MLB Player News

Lauer has a left shoulder impingement that is considered minor but will rule him out for the start of the regular season, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

Lauer had seemed to have a good chance to break camp in the Brewers' rotation but now won't get he chance to do so. He'll resume playing catch later this week, so he shouldn't wind up missing too much time, but he's expected to head to the injured list to open the season. That leaves Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes as the primary contestants for the fifth starter spot in Milwaukee, though Lauer could get the chance to claim the job once healthy.

Rea was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The 29-year-old righty logged a 3.95 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 120 strikeouts in 148 innings at Triple-A last year. He will serve as organizational pitching depth.

Darvish (illness) will start Wednesday against the Padres, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Darvish has made just one appearance this spring, as his scheduled start Thursday against the Rangers was canceled due to the flu. He pitched in a simulated game the next day, however, and is set for Cactus League action Wednesday, so he should still be fine for the start of the regular season.

Burnes allowed one earned run over four innings in Monday's spring game against the Mariners. He gave up one hit and posted a 6:1 K:BB in the outing.

Burnes gave up his first run of the spring Monday, but was otherwise dominant like he has been each time out thus far. Over 10 frames this spring he owns a 0.90 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and a 13:3 K:BB. He is still presumably the seventh option on the starting pitcher depth chart for the Brewers, but there is no doubt he is making a push to climb into the No. 5 spot by Opening Day.

Kershaw pitched four scoreless innings against the Tijuana Toros (a Mexican minor-league team) Monday, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out four.

On the day he was named the Dodgers' Opening Day starter for the ninth time in his career, Kershaw took on a team of minor leaguers and was mostly sharp while hurling a spring-high 67 pitches. Kershaw has looked fully healthy in Cactus League play after missing parts of the last four seasons with various injuries.

Small was reassigned to minor-league camp Monday.

Small made a couple brief appearances with the Brewers this spring, but he was drafted only a year ago, so the main reason for his presence in camp was to get him some experience in big-league situations. Small was taken in the first round and allowed just two earned runs over 21 innings (0.86 ERA) in five starts with Low-A Wisconsin last year, so he heads into the 2020 campaign as one of the top pitching prospects in the Brewers' organization.

Rasmussen was reassigned to minor-league camp Monday.

Rasmussen spent a few weeks with the big club this spring, but that was mainly to get him some opportunities against top competition, and he was destined to begin the season in the minors anyway. It remains to be seen which level he will open at and whether he will work as a starter or reliever, but he has the stuff to pitch in the big leagues in some capacity, and he'll boost his chances of doing so sooner than later with a quality campaign.

Nola (illness) won't return to camp until Thursday and could start Friday against the Tigers, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic reports.

A flu bug caused Nola to be scratched from his start Monday against the Yankees and will wind up forcing him to skip his turn entirely rather than simply pushing his start back a day or two. He's made three starts (lasting a total of eight innings) thus far this spring and should have time to make two more before Opening Day, though the lost time could potentially mean he's not quite ready to pitch as deep into games as usual for his first start or two.

Houser (thumb) covered 3.1 innings in Sunday's 11-3 exhibition loss to the Athletics, surrendering two hits and two walks while striking out three.

Houser's results were decent enough, but the more notable takeaway here is that he was able to keep ramping up his workload after a minor thumb injury resulted in a precautionary exit in his previous outing last week. The right-hander looks to have a spot in the Milwaukee rotation locked up, but he may not be trusted to work deep into games even on days he's pitching well. He only reached six innings three times in his 18 starts last season and lost out on some strikeouts as a result, though the Brewers' conservative use of him probably spared him of further damage to his ratios.

Lugo did not feel his fractured left pinkie toe during his return to the mound Monday against the Marlins, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record reports.

Lugo threw a scoreless inning, striking out one batter, in his first taste of Grapefruit League action. He should have time to build up to regular-season shape by Opening Day given that he's entering the season as a reliever.