MLB Player News

Gray (elbow) would like to pitch in the majors this season, even if it's out of the bullpen, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports. "I think that's the goal for this year, to get innings up here, help the team win some games," the right-hander said Monday from the big-league clubhouse.

It's been a long time since Gray was able to make a contribution for the Nationals, as his last major-league action came April 4, 2024. Since then, he's undergone Tommy John surgery in July of that year, endured a lengthy rehab that only began to ramp up last September, and then dealt with a right flexor strain that cropped up this spring. Gray was able to begin a new rehab assignment at Single-A Fredericksburg in mid-August but has been limited to short outings, working his way up to Double-A Harrisburg on Wednesday and tossing a shutout inning. It's still not clear if the Nationals have any plans to take him off the 60-day IL and find a spot for him on the 40-man roster before the end of the season, but at the very least Gray seems to be on his way to wrapping up the campaign in good health.

Quintana (elbow) is in line to begin a rehab assignment next week, Kevin Henry of The Denver Gazette reports.

Quintana has been steadily building up his pitch count in bullpen sessions since early August as he progresses in his recovery from a left elbow sprain that landed him on the injured list in late May. It's been a lengthy recovery for the veteran southpaw, so even if he's cleared to embark on a rehab assignment, it's unclear whether he'll see major-league action before the conclusion of the regular season.

Freeland (neck) is scheduled to throw an up-and-down bullpen session Saturday, Kevin Henry of The Denver Gazette reports.

Since landing on the injured list Aug. 24 due to cervical radiculopaty, Freeland threw what he called a "fairly aggressive" 20-pitch bullpen session Wednesday, per MLB.com reports. He'll be throwing more of a simulated bullpen session Saturday, and if all goes well, Freeland could be cleared to head out on a brief rehab assignment. Freeland appears to be tracking toward a return from the injured list around the middle of September.

Pallante (elbow) has been activated from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start against the Rockies on Friday.

Pallante has been officially cleared to return from a two-week stint on the injured list due to right elbow inflammation. He'll take a 3.57 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 136 innings into Friday's start, his first against the Rockies since July 23, 2025, when he took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out five batters over five innings. Right-hander Ryan Fernandez was optioned to Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move.

Cabrera (finger) will continue his rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Cabrera will be making his second rehab appearance since landing on the injured list in mid-August due to right middle finger blister. In his first outing in the minors on Tuesday with Iowa, Cabrera struck out two batters and allowed one earned run on one hit. The Cubs plan to bring Cabrera back as a reliever, but it's unclear how many more rehab outings beyond Friday he'll require prior to being activated from the IL.

Wilkinson will start Friday's game against the Mets at Citi Field.

The southpaw took a tough-luck loss against Arizona in the first game of last Saturday's doubleheader as the 27th man for the twin bill, but he ended up sticking around with the big club after reliever Sam Hentges (forearm) was placed on the injured list a day later. Wilkinson will be awarded another turn through the rotation and couldmake regular starts for the Giants over the final month of the season if he performs adequately.

Cavalli (calf) is listed as the Nationals' probable pitcher for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.

Cavalli was removed from his last start Saturday versus the Marlins after four innings when he was hit in the calf by a comebacker. However, he checked out fine after the contest and handled his normal between-starts throwing routine with no concerns. Cavalli will enter Saturday's start having gone 7-1 with a 1.83 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 67:14 K:BB over 54 innings covering nine outings in the second half.

Scott, who is slated to make his next start Sunday versus the Giants at Citi Field, will have his workload reduced over the final weeks of the season, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

Mets interim manager Andy Green indicated earlier this week that Scott wouldn't pitch again on four days' rest for the remainder of the season. The 27-year-old right-hander has already tossed a career-high 108.1 innings between Triple-A and the majors in his first season back from hybrid Tommy John surgery, and with the Mets out of playoff contention, they have no reason to push him. It's not yet clear if New York will shift to a six-man rotation to provide all its young starters with extra rest, if Scott will have his turn skipped at some point in September, or if the team has another solution in mind. Scott has given up at least three runs in six of his last seven starts, stumbling to a 5.40 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 41:18 K:BB in 35 innings over that stretch. He'll be returning to the hill Sunday on eight days' rest after making his previous start last Friday against the Astros.

Odle notched a career-high 12 strikeouts while yielding two runs over 4.2 innings Thursday in his final start of the season with High-A Peoria.

It's a fitting end to a season that saw Odle rack up 143 strikeouts over 96 innings between Single-A Palm Beach and Peoria. He also walked 65 batters, so Odle has some work to do from a control perspective, but the 22-year-old right-hander has big-time stuff and has established himself as a legitimate pitching prospect in the Cardinals' revamped system.

Burnes (elbow) could make his season debut for the Diamondbacks on Tuesday in Kansas City, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reports.

Burnes suffered a setback this June in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, but he's progressed well since resuming a throwing program in July. The right-hander tossed two perfect innings on 17 pitches in his first rehab start with Triple-A Reno on Aug. 29, and after throwing a bullpen Tuesday he was slated to work a bridge game Thursday to further build his stamina. It's unclear how many pitches Burnes threw Thursday, but he would be quite limited from a workload perspective if he were activated to face the Royals. Once Burnes is officially tapped to return, he'll be making his first appearance in the big leagues in more than 15 months.