MLB Player News

Sasaki (shoulder) is playing catch at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, per Dodgers Nation.

Sasaki resumed a throwing program last week and is slowly working his way back from a right shoulder impingement. Though he's back to playing catch, the rookie right-hander is expected to be out several more weeks. Sasaki will likely need to embark upon a minor-league rehab assignment before he's ready to be activated from the injured list, and he's unlikely to be back in the Dodgers rotation until at least late June.

Oviedo (lat) threw a bullpen session Tuesday and is expected to throw live batting practice later this week, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Oviedo is close to taking the next step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in December of 2023. He'll likely need a lengthy rehab assignment after facing live hitters, so he likely won't return to major-league action until July. Oviedo posted a 9-14 record across 32 regular-season starts for the Pirates in 2023 and held a 4.31 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 158:83 K:BB across 177.2 innings.

Mikolas and the Cardinals won't face the Royals on Wednesday, as the game was postponed due to rain, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Wednesday's game will be made up as part of a doubleheader Thursday, and Mikolas will likely take the mound at some point during the twin bill. The veteran right-hander has already made a start against the Royals this season, during which he twirled six shutout innings while giving up just two hits and two walks while striking out four batters on May 17.

Manager Rob Thomson said Wednesday that Nola (ankle) will be shut down from throwing for a couple days due to right side stiffness, Jordan Horrobin of MLB.com reports.

Nola was slated to throw another bullpen session Thursday as the next step in his recovery from a sprained right ankle, but the Phillies will instead push his next mound session back a few days. Thomson described the right-hander's side injury as "very mild," so it shouldn't impact his return timeline too much.

The Phillies recalled Abel from Triple-A Lehigh Valley ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday in Toronto.

Zack Wheeler (personal) was placed on the paternity list in a corresponding move, but Abel will be taking over the rotation spot that had previously been occupied by Taijuan Walker, who has been moved to a relief role. Walker had been filling in for Aaron Nola (ankle), who has resumed throwing off a mound and should eventually take the rotation spot back from Abel once he's activated from the 15-day injured list. Nola will likely need to make a rehab start in the minors before being reinstated, so Abel should be in good position to get at least two turns through the rotation while he's up with the big club. The 23-year-old righty was highly impressive in his MLB debut back on May 18 against the Pirates, covering six shutout innings and scattering five hits while striking out nine batters.

The Phillies placed Wheeler (personal) on the paternity list Wednesday.

Wheeler didn't travel to Toronto for the three-game series versus the Blue Jays this week while awaiting the birth of his child, but the Phillies waited until Wednesday before officially deactivating him. In a corresponding move, the Phillies recalled right-hander Mick Abel from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, and he'll start Wednesday's game. Per MLB rules, Wheeler will have to miss between one and three games while on the paternity list, so the expectation is that he'll be activated to make a start at some point during this weekend's series in Pittsburgh.

The Padres are optimistic Darvish (elbow) will be ready to make his season debut before the end of June, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Darvish had a setback with his right elbow following his lone rehab start in mid-May, but he threw his second bullpen session in as many days Tuesday. Both mound sessions were low intensity, with Darvish topping out at 90 mph, but he's slated to throw a more intense bullpen session Friday. There is no firm timetable for Darvish's return, with manager Mike Shildt saying the 38-year-old is "going to create his own timelines with us."

Gallen (4-7) earned the win Tuesday in Atlanta after giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk over seven innings. He struck out four.

The right-hander pounded the zone with 65 of his 89 pitches going for strikes, and the single walk marks the first time he hasn't issued multiple free passes in a start since April 2. Gallen entered Tuesday with an 8.02 ERA and 17:11 K:BB in his previous four starts, but he was able to get back in the win column with his fifth quality start of the campaign. He'll carry a 5.13 ERA and 1.33 WHIP over 73.2 innings into his next start, which tentatively lines up for Sunday in Cincinnati.

Strider (0-4) took the loss Tuesday against the Diamondbacks, coughing up five runs on six hits -- including three home runs -- and two walks over five innings. He struck out four.

The right-hander struggled through 85 pitches (52 strikes), serving up homers to Ketel Marte in the first and third innings and Corbin Carroll in the fifth. Strider has been a shell of himself since returning from a hamstring injury, posting a 6.43 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 14:7 K:BB over three starts and 14 innings, and his velocity remains down -- he's averaging 95.2 mph on his four-seamer this season, over two ticks below the 97.3 mph he was averaging in 2023. Strider will try to find his form in his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road this weekend in San Francisco.

Priester is scheduled to work in bulk relief behind opening pitcher DL Hall in Wednesday's game against the Reds, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Milwaukee will go back to the Hall/Priester combination after the two successfully worked in tandem this past Friday against the Phillies. In that game, Hall opened the contest with three no-hit, shutout innings, while Priester followed with six innings of two-run ball to earn the win. Hall could work slightly deeper into Wednesday's contest if he's efficient with his pitch count, but Priester still profiles as the Milwaukee pitcher most likely to factor into the decision.