MLB Player News

Eflin was removed from his start Wednesday against the Marlins after four innings due to left knee discomfort, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports. He gave up five earned runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three.

Eflin's early exit initially appeared to a result of him being knocked around by the Miami offense, but Tampa Bay later relayed that an injury played a role in the right-hander being lifted after 53 pitches. The Rays will likely evaluate Eflin after the game and possibly even in send him in for an MRI before determining whether he'll be ready to make his next turn through the rotation. On a fortunate note for Eflin, it was an injury to his other knee that forced him to the injured list earlier this season, so he doesn't appear to be dealing with a related setback.

Wood is expected to work as a bulk reliever behind opener Ryan Walker in Wednesday's game against the Athletics, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Wood will be making his fifth relief appearance of the season, as he's worked in a traditional starting role on the other 11 occasions that he's taken the hill. Walker has maxed out at three innings over 38 appearances between the majors and minors this season, so he's unlikely to work more than once through the order before turning the game over to Wood. The bulk-relief role should set Wood up better for scooping up the win than if he had been deployed as a starter.

Urquidy (shoulder) struck out four over four scoreless innings in a rehab start Tuesday with Double-A Corpus Christi. He gave up one hit and one walk in the 53-pitch outing.

Urquidy spotted 37 of his pitches for strikes in his third rehab start and first with Corpus Christi after the previous two came with Triple-A Sugar Land. The right-hander has gradually built up his innings and pitch counts over the three outings, but he'll still likely require one more start in the minors before being deemed ready to return from the 60-day injured list. Urquidy compiled a 5.20 ERA and 1.55 WHIP over his six starts with Houston before he was deactivated in May with the right shoulder injury.

Dunn (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Tuesday, MLB.com reports.

It appears to be the first time he's thrown from the bump since he went down with soreness in the subscapularis muscle in his right rotator cuff back in spring training. The goal is for Dunn to face hitters on Aug. 8 and begin a rehab assignment by Aug. 19. If all goes well, he could rejoin the Reds sometime in September.

Lodolo (lower leg) is not expected to be an option for the Reds until September, MLB.com reports.

Lodolo did throw a bullpen session Tuesday, which was the first time he's thrown off a mound since he went down with a left tibia stress reaction in early May. He's just now ramping back up after a long layoff, though, and it's going to take a while to rebuild stamina. "That's kind of how I've been thinking about it. It's a little bit tough because there hasn't been a calendar yet," Bell said earlier in July when asked if September was a realistic return date for Lodolo. "That seems right to me."

Gutierrez (elbow ) threw a simulated game at the Reds' spring training complex in Arizona on Tuesday, MLB.com reports.

The right-hander will begin a rehab assignment with the Reds' Arizona Complex League affiliate late this week. Coming back from last July's Tommy John surgery, Gutierrez is being prepped to return as a reliever but could go back to starting in 2024.

Cueto is listed as the Marlins' probable starting pitcher for Saturday's game against the Tigers at LoanDepot Park.

Rather than bringing back standout rookie Eury Perez from the minors to step back in as their fifth starter, the Marlins will turn to Cueto make a second straight turn through the rotation. Though he was hit hard in his first start of the season with the Marlins on April 3 and then continued to struggle during an extended minor-league rehab assignment, Cueto has been surprisingly effective since being activated from the 60-day injured list July 10. After tossing three scoreless innings in relief July 16 in Baltimore, Cueto picked up a start last Saturday against the Rockies and struck out eight over six innings of one-run ball.

Morton (10-8) took the loss Tuesday, giving up four runs on six hits and five walks over 3.2 innings as Atlanta fell 7-1 to the Red Sox. He struck out only one.

Rain delayed the start of the game by over an hour and a half, and Morton was clearly out of sync when he finally got on the mound, tossing only 47 of 80 pitches and issuing a season-high five free passes before getting the hook. The 39-year-old right-hander's 1.42 WHIP on the year is his worst mark since his days with the Pirates over a decade ago, but Morton has been able to maintain a respectable 3.57 ERA thanks to a 47.1 percent GB% and 10.2 percent HR/FB%. He'll try to rebound in his next outing, which is likely to come at home early next week against the Angels.

Williams didn't factor into the decision Tuesday against the Rockies, giving up four runs on nine hits over six innings. He struck out three without walking a batter.

The first pitch was delayed by nearly 90 minutes due to rain, and that may have disrupted Williams' focus as he gave up a pair of runs in the second and third innings before settling in. After a second rain delay, the Nationals were able to steal a win with a late rally and take him off the hook for his sixth loss of the year. The right-hander hasn't produced a quality start since June 21, stumbling to a 5.34 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 19:9 K:BB through 28.2 innings over his last six outings. Williams will try to bounce back in his next start, which is likely to come on the road this weekend against the Mets.

Cabrera (5-6) took the loss Tuesday, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over two innings against the Rays.

After Cabrera pitched a clean opening frame, the Rays rallied to put up three runs with two outs in the second inning, forcing Cabrera out of the game after throwing 53 pitches. The Marlins have understandably been cautious with Cabrera after he missed over a month with a shoulder injury. He's allowed four runs over seven innings in two starts since returning to the rotation. Overall, Cabrera sports a 4.74 ERA with a 1.42 WHIP and 90:46 K:BB through 16 starts (74 innings) this season. His next outing is currently lined up for next week against Philadelphia.