MLB Player News

Kershaw exited Thursday's game against the Giants due to low-back pain.

Kershaw appeared to indicate that he was dealing with a back injury as he walked off the mound prior to the fifth inning Thursday, and the Dodgers later confirmed the diagnosis. The left-hander will presumably be monitored in the coming days, especially considering his history of back injuries. If he's able to pitch through the issue, he tentatively lines up to make his next start at home against the Twins on Wednesday.

The Cardinals activated Montgomery on Thursday. He's scheduled to make his St. Louis debut Saturday versus the Yankees at Busch Stadium, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Montgomery will draw a familiar opponent in his first start with St. Louis, taking on the club with whom he spent the first five-plus seasons of his career before the Yankees traded him to the Cardinals on Tuesday in exchange for outfielder Harrison Bader (foot). The southpaw's prior knowledge of some of his former teammates' tendencies at the plate could make a tough matchup on paper a bit more palatable, and the move from the competitive American League East to the comparatively softer National League Central will likely prove more favorable to Montgomery's ratios in the long run.

Manager Brian Snitker said Thursday that Soroka (Achilles) is expected to pitch in simulated games soon, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Soroka was facing hitters in early July, but his recovery process slowed when he was hit in the knee by a comebacker while throwing live batting practice. The right-hander isn't expected to return from the injured list until at least September, and a timetable for him to begin a rehab assignment will likely be discussed once he's pitched in simulated games.

Kershaw was removed from Thursday's game against the Giants ahead of the fifth inning due to a back injury, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Kershaw tweaked his back while warming up ahead of the fifth inning Thursday, and he walked off the field before trainers were able to reach the mound. Prior to his departure, the southpaw allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk while striking out four in four innings. Kershaw has dealt with back issues throughout his career and missed nearly a month due to right SI joint inflammation earlier in 2022. However, it's not yet clear whether he'll be forced to miss additional time due to his current injury.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that May (elbow) will require at least two more rehab starts in the minors before being reinstated from the 60-day injured list, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

May made his third rehab start at Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday and tossed 62 pitches over four innings. The Dodgers will take a cautious approach to easing him back from the IL after May underwent Tommy John surgery last May. He's expected to work four-plus innings during his next rehab start before pitching five innings in the subsequent outing.

May (elbow) made his third rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday, tossing 62 pitches over four innings. He allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out six batters.

May made 46 pitches in his previous rehab outing, so this was a significant increase in workload for him. The right-hander has allowed just two runs while posting a 15:4 K:BB over nine innings across three starts for OKC thus far. He's expected to make one more rehab appearance for the Triple-A club before joining the Dodgers, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.

Gibson (personal) was activated from the bereavement list Thursday.

The veteran right-hander missed his scheduled turn through the rotation Tuesday while on the bereavement list due to a death in his family, but he's now rejoined the team ahead of Thursday's series opener versus the Nationals. Gibson is scheduled to take the mound Friday, while trade-acquisition Noah Syndergaard starts Thursday's contest.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said that Flaherty (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session in St. Louis this weekend and could be cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment as soon as next week, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Flaherty was shut down with the strained right shoulder June 27 and was transferred to the 60-day injured list a couple weeks later, but Marmol said Thursday that he remains hopeful the Cardinals ace can return when first eligible in the final week of August. Before the Cardinals map out a rehab assignment that will likely consist of at least two starts in the minors, Flaherty will first have to escape his upcoming bullpen session without any setbacks. Since Flaherty and Steven Matz (knee) are both weeks away from potential returns, the Cardinals made addressing their rotation depth a priority ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline and ultimately swung deals with the Pirates and Yankees to acquire Jose Quintana and Jordan Montgomery, respectively.

Houser (elbow) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Nashville this weekend, with his first start coming Saturday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Per McCalvy, Houser is scheduled to pitch just two innings Saturday, so he'll likely require at least one or two additional rehab outings to get stretched back out to a normal starter's workload. With Freddy Peralta (lat) making his return from the 60-day injured list Wednesday, Milwaukee will have its Opening Day rotation back to full strength whenever Houser is deemed ready to go. Though Aaron Ashby (4.13 ERA, 1.45 WHIP in 80.2 innings) has performed marginally better than Houser (4.72 ERA, 1.48 WHIP in 76.1 innings) this season, the Brewers' desire to manage Ashby's workload should help Houser's case for reclaiming the No. 5 starter's role.

Bassitt (8-7) earned the win against the Nationals on Wednesday, allowing zero runs on six hits while striking out four and walking one over seven innings.

Bassitt was lights out Wednesday, throwing 70 of 94 pitches for strikes across seven frames. Despite allowing six hits and a walk, he was able to keep the Nats off the board. This was Bassitt's seventh quality start in his last eight appearances. Over that span, the righty has lowered his ERA from 4.01 to 3.61.