MLB Player News

Matz is no longer in line to start Wednesday against the Marlins, as the Cardinals have confirmed that Matthew Liberatore will draw the start in Miami, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Though prior reports suggested that Matz would get the starting nod Wednesday, the Cardinals will instead turn to Liberatore on three days' rest after the rookie covered 4.1 innings in the second game of this past Saturday's doubleheader with the Yankees. Manager Oliver Marmol hasn't revealed whether Matz will be available in relief Wednesday, but if the veteran southpaw goes unused, he'll likely be a candidate to fill the spot in the rotation vacated by Adam Wainwright (shoulder), who was placed on the 15-day injured list earlier in the day. Wainwright had been lined up to make his next start Sunday versus the White Sox.

Cueto (biceps/ankle) tossed six innings Monday in his rehab start for Triple-A Jacksonville, allowing five earned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out two.

After building up to 94 pitches Monday in what was the fifth start of his second rehab assignment of the season, Cueto appears ready to return from the 60-day injured list, at least from a workload standpoint. However, the Marlins may not view him as a better back-end rotation option than Bryan Hoeing, given Cueto's underwhelming numbers during his prolonged rehab assignment. Over four starts with Jacksonville and two with Double-A Pensacola, Cueto has logged a 10.50 ERA and 1.96 WHIP and has struck out just 10 batters over 24 innings.

Javier might not make another start before the All-Star break, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Javier's next turn would be Saturday against the Mariners, but it sounds like the team could opt to give him some extended rest around the All-Star break in light of his recent struggles. The right-hander has been touched up for a 15.19 ERA with a 6:6 K:BB over 10.2 frames covering his last three outings.

Wainwright was placed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a right shoulder strain.

The Cardinals had said after Wainwright's latest disastrous start Tuesday in Miami that he would land on the IL and the move is now official. It could be a fairly length absence, as even once he's deemed healthy Wainwright clearly has some stuff to work on. He'll likely require multiple rehab starts before the Cards consider re-inserting him into their rotation.

Miller, who was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, is "not going to pitch for a while" according to manager Scott Servais, the Associated Press reports.

Servais added Miller will be limited to playing light catch for the time being. The overarching question for fantasy managers is naturally how the "for a while" portion of the Mariners' skipper's comment will be quantified, considering the upcoming All-Star break qualifies as a fairly extended layoff in and of itself. It appears likely the next week to 10 days will be integral to how quickly Miller can heal up from an injury that affects his velocity significantly, and if that downtime doesn't prove sufficient to return him to full health, there's a chance the rookie misses additional time once play resumes.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Kelly (calf) was expected to throw a 35-40 pitch bullpen session Tuesday, Eli McKown of the Arizona Republic reports.

The manager said Kelly "feels good" and is beginning to track back to the rotation, which is expected when eligible following the All-Star break.

Davies didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 8-5 loss to the Mets, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out six.

The ball was flying at Chase Field, with Davies serving up two of the six homers that left the yard Tuesday afternoon, and the right-hander exited the game after 94 pitches (58 strikes) with the score tied 4-4. He'd been tagged for only one long ball in his prior seven starts combined, but that hadn't resulted in much success -- Davies had a 6.75 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in 33.1 innings over that stretch. He lines up for one more start before the All-Star break, at home against the Pirates.

Maeda (2-5) picked up the win in Tuesday's 9-3 victory over the Royals, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out nine.

The veteran right-hander produced his best start of the year, generating 31 called or swinging strikes over 87 pitches en route to his first quality start and a season high in strikeouts. Maeda also topped out at 92.2 mph with his fastball, a marked improvement on his velocity from April, when he made his initial return from Tommy John surgery. Since rejoining the rotation in late June after recovering from a triceps strain, he has a 1.59 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 21:5 K:BB in 17 innings over three starts.

Dunning (8-1) picked up the win Tuesday, allowing one run on six hits and a walk over six innings in a 6-2 victory over the Red Sox. He struck out four.

Texas gave the right-hander a 3-1 lead in the top of the second inning and he never looked back, tossing 61 of 89 pitches for strikes before exiting. Dunning has reeled off four straight quality starts and won four straight decisions since the beginning of June, posting a 3.29 ERA and 23:11 K:BB in his last six outings (38.1 innings). He lines up to take the mound for the Rangers' final game before the All-Star break on the road against the Nationals.

Kershaw said Monday that his shoulder injury is "trending upward" and that he feels "confident" that he'll be ready to pitch after the All-Star break, per SportsNet LA.

Kershaw also suggested that he'd have liked to skip just one start and make the next one, though he indicated an understanding of the Dodgers' decision to place him on the 15-day IL instead. The veteran southpaw described the shoulder inflammation that has sidelined him as "frustrating" and "disappointing" before explaining that he's feeling better and expressing optimism about a short recovery period. According to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also said Monday that he is "very confident" Kershaw will be ready to return when first eligible immediately following the break, so it appears likely that the future Hall of Fame hurler will end up missing just two starts.