MLB Player News

Wicks (oblique) is expected to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list to start Sunday's game against the Nationals in Washington, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Wicks had been scratched from his scheduled rehab start with Triple-A Iowa on Friday in anticipation of his return to the big club, though it wasn't immediately known whether he would be activated this weekend or early next week. The Cubs have ultimately decided to bring Wicks back for Sunday, with Jameson Taillon getting bumped back a day in the schedule to start Monday against the Pirates as a result. Before he landed on the IL on June 15 with a Grade 2 right oblique strain, Wicks compiled a 4.18 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 32:10 K:BB over 28 innings. He got stretched out to 4.2 innings and 73 pitches over the course of four minor-league rehab outings.

The Dodgers placed Kershaw on the 15-day injured list Saturday due to a bone spur in his left big toe.

Kershaw was forced out of his start Friday against the Diamondbacks in the second inning due to the injury, and manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that the southpaw's toe has swollen to the point where it's hard for him to move around, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Kershaw will now be sidelined until at least Sept. 15, and the Dodgers will bring up Ben Casparius from Triple-A Oklahoma City to provide extra coverage in the bullpen for the time being. The Dodgers haven't announced who will take Kershaw's spot in the starting rotation.

The Giants recalled Black from Triple-A Sacramento ahead of his start Saturday versus the Marlins.

The loss of Robbie Ray (hamstring) created an opening in the Giants' rotation, and Black will now come up from the minors to plug the gap. The 24-yera-old righty hasn't been impressive in his MLB career so far (8.79 ERA through 14.1 innings), but he's built some momentum in Triple-A with several consecutive solid outings, and he'll have the benefit in facing a Marlins offense that ranks 29th in the big leagues in total runs scored this year (509). Austin Warren was optioned to Sacramento in a corresponding move.

Gibson (8-6) earned the win against the Yankees on Saturday, allowing one run on five hits and no walks with six strikeouts over seven innings.

Gibson tossed three separate 1-2-3 innings and earned his first win since July 7. While he threw just 55 of 93 pitches for strikes, he didn't issue a walk -- this was only the second outing in which the veteran didn't walk a batter this season. On the year, he owns a 4.39 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 134:56 K:BB across 147.2 innings and lines up for a home matchup with the Mariners next weekend.

The Reds selected Buchanan's contract from Triple-A Louisville on Saturday.

The Reds acquired Buchanan from Philadelphia on Tuesday in exchange for cash considerations, and the 35-year-old now has the opportunity to pitch in the majors for the first time since 2015. He posted a 4.91 ERA and 1.49 WHIP across 102.2 innings during his time with the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate and will most likely be used as a multi-inning reliever while with the Reds. Evan Kravetz was DFA'd in a corresponding move.

Gomber (4-10) took the loss Friday, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk over six innings as the Rockies fell 5-3 to the Orioles. He struck out four.

The southpaw delivered his 10th quality start of the season on 90 pitches (59 strikes), but a two-run homer by Emmanuel Rivera in the fourth inning put the visitors in the lead for good. Gomber has given Colorado at least six innings in five of six trips to the mound in August, posting a 4.37 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 24:9 K:BB in 35 innings over that stretch. He'll look for a better result in his next outing, which lines up to come on the road next week in Atlanta.

Darvish (personal/elbow) threw 66 pitches over four innings Friday in a controlled game against Cincinnati minor leaguers, Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press reports.

Darvish continues to ramp up as he looks to return from an absence of over three months, initially due to an elbow injury and then because of a personal matter. The veteran right-hander threw on his own for a period while he was away from the team, and he's since tossed a bullpen and a sim game in addition to Friday's outing against minor leaguers, so he's not as far off as a starting pitcher might typically be after such a long absence. Per Wilson, Darvish felt fine following Friday's controlled game, but Darvish's next steps are yet to be determined.

Megill (3-5) picked up the win in Friday's 5-1 win over the White Sox, allowing one run on five hits and a walk over 5.1 innings. He struck out six.

Making his first big-league start since July 31, Megill got the softest possible opponent in the White Sox, but he took advantage to record his first MLB win since June 16. With Paul Blackburn (hand) sidelined into September and Christian Scott (elbow) just beginning to ramp back up, Megill figures to get at least one more start for the Mets as they try to stay in the wild-card race. The right-hander will take a 4.82 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 61:23 K:BB through 52.1 innings into his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home next week against the Red Sox.

Senzatela (elbow) completed four innings while allowing three earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five in a rehab outing with Double-Hartford on Thursday, MLB.com reports.

Senzatela was hitting 94 mph with his fastball and generally came away feeling positive from the outing. He will take another turn through the Hartford rotation and has the potential to return to the Rockies' rotation this season.

Spiers tossed two innings of relief and gave up three earned runs on three hits and no walks while striking out three Friday in the Reds' 14-0 loss to the Brewers in the second game of a doubleheader.

Even though injuries have tested the Reds' starting depth of late, manager David Bell has seemingly pulled the plug on Spiers as a member of the rotation. Spiers has made three of his last four appearances out of the bullpen, and his outing came behind a traditional starter (Rhett Lowder) rather than an opener. The right-hander looks poised to operate as a multi-inning reliever moving forward, with most of his usage likely to come in lower-leverage spots.