MLB Player News

Strasburg (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday, Jamal Collier of MLB.com reports.

Strasburg got through a simulated game Friday without issues. If he needs just one rehab outing, he could be in line to start the final day before the All-Star break, though he hasn't appeared in a game for over a month so the team may elect to take things slowly.

Flexen will be called up to start Sunday against the Rays, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Despite an off day Thursday, the Mets need a fifth starter with a doubleheader coming up Monday. Flexen has allowed eight runs (four earned) in 3.1 innings of relief for the Mets this season and has a mediocre 4.84 ERA in 67 innings for Triple-A Las Vegas.

Coleman signed a minor-league contract with the Cubs on Thursday and was assigned to Triple-A Iowa, the Des Moines Register reports.

Coleman had been pitching for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League, recording an 0.96 ERA in seven games (six starts). The 31-year-old last pitched at the major-league level in 2014 and has a career 5.72 ERA in 177.2 big-league innings, but he could now be just an injury or two away from an emergency call-up.

Fried was put on the 10-day DL on Friday due to a left middle finger blister.

Fried will be on the shelf until after the All-Star break. He began developing a blister during Thursday's outing in Milwaukee, during which he lasted just three innings while allowing four runs in a loss. In a corresponding move, the Braves recalled Evan Phillips from the minors.

Fried began developing a blister during Thursday's start against the Brewers, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Fried allowed four runs over three innings at Milwaukee and the blister apparently began to form on his left middle finger during his final inning, so manager Brian Snitker pulled him to avoid worsening the issue. The 24-year-old also dealt with blisters each of the past two seasons in the minor leagues. It's currently unclear if he will be available for his next scheduled start against the Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Lauer (4-5) allowed one earned run on seven hits and two walks while striking out two across five innings to earn the win Thursday against the Diamondbacks.

Lauer was hardly dominant -- he allowed nine batters to reach base -- but he managed to limit the damage thanks to holding the Diamondbacks homerless in his five innings. He's now put together a string of seven consecutive starts in which he has allowed three or fewer earned runs, though he has completed six innings only twice in that span and struck out 28 batters across 37.2 innings. Without a standout area of production, Lauer's value is limited to deeper league formats even with his recent run of success.

Cueto (3-1) allowed five earned runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out two across five innings to take the loss Thursday against the Cardinals.

The final line wasn't pretty for Cueto in his first start since April 28, but he allowed four hits, one walk and four of his five earned runs in his first inning of work. From there, his only blemish was a solo home run surrendered to Matt Carpenter in the second inning. While he didn't get back to his full workload, he managed to throw 76 pitches, a decent effort for his first start in over two months. His velocity will be worth monitoring as his fastball velocity was down nearly 1.5 mph from his season average, though that shouldn't induce panic in the first start after such a long layoff.

Fried (1-3) took the loss Thursday, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks in just three innings while striking out one in the 7-2 loss to Milwaukee.

After a scoreless, 11-strikeout performance in his last outing, Fried's rough night Thursday was pretty disappointing. The 24-year-old's ERA shot up to 3.92 in 20.2 innings this season. With Brandon McCarthy (knee) still on the disabled list, Fried should stick around with Atlanta a bit longer. Assuming he does, he should take the mound Wednesday against Toronto.

Lopez surrendered five runs over 5.0 innings in a no-decision Thursday against the Nationals. He surrendered five hits and two walks while racking up three strikeouts.

Lopez tamed the Nationals lineup through four innings before coming undone in the fifth when he gave up four earned runs. Still, Lopez was in line for the win when he left the mound, but a meltdown from Adam Conley led to the Nationals taking the lead. Lopez is lined up to make his next start Tuesday against the Brewers.

Teheran was sent back to Atlanta after feeling ill, but he's expected to make his scheduled start Tuesday against Toronto, David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The Braves elected to keep Teheran away from his teammates in an effort to contain the sickness, especially since he isn't slated to start until next week. He'll be listed as day-to-day, but he should be ready to go for Tuesday's series opener.