MLB Player News

Darvish (shoulder) tossed a 35-pitch bullpen session Tuesday and said this was the first time he hasn't felt any pain or discomfort in his arm since suffering the injury in May, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Darvish has been on the shelf for over two months now, but seems to have experienced a breakthrough Tuesday afternoon. While he said that he wants to see how the shoulder feels Wednesday morning, Darvish expects to throw a longer bullpen session later this week, followed by a simulated game or rehab start.

Meyer was sent down to Triple-A New Orleans on Tuesday, Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports.

Meyer was cast off the active roster after a pair of dreadful performances in the last 10 days, including Tuesday's contest against Washington during which he allowed four earned runs on four hits and a pair of walks in one inning of relief. In a corresponding move, the club recalled Jarlin Garcia from the minors.

May was promoted to Double-A Tulsa on Tuesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic Los Angeles reports.

The 6-foot-6 righty will move up a level after tossing 17 starts with a 3.29 ERA for High-A Rancho Cucamonga. His strikeout rate of 23.1 percent was solid, while his 4.2 percent walk rate was excellent. May looks like a future mid-rotation starter with the potential for a plus fastball, plus curveball and plus command.

Strasburg (neck) has been cleared to throw and was able to play catch Monday, Jamal Collier of MLB.com reports.

Manager Dave Martinez said that he doesn't expect Strasburg to need much time building his arm back up, so there's a chance we will see him back on the big-league mound by next week. Strasburg recently received a shot in his neck to help his nerve impingement, which seems to have provided some assistance. Look for him to extend his progression and potentially throw a bullpen session near the end of the week.

Lauer's forearm strain appears to be a minor one, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Forearm strains often lead to more significant injures, but Lauer appears to have dodged a bullet this time. Both the pitcher and his manager Andy Green expect him to be able to return sometime in August.

Allard was officially called up for his MLB debut Tuesday against the Marlins.

As expected, the 20-year-old lefty will get his chance to shine after posting an excellent 2.80 ERA for Triple-A Gwinnett. Allard's future with the Braves is unclear, but there's a chance he makes just a single start for Atlanta before returning to Gwinnett to await his next opportunity.

Gausman was traded from the Orioles to the Braves on Tuesday along with Darren O'Day in exchange for minor leaguers Evan Phillips, Jean Carlos Encarnacion, Brett Cumberland, Bruce Zimmerman and international signing slots, Jon Heyman of FancredSports.com reports.

A former elite pitching prospect, Gausman has never quite lived up to the hype, and is sitting with a 4.43 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 104:32 K:BB in 124 innings (21 starts) this season. That said, this trade can only be good for his fantasy value, as he moves from the American League East to the National League, and will benefit from significantly better defense and run support behind him. He is under team control for 2019 and 2020, so he will be a part of the Braves' rotation for the foreseeable future. Gausman was scheduled to pitch Friday for the O's, so he could slot into the Braves' rotation this weekend.

Lauer was placed on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday with a forearm strain.

Lauer had been poor over his last three starts, allowing 14 runs on 18 hits and six walks in just 11 innings. Those struggles may have been related to the injury. Forearm strains are sometimes the initial diagnosis which precedes a more serious injury, though there hasn't yet been a suggestion that this particular case is cause for additional concern. Walker Lockett was promoted in a corresponding move.

Martinez was put on the 10-day DL on Tuesday due to a right shoulder strain.

As expected, Martinez will head back to the disabled list for the third time this season after suffering the shoulder injury during Monday's outing against Colorado. That start against the Rockies marked his return from the DL for an oblique issue, though that only cost him one turn in the rotation. The Cardinals have yet to offer up a timetable for his return, but it's expected that he will miss a few weeks at the very least.

Peralta allowed one earned run over four innings in Monday's victory over the Dodgers and did not factor into the decision. He gave up three hits and posted a 6:4 K:BB in the contest.

Peralta lowered his ERA to 3.61 Monday, but he threw 98 pitches over his four frames and escaped trouble in both the third and fourth innings, so manager Craig Counsell decided he would not go on any further. Peralta's next start will come against the Rockies, a team he limited to one hit while punching out 13 batters over 5.2 innings in his big-league debut May 13.