MLB Player News

Keller will start Monday's game against the Marlins.

It took the Pirates longer than usual to confirm their starting pitcher for Monday night, but it turns out Keller will take the ball on normal rest. After allowing eight total earned runs over six outings from mid-May through mid-June, Keller has allowed nine earned runs over his last two starts alone.

Luzardo (forearm) is scheduled to throw a two-inning live batting practice session Tuesday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

If the session goes well, Luzardo will likely face hitters again later in the week before the Marlins set up a minor-league rehab assignment for the 24-year-old lefty. Luzardo has been on the injured list since May 15 with a left forearm strain.

Cabrera (elbow) tossed a two-inning live batting practice session Monday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

The Marlins will likely assess Cabrera's condition Tuesday before deciding whether he's ready to embark on a minor-league rehab assignment. Since he's been on the injured list since June 15 with right elbow tendinitis, Cabrera will presumably require two starts in the minors before being activated from the IL, likely at some point shortly after the All-Star break.

Oviedo (hand) struck out two and worked around two hits over 1.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen Sunday in the Cardinals' 4-3 win over the Phillies.

Oviedo had been pulled from his previous relief appearance July 4 against Atlanta after he was struck on his pitching hand by a comebacker, but a few days of rest was all he needed to heal up. With Sunday's scoreless outing, the 24-year-old lowered his ERA to 3.10 over 20.1 innings at the big-league level this season.

The Cardinals transferred Flaherty (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.

When Flaherty was moved back to the IL on July 27 after experiencing a setback with his right shoulder, the Cardinals had been keeping his timeline for a return open-ended. The decision to move him to the 60-day IL, however, likely indicates that Flaherty hadn't progressed as quickly as the Cardinals hoped in the two weeks since he was shut down. With Flaherty now on the 60-day IL for the second time this season and ineligible to return until late August, fantasy managers in redraft leagues could be justified in dropping him for a healthier option rather than waiting it out for the next six weeks (or longer).

Megill said he plans to throw a baseball Friday for the first time since being shut down June 17 with a strained right shoulder, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Megill was moved to the 60-day injured list June 27, so he won't be eligible to return until mid-August even if he encounters no setbacks as he initiates his throwing program shortly before the All-Star break. According to Healey, Megill acknowledged that the uptick in velocity he's shown in 2022 compared to his rookie season has likely contributed to him landing on the IL on two occasions due to arm-related issues, so the 26-year-old may look to scale back the number of max-effort pitches he throws upon returning and instead keep his fastball more consistently around the 94-to-96 mile-per-hour range.

Senzatela (shoulder) is scheduled to make a rehab start with Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Senzatela is expected to work about five innings or 75 pitches. Assuming things go to plan, he is projected to return to the rotation Sunday against the Pirates -- the last game prior to the All-Star break. Prior to being placed on the injured list, Senzatela had maintained a 4.95 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 34:15 K:BB across 60 innings on the season.

Sanchez (shoulder) is expected to face hitters this week for the first time since March 2021, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The 24-year-old continues to take small steps forward in his recovery from 2021 shoulder surgery. Sanchez recently began throwing his slider again and tossed a 30-pitch bullpen session Saturday, but his fastball only reached 91 mph -- a far cry from the triple digits he flashed prior to his injury. "From our perspective, he's not having any issues with the shoulder," general manager Kim Ng said. "This is just a natural progression for him, so there's going to be some rust, of course. He'll still work all that out." On the bright side, Sanchez says he feels healthy, and while he's been frustrated with the pace of his recovery, he doesn't appear to be holding back on the mound and pitching like he's afraid of getting hurt again. "His work ethic has been great. We're excited. I know he feels great and he wants to be out there. It's just continuing his progression and being on him -- and I think his work ethic, right now, is he's ready to go," added Hector Crespo, the Marlins' director of Minor League operations. Without any further setbacks, Sanchez could compete for a spot in the Marlins' rotation next spring.

Alexander is listed as the Brewers' scheduled starting pitcher for Tuesday's game in Minnesota, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Alexander will be making his second straight turn through the rotation and his seventh start with the big club overall, despite being tagged for seven runs (six earned) across 5.1 innings his last time out July 5 against the Cubs. With Adrian Houser (elbow) on the shelf through the All-Star break, Alexander tentatively lines up for two starts this week, with his second outing set to come Sunday in San Francisco.

Peralta (lat) threw a bullpen session Friday and told Sophia Minnaert of Bally Sports Wisconsin that he felt good following the workout.

Peralta said he will throw one more bullpen session during the upcoming week before likely graduating to throwing live batting practice, if all goes well. After that, Peralta could head out on a rehab assignment at some point during the upcoming All-Star break, and he'll likely need at least two or three outings to get stretched back out for starting duty because he's been sidelined since late May with a strained right shoulder. Peralta is seemingly tracking toward an early-August return from the 60-day injured list.