MLB Player News

Overton will start Thursday's game against the Reds, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Overton pitched one inning out of the bullpen Sunday after being claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh, and he'll now make his first big-league start Thursday. The 28-year-old isn't fully built up and is unlikely to have the workload of a traditional starter. He has yet to allow a run through his first 7.2 frames in the majors.

Manager Gabe Kapler said Wood (illness) could be activated from the COVID-19 injured list to pitch Saturday against Atlanta, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Wood completed a simulated game Wednesday with no issues and could rejoin the Giants without a rehab assignment. The 30-year-old has been on the shelf since testing positive for COVID-19 at the end of August, and he's expected to face some workload limitations if cleared to pitch Saturday.

Woodruff (9-9) allowed three runs on four hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in six innings, taking the loss Wednesday versus Detroit.

The right-hander was reasonably effective, but he ran into trouble in the fourth and fifth innings. Milwaukee's offense only mustered three hits in support of Woodruff, leaving him to take a loss despite his third quality start in his last four outings. For the season, the 28-year-old has a 2.55 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 198:42 K:BB through 169.1 innings. He's projected to make his next start versus St. Louis next week.

Velasquez (finger) signed a minor-league contract with the Padres on Wednesday and is expected to be added to the 28-man active roster to start Friday's series opener against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

The 29-year-old was cut loose by the Phillies on Tuesday after being designated for assignment over the weekend, and the injury-plagued Padres will bring him aboard and quickly insert him into the starting rotation. The team hasn't formally announced which game of the series in St. Louis that Velasquez is slated to pitch, but Friday makes the most sense, given that Blake Snell (groin) -- the previously scheduled starter that day -- was placed on the injured list. Velasquez landed on the injured list with Philadelphia due to a right middle finger blister in early August, but he made six rehab appearances in the minors before parting ways with the organization and appears to be healthy again.

Snell was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a left adductor groin strain.

Snell was removed from Sunday's start against the Dodgers after only 11 pitches due to the injury, and he'll require stint on the injured list before rejoining the rotation. The left-hander was initially expected to be ready to make his next start, but he's continued to feel soreness over the past couple days and will miss some time. Vince Velasquez signed a minor-league deal with the Friars and is expected to fill Snell's spot in the rotation for now.

Kelly (illness) was activated from the COVID-19 injured list ahead of his start against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Kelly has spent the past month on the injured list after testing positive for COVID-19, but he'll rejoin the rotation Wednesday after making one rehab start. The right-hander threw 66 pitches in that outing and figures to have some minor workload limitations in his first start back.

Mets manager Luis Rojas said Wednesday that Syndergaard (elbow) will throw another live batting practice session in the coming days before the team determines his next step, Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News reports.

While squaring off Wednesday against rehabbing outfielder Brandon Nimmo (hamstring), Syndergaard threw approximately 15-to-20 pitches in a live BP session, with his fastball velocity sitting in the low-to-mid-90s during the session. Rojas indicated that Syndergaard was deliberately not throwing at 100 percent velocity, so the right-hander will presumably ramp up the intensity in his next throwing session as he looks to prove that he's moved past the bout of elbow inflammation that resulted in him being shut down in late May. Assuming he experiences no further setbacks during his throwing program, Syndergaard could make it back from the 60-day injured list during the final two weeks of the season in a relief role.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Brubaker (shoulder) began a plyometric training program Wednesday, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports. He'll be reassessed later this week before the Pirates determine his next steps.

Even though Brubaker hasn't resumed throwing since being shut down a week ago, the Pirates aren't yet closing the door on the right-hander making it back from the 10-day injured list before the end of the season. However, with just two and a half weeks to go, Brubaker doesn't appear to have enough time to build back up for starting duty, even if he avoids any further setbacks in his recovery.

Oviedo was ejected from Wednesday's game at Triple-A Memphis after the top of the fourth inning for an apparent violation of the league's foreign substance rules, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Oviedo has been in Memphis since late July, and he was removed from Wednesday's contest after an umpire examined his glove as he left the mound. His glove was confiscated and will be examined by the league. If the right-hander is found to be in violation of the foreign substance policy, he'll face a 10-game suspension.

Cabrera (toe) is scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Pirates in Miami, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

He'll return to the mound on five days' rest after his previous outing was cut short by a sore right big toe, which may have played a factor in Cabrera's spotty control -- he threw 44 of 75 pitches for strikes -- in the start against Atlanta. Through his first four big-league starts, Cabrera is still searching for his first career win after going 0-1 with a 6.61 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 9:10 K:BB in those games.