MLB Player News

Cole (elbow) threw approximately 36 pitches in a bullpen session Tuesday, per MLB.com.

Cole continues to incrementally increase his pitch count during his throwing sessions -- his previous bullpen took place Saturday and included 29 pitches. The veteran right-hander sat at around 89 mph with his fastball in that session, so he appears to still have a ways to go to get back up to full speed, but so far his recovery seems to be going smoothly, with manager Aaron Boone characterizing Cole's outlook as "onward and upward." There's no indication yet of when Cole may begin a rehab assignment, but he isn't likely to be activated off the IL until after the start of June.

The Mets recalled Lucchesi from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday.

Lucchesi will make a spot start Wednesday in Philadelphia. The 30-year-old has spent all of the 2024 season with Syracuse, collecting a 2.58 ERA and 28:16 K:BB over 38.1 frames. Lucchesi makes for a poor streaming option Wednesday in a difficult matchup.

The Mets optioned Butto to Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday.

Butto mostly pitched well in seven starts for the Mets, but he's had trouble throwing strikes in his last five outings, walking 17 over 26 innings. With Adrian Houser and/or Tylor Megill (shoulder) possibly rejoining the rotation soon, the Mets have elected to send Butto back to Syracuse.

Stone (4-1) got the win Tuesday against the Giants, allowing one run on five hits and three walks while striking out two over six innings.

Stone walked more batters than he struck out, which is never ideal, but he generated a bunch of soft contact with the only run against him coming off a base hit in the sixth inning. That's now four straight quality starts for Stone during which he's allowed one run in each. Over his last six starts, the 25-year-old boasts a 2.00 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 18:12 K:BB in 36 innings. The strikeouts aren't there but Stone continues to give the Dodgers excellent length and tentatively lines up to face Arizona at home to begin next week.

Cease (5-3) took the loss Tuesday against the Rockies, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out eight over 5.2 innings.

Cease blanked the Rockies through three before Ryan McMahon took him deep to lead off the fourth. He then ran into some trouble in the sixth, allowing an additional run before being pulled with two outs in the inning and being charged with a third run before the frame concluded. It was just the second time this year Cease has failed to complete six innings and his first since his season debut. The strikeouts continue to pile up, as he's punched out at least eight in four of his last five starts and is second in the majors with 68 over 55 innings. He now owns a 2.45 ERA and 0.78 WHIP and lines up for a tough test on the road against Atlanta next week.

Bassitt won't start Wednesday's game against the Orioles at Camden Yards, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Bassitt was slated to start Tuesday in Baltimore before the game was postponed due to inclement weather. Rather than pushing each member of their rotation back a day in the pitching schedule to accommodate the postponement, the Blue Jays will have Yusei Kikuchi take the hill on normal rest Wednesday. As Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca notes, Bassitt has been hit hard by left-handed batters this season, and the lefty Kikuchi may give Toronto a better chance at coming away with a win against a lefty-heavy Baltimore lineup. The Blue Jays haven't announced their rotation plans for this weekend's series with the Rays, but expect Bassitt to start at least one of those games rather than having his turn skipped entirely.

Quantrill (3-3) earned the win over the Padres on Tuesday, allowing one run on six hits and three walks while striking out five over six innings.

Quantrill has now won three straight decisions while allowing just two runs over his last 19.2 innings pitched. He blanked the Padres through six frames and was pulled after surrendering a leadoff walk to Jurickson Profar in the seventh, who would end up scoring in the inning. Dating back to April 15, Quantrill has allowed one or fewer runs in five of his six starts and is now down to a 3.66 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 36:20 K:BB in 51.2 innings. He'll look to keep the momentum going, as he tentatively lines up for a road start against the Athletics next week.

Kikuchi is slated to start Wednesday's game against the Orioles in Baltimore, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

After Tuesday's game was postponed, the Blue Jays hadn't initially named a starter for Wednesday's series finale. Rather than pushing Chris Bassitt back a day in the pitching schedule after he had been in line to take the hill Tuesday, the Blue Jays will instead move up Kikuchi and have him take the hill Wednesday on his normal four days' rest. Kikuchi took a loss his last time out Friday against the Twins, but he worked a season-high eight innings and lowered his ERA to 2.64.

Greene (2-2) got the win over the Diamondbacks on Tuesday, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five over seven innings.

Greene's only blunder of an inning came in the third after he allowed the first two guys on before they came around to score on a base knock from Blaze Alexander. He otherwise kept Arizona quiet and put together an excellent rebound outing after some mixed results against the Diamondbacks last week. Greene has walked at least a batter in every start this season, but his one free pass was significantly better than the nine he'd given up over his last two starts. The 24-year-old flamethrower now owns a 3.27 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 58:22 K:BB in 52.1 innings. He lines up to complete a two-start week against the Dodgers this weekend.

Cecconi (1-3) was charged with Tuesday's loss to the Reds. He allowed six runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three over 5.2 innings.

Cecconi has been dynamite the first time through orders, when opponents are hitting .029 with a .084 OPS, but things go sideways after that. The second time through, Cecconi is allowing a .355 average and 1.283 OPS. He told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com that Tuesday's outing brought the struggles into focus: "It's a mental thing," the right-hander said. Cecconi said when he starts to get hit, he focuses on locating the ball, which takes velocity off whichever type of pitch he's trying to execute. He vowed to use Tuesday as a lesson that he can take into his next start Monday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.