numbers, the 26-year-old will likely remain in the Cubs rotation following the All-Star break.

Diaz (1-0) allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out two over six innings, earning the win Saturday over the Blue Jays.

Diaz has opened his major-league career with a pair of quality starts, allowing one run over six innings in each of them. The Blue Jays' lone run against him was on a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Diaz has also posted a 7:3 K:BB over 12 innings. The 23-year-old showed more strikeout upside in the minors, but if he can continue to limit traffic on the basepaths, he should find success. Arizona's rotation is unlikely to be at full health until early-to-mid August at the earliest, so Diaz may get a few more chances to audition for a more permanent stay in the majors.

Feltner (1-9) took the loss against the Mets on Saturday, allowing four runs (three earned) on two hits and five walks while striking out seven batters over 3.2 innings.

Feltner had trouble finding the striking zone, as the five walks were two more than his previous season high. Three of the free passes came in the second frame, which was when the Mets scored all four of their runs against him. Feltner did at least manage to register seven punchouts, but he couldn't avoid his ninth loss of the campaign. Among NL pitchers, only teammate Dakota Hudson has lost more games, and Feltner has been mostly ineffective with a 5.36 ERA and 1.45 WHIP across 102.1 innings.

The Dodgers transferred Yamamoto (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Saturday, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Yamamoto won't be eligible for activation until Aug. 15, but considering he just started playing catch from 60 feet this week, he likely wouldn't have been ready to return before mid-August anyway. The transaction clears room on the 40-man roster for right-hander Brent Honeywell, who was claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh on Saturday. Yamamoto has been shelved since June 16 and will likely require multiple minor-league rehab starts before being reinstated from the IL.