MLB Player News

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole, who's on the DL with a shoulder fatigue, will throw a bullpen session Friday, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. It's a positive sign for Cole, who's 6-3 with a 3.64 ERA in 12 starts.

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole, who went on the disabled list Sunday with shoulder fatigue, threw a long-tossing session and then threw hard on flat ground from 60 feet Wednesday, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He also threw 25 pitches from 60 feet Monday.

Cole has not begun throwing off a mound.

Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright leads the National League with nine wins despite battling a variety of ailments this year, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He has pitched through a sore back, the flu, and tendinitis, the report said, adding he's been dealing with head cold-like allergies for a month.

It hasn't stopped him from posting a 2.15 ERA or becoming the first pitcher in the majors to throw 100 innings.

Rockies pitcher Juan Nicasio was hit hard yet again Tuesday, in a 13-10 loss to the Braves.

Nicasio was tagged for 10 runs in 3 2/3 innings, and he nearly didn't make it that far. The majority of the damage came in the first inning, as the Braves jumped on him for seven runs in the first frame. He allowed 11 hits and two walks, while striking out two batters on 71 pitches.

Nicasio took the loss, as the Rockies were down 10-5 by the time he left the game. He is now 5-5 following a three-game losing streak, and has allowed 22 runs in his last 13 2/3 innings during that stretch. He has a 5.70 ERA with his next start scheduled for Sunday in San Francisco.

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright did not have his best swing-and-miss stuff Tuesday against the Rays, but still shut the offense down in a 1-0 win.

Wainwright tossed seven shutout innings, despite striking out just two batters. He also recorded just six ground ball outs, his second-lowest total of the season, but still managed to keep the Rays off the board. He scattered seven hits and a pair of walks, while throw 92 pitches in the win.

Wainwright won his ninth decision of the season, and became the first pitcher in the majors to reach 100 innings on the season. He is currently 9-3 while ranking fifth in the NL with a 2.15 ERA heading into his next outing, Monday against the Mets.  

The Braves expect Alex Wood to be a starter from this point on in the season, after he was optioned back to Triple-A Gwinnett Tuesday.

Wood, who had been pitching out of the bullpen for a month after opening the season as a starter for the Braves, will now be stretched out as a starter. According to MLB.com, Wood will throw up to 60 pitches in his first start at Triple-A Friday, and will be the first player the team calls on if a need for another start arises.

"We need him to go down and stretch out," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "There's no timetable. But he's a big piece of our organization and our future."

One obvious day Wood could return to Atlanta is June 28, when the Braves play the Phillies in a doubleheader. Otherwise, he will have to wait for a trade or injury to open up a rotation spot. 

Marlins pitcher Henderson Alvarez told The Miami Herald he should be able to make his next start, and his exit from last Sunday's outing was more of a precaution than anything.

"Everything was fine. I was good. The only thing is when I fell it looked ugly. But I could have kept pitching," Alvarez said. "I didn't have anything wrong with my body. I wanted to keep pitching."

Alvarez will throw his usual between-start bullpen session Wednesday or Thursday, and that is the lone hurdle he has to get through. Manager Mike Redmond seems confident that Alvarez will be able to make his next scheduled start, Sunday against the Pirates.

Marlins pitcher Nate Eovaldi will start Friday against the Pirates, the team announced Tuesday.

Though there was a chance Eovaldi might be pushed up to start on short rest Wednesday due to the birth of a child, the team confirmed his next turn in the rotation will come Friday, as initially planned. 

With word Alex Wood is headed to Triple-A Gwinnett to be stretched out (or re-stretched out) as a starter, those who waited patiently for his return to the starting rotation can now look forward to their reward.

And those who play in a league where he was dropped can now claim someone else's.

Wood, remember, looked like one of this season's biggest breakouts at starting pitcher in April, compiling a 1.54 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings in his first five starts. The problem was he pitched seven innings or more in four of them, which wouldn't have been a problem at all if Wood hadn't spent much of last season in the bullpen, accumulating just 143 innings between the majors, minors and postseason.

The Braves had to slow him down, so after he made a couple more starts (both five innings, but only one bad), they sent him to the bullpen. Aaron Harang had earned a longer look in the starting rotation, and they were short on relievers anyway. It was never meant to be a permanent arrangement, though, and now that Harang has established something in the way of trade value, the Braves are preparing to get Wood back where he belongs.

So should you, particularly in Head-to-Head points leagues. As SPARPs (starting pitchers with relief pitcher eligibility) go, Wood is more Garrett Richards than Jesse Chavez.

The Braves optioned pitcher Alex Wood to Triple-A Gwinnett Tuesday. It was reported earlier Tuesday by MLB.com the team is demoting Wood so he can work as a starter in the minors.