MLB Player News

Assad (4-2) allowed five runs on seven hits across 5.2 innings to take the loss Thursday against the Reds. He walked two and struck out seven.

Assad flashed his skill with the seven strikeouts, which tied for his second most in a game this year, but he was ultimately done in by a three-run Elly De La Cruz home run in the third inning. The righty still has a solid 2.74 ERA and 68 strikeouts across 69 innings this season, as he's performed well in his first extended run as a full-time starter for the Cubs. Assad will attempt to bounce back in his next scheduled start, which tentatively lines up for next week against the Rays on the road.

Musgrove has been diagnosed with a bone spur and a bone bruise in his right elbow, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Musgrove got PRP and cortisone injections with the hope of resuming throwing in two weeks. However, there is also the caveat that surgery will be required if healing does not occur. That leaves Musgrove's potential timeline to return to the mound unclear, though it would be surprising to see him back on the mound prior to the All-Star break based on this most recent news.

The Pirates placed Priester on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a right lat injury, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Priester allowed four earned runs in 4.2 innings during his latest start Sunday, and he appears to have come away from the game with lat problems. His move to the IL is retroactive to Monday, so the 24-year-old righty will be eligible for activation beginning June 18. In the meantime, Justin Bruihl, who signed a big-league contract with the Pirates on Thursday, will fill the open spot on Pittsburgh's pitching staff.

Meyer will make another start at Triple-A Jacksonville on Friday, but Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said he expects the young right-hander to be back in the majors "soon," Nate Karzmer of FishonFirst.com reports.

Schumaker made the statement earlier this week during an interview on the "Fish Unfiltered" podcast. The Marlins have an opening in their rotation Saturday against the Guardians, but Roddery Munoz is expected to be called up from Jacksonville to fill the void while Meyer makes his scheduled start Friday with the Triple-A club. The 22-year-old Meyer struggled initially upon his workload-related demotion to Jacksonville back in April, but he's been better of late with a 17:4 K:BB in 11 innings covering his last three starts. Meyer hasn't gone more than four innings in any outing since the demotion as the Marlins rein in his workload in his first year back from Tommy John surgery. His starts could continue to be abbreviated when he rejoins the big club, but Meyer seems like he could be back in the majors sooner rather than later.

Munoz is likely to be recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville to start Saturday versus the Guardians, Nate Karzmer of Fishon First.com reports.

The Marlins have an opening in their rotation with No. 5 starter Sixto Sanchez (shoulder) recently going on the injured list. Munoz has collected a 5.17 ERA and 19:7 K:BB over 15.2 innings covering three starts with the Marlins this season. He was roughed up for seven runs (six earned) in 6.1 innings in his most recent start for Jacksonville against Durham on June 1, but Munoz blanked Gwinnett over eight innings in his start before that back on May 26.

Herz is slated to start Sunday's game against Atlanta at Nationals Park, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The rookie will get a tough draw in his second MLB start, as he'll not only oppose a formidable Atlanta offense in a hitter-friendly environment, but he'll also be matching up head-to-head with one of the National League's top pitchers in Max Fried. After getting called up from Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday, Herz took a loss in his big-league debut against the Mets last week, giving up four earned runs on seven hits and two walks over four innings.

Kershaw (shoulder) is expected to pitch a two-inning simulated game Friday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Kershaw tossed one inning against live batters Saturday and appears to have come out of that session well given that he will next progress to throwing two simulated frames. Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that the future Hall of Fame hurler is "way ahead of schedule," but the skipper also implied that Kershaw is likely still "about six weeks" away from being ready to join the big club, per Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com. Kershaw himself has declined to establish a timeframe for his return from the 60-day injured list, though mid-July is looking like a reasonable expectation.

The Reds optioned Ashcraft to Triple-A Louisville on Thursday.

Ashcraft got off to a decent enough start this season, but things unraveled for him over the last month, as he posted a 6.83 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 19:12 K:BB over 27.2 frames covering his last six starts. It's not yet clear how the Reds plan to fill his spot in the rotation, but shifting the versatile Nick Martinez back to a starting role is an option. Brandon Williamson (shoulder) remains on the 60-day injured list but is another candidate to fill the void, as he made the fourth start of his rehab assignment Sunday with Triple-A Louisville, tossing four scoreless innings.

Cavalli (elbow) hasn't pitched since May 30, but the Nationals are simply giving him some rest before the final push in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports. "Just giving himself a little break, a little breather," manager Dave Martinez said Wednesday. "He's been pushing himself pretty hard. We're still ahead of the game a little bit. We just want to ease up a little bit."

The 25-year-old right-hander underwent the procedure in March 2023, and the organization is making sure he'll be fully recovered when he finally comes off IL. Cavalli has struck out 10 batters in 5.1 innings over his first two rehab appearances, one in the Florida Complex League and one with High-A Wilmington, but the Nats have yet to set a date for his next start. He's expected to join the big-league rotation before the end of the month.

Schwellenbach (0-2) took the loss Wednesday against the Red Sox, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.2 innings. He struck out four.

It was a tough day for Schwellenbach, who allowed three runs in the second inning and another three in the fifth en route to his second loss in as many starts. The 24-year-old right-hander has now allowed nine runs through his first 9.2 innings with Atlanta after pitching to a 2.21 ERA across eight starts between High-A Rome and Double-A Mississippi. If Atlanta elects to keep Schwellenbach in the majors for another turn in the rotation, he'd currently line up for a road matchup in Baltimore early next week.