MLB Player News

Atlanta recalled Ritchie from Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.

One day after being optioned to Triple-A, Ritchie will rejoin Atlanta after Martin Perez exited his start in Sunday's loss to the Mets due to a forearm contusion and was moved to the 15-day injured list. Though the loss of Perez creates a need for a fifth starter, Bryce Elder is expected to slot back into the rotation during the upcoming week after having his previous turn skipped. As such, Ritchie will serve as a multi-inning option out of the Atlanta bullpen for the team's final seven games before the All-Star break, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

Atlanta placed Perez on the 15-day injured list Monday due to a left forearm contusion.

Perez exited his start in Sunday's loss to the Mets after being struck in the pitching arm by a line drive. An X-ray and CT scan cleared Perez of any broken bones, but the southpaw will receive at least a couple weeks of down time to overcome soreness.

Atlanta selected Murphy's contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.

The 22-year-old Murphy has made 16 starts this season between Double-A Columbus and Gwinnett, registering a 4.44 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 92:38 K:BB over 81 innings. Murphy has never made a relief appearance in professional ball, but Atlanta is expected to deploy him as a long man out of the bullpen to begin his time in the majors, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

The Red Sox announced June 29 that Crawford (forearm) has been throwing plyometric balls during workouts at the team's spring training facility in Florida, MLB.com reports.

Crawford was expected to be in store for an abbreviated stint on the shelf to begin the season while completing his recovery from the wrist surgery he underwent last July, but he experienced forearm tightness coming out of his lone rehab start April 11 with Triple-A Worcester and has struggled to bounce back. While the fact that he's not shut down from activity entirely is promising, Crawford will still need to complete an extended throwing progression followed by a lengthy rehab assignment before he factors into the Red Sox's pitching plans. Given the multiple hurdles he still needs to clear, Crawford is unlikely to return from the 60-day injured list until August or September.

Rodon (elbow) is not expected to be ready to rejoin the Yankees' rotation until around mid-August, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports.

Rodon landed on the 15-day injured list this past Friday with a left elbow injury. While the hurler's UCL is uncompromised, he is dealing with significant inflammation that's likely to keep him shelved for at least 4-to-6 weeks. The southpaw got a late start to the season while recovering from offseason elbow surgery, so the Yankees undoubtedly will tread lightly here. Rodon has turned in a 3.30 ERA and 52:26 K:BB over 46.1 innings covering nine starts for the Yankees this season.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said that Cabrera (hamstring) resumed a throwing program this weekend, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

Cabrera is limited to playing catch, but after the Cubs came away encouraged by how his strained hamstring responded over the weekend, he could advance to throwing off a mound later this week before the team heads into the All-Star break. The right-hander probably won't be ready to return from the 15-day injured list immediately coming out of the break, but he'll have a shot at rejoining the Chicago rotation before the end of July if he steers clear of any setbacks with his hamstring while building back up.

Ober (elbow) struck out five and allowed four earned runs on six hits and no walks across five innings in a rehab start Saturday with Triple-A St. Paul.

After tossing 3.1 innings in his first rehab appearance with High-A Cedar Rapids on June 28, Ober moved up a couple of levels for his second outing in the minors. The right-hander induced five whiffs and pushed his pitch count up to 76 (50 strikes), with all reports afterward indicating that Ober's elbow checked out fine following the start, per MLB.com. Ober is likely to throw a bullpen session Monday or Tuesday, and if all goes well, he could return from the 15-day injured list to make his next start this weekend during the Twins' series versus the Angels.

Lowder will pitch out of the bullpen until the All-Star break, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox19 Now reports. "When we get to next Sunday, we'll see where we're at and map it out from there," Reds manager Terry Francona said over the weekend. "We're not trying to make Lowder a bullpen guy. We're trying to figure out ways to protect our staff, win games and get through this next week."

Lowder's transition to the bullpen was triggered by the return of Hunter Greene to the rotation. Lowder is expected to provide length as a reliever but could also get use in high-leverage spots when a right-hander is needed.

Johnson (1-4) took the loss Sunday, allowing five runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk over four innings against the Red Sox. He struck out six.

The 23-year-old was done in by the long ball, surrendering a two-run homer to Jarren Duran in the second inning before serving up a three-run shot to Willson Contreras in the third frame, though all three runs on the latter blast were unearned due to an error earlier in the inning. Johnson dazzled with six shutout innings June 23 against the Orioles but has otherwise struggled at the big-league level in 2026. The right-hander will take a 6.99 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 24:10 K:BB across 28.1 innings and eight appearances (five starts) into his next outing, tentatively scheduled for Saturday against the Twins.

Lambert (7-5) earned the win Sunday against the Rays, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out six over 5.2 scoreless innings.

Lambert threw 60 of his 90 pitches for strikes and racked up 18 swing-and-misses while never allowing more than one hit in any inning. The outing continued an excellent run for the right-hander, who has now limited opponents to two or fewer runs in six of his last seven starts. Lambert owns a 3.26 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 74:32 K:BB across 80 innings this season. He's lined up to make his final start before the All-Star break on the road against the Rangers.