MLB Player News

Could the Marlins have rushed right-hander Henderson Alvarez back from the disabled list? Alvarez returned from the DL last weekend after suffering elbow tightness and shoulder inflammation, and had a rough start on Saturday against the Braves. But the Marlins needed him to come back with fellow starter Jarred Cosart placed on the DL with a bout of vertigo.

CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman reports that Alvarez has apparently been pitching with a 90-percent torn UCL for years, but has been able to get by without needing surgery.

Last year, Alvarez made 30 starts for the Marlins, and finished with a very impressive 2.65 ERA. It is worth wondering if Alvarez was in fact ready to return from his DL stint, or if the return will have any long-term ramifications.

The Blue Jays inquired about Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels, but were told Hamels would not waive his 20-team no-trade clause to go to Toronto, sources told CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman.

Heyman wrote Hamels turning down a trade to the Blue Jays was disappointing to the Phillies since Philadelphia likely saw Toronto as a good trade partner with all its young pitching talent (i.e. Aaron Sanchez, Daniel Norris).

Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks was at his best on Thursday, giving up just five hits and no walks in a complete-game shutout of the Padres in San Diego.

Hendricks (1-1) tossed 108 pitches in the 3-0 win, giving up just five singles in the game while earning his first win. He's held the opposition scoreless in two of his last three outings but gave up five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings in his previous start.

"I'm not going to say I needed it, but I needed it," Hendricks said after the game, per MLB.com.

Hendricks owns a 4.14 ERA and 37:9 K:BB ratio in 45 2/3 innings. He's on track to face the Nationals on Tuesday.

Padres pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne took the loss on Thursday, giving up two earned runs on six hits and two walks in six innings while striking out four in his team's 3-0 shutout against the Cubs.

Despaigne (2-3) took his third straight loss, although his previous two outings were both blowouts. The starter surrendered a two-run homer to the second batter of the game but was able to pitch well over the remainder of his night. His offense hasn't scored a run of support in three straight outings.

Despaigne owns a 6.11 ERA and 16:11 K:BB ratio in 35 1/3 innings. He's in line to face the Angels on the road on Tuesday, and manager Bud Black said after the game that it's more than likely Despaigne will remain in the rotation for his next potential start, per MLB.com.

Braves pitcher Julio Teheran earned a win on Thursday, allowing one earned run on just two hits and one walk in seven innings while striking out eight in his team's 10-1 victory over the Brewers.

"He had command of all his pitches," manager Fredi Gonzalez said after the game, per MLB.com. "He kept them off-balance and made some pitches when he had to."

Teheran (4-1) gave up a run on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning but was brilliant on Thursday to earn just his second win in his last seven starts. He was in danger of missing out on the win as the score remained tied heading into the bottom of the seventh, but the Braves were able to explode for seven runs to put the game out of reach.

"I've been working to get back on track and it showed today that I've been working really good, trying to get my fastball, trying to get all my pitches for strikes and that's something that will get some wins for us," Teheran said.

Teheran owns a 3.91 ERA and 47:19 K:BB ratio in 50 2/3 innings. He's on track to face the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw surrendered four runs on seven hits over 7 1/3 innings during Thursday's 4-0 loss to the Giants.

During the outing, Kershaw struck out seven batters and walked two. The first run he gave up was a solo home run to pitcher Madison Bumgarner in the third inning. Kershaw surrendered another run in the fourth inning and he was pulled in the eighth after surrendering two more runs.

Kershaw received his third loss of the season for his effort. He has now given up at least three runs in four-consecutive starts. His next scheduled start is set for Tuesday against the Braves.

Mets starter Jacob deGrom stifled the Cardinals hitters on Thursday, as the Mets defeated the Redbirds 5-0.

deGrom was stellar, allowing just one hit over eight shutout innings. He struck out a season-high 11 batters and didn't walk anyone. He threw 79 of his 104 pitches for strikes. The only hit he allowed was a one-out single in the top of the first. He retired the next 23 batters he faced after that.

If there was one knock on deGrom's performance, perhaps it was that he did not get a hit on the afternoon.

deGrom has been dealing with minor hip and shoulder soreness of late, which is why manager Terry Collins opted to lift him with after eight innings, according to ESPN.com

"I haven't thrown a complete game in the big leagues," deGrom said. "That's something I want to do. But I had a lot of pitches early on. My goal was to try to stay in there for at least seven. Then, whenever they let me go back out for the eighth, I was just happy to do that."

The young right-hander improved to 5-4 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.75. He's allowed just one run over his last 14 innings pitched. deGrom will look to keep the good times rolling in his next start, scheduled for Tuesday against the Phillies. 

Dodgers left-handed starter Hyun-Jin Ryu underwent shoulder surgery on Thursday. The surgery was successful, but Ryu will not pitch this season. 

Ryu is expected to be ready for spring training, according to The Los Angeles Times. Though the team has not provided details on his recovery process at this point. 

Diamondbacks starting pitcher Chase Anderson relied on his two-seam fastball to propel him to a career-high eight strikeouts during a 6-1 win Wednesday at Miami. More than half of his fastballs Wednesday were two-seamers, per MLB.com.

"I just felt like I had a good grip on the ball," Anderson said. "I could really manipulate it when I needed to, to get a little sink to it. You want to get more run than sink. I was able to do different things. You get a little bit more moisture there. Your hand feels better on the ball. You have a better feel for the ball."

Anderson also induced 13 groundouts during Wednesday's win.

"Just attacked the strike zone," said Anderson, who didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning. "I worked on two-seam in spring training, and that definitely paid off today. It was such a good defense. When you utilize those guys, getting ahead with a strike, and guys put the ball in play on the ground, you get a lot of outs that way."

Anderson was winless in his first seven starts before picking up the victory Wednesday. It was mostly due to poor run support. Entering play Wednesday, Anderson received just 10 runs of support, which was tied for second fewest among NL starters with Eddie Butler and trailing only Dillon Gee (five).

Diamondbacks pitcher Chase Anderson put in a strong performance by allowing only one earned run in Wednesday night's 6-1 win over the Marlins. 

Anderson struck out two batters, walked one and gave up four hits in eight innings pitched. Anderson has been great of late as he's only surrendered three earned runs over his past four games. 

He now holds a 2.54 ERA for the season. 

Anderson's next start is projected for May 25 against the Cardinals.