MLB Player News

Sale (ribs) will begin a rehab assignment next week and may need only two starts before rejoining the big-league rotation, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

"Today was a good box to check after kind of a long layoff," Sale said Thursday after throwing 30 pitches in a simulated game. "When you go through something like this, the most important thing is feeling good afterwards. And I was able to throw a lot of strikes, too. So, we'll see what tomorrow brings and go from there." The veteran southpaw has been sidelined since June 18 due to a rib injury, but he appears on track to be back before the end of the month.

Gage will serve as the Giants' opener for Friday's game against Washington, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Gage will likely handle the first inning or two of Friday's contest, with Kai-Wei Teng as the top candidate to serve as a bulk reliever. In seven appearances with the Giants this season, Gage hasn't allowed a run and owns an 8:3 K:BB across 9.1 innings.

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Horton's name came up in discussions before last week's trade deadline, but the team was unwilling to move the young pitcher, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Chicago was reportedly interested in All-Stars MacKenzie Gore and Joe Ryan, but it appears acquiring either pitcher would have required moving Horton, and the team was unwilling to do so. Horton has rewarded the club's faith recently, as the rookie has rattled off four consecutive scoreless starts totaling 22.2 innings. On the season, the 23-year-old righty has an impressive 3.18 ERA across 79.1 innings. While Gore or Ryan would have provided the Cubs' rotation with a bigger name for the stretch run, the team clearly sees long-term ace potential in Horton.

Tucker, who has been hampered by a right ring finger injury sustained June 1, says the finger now feels "fine," Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

While Tucker downplayed the impact of the injury on his play in recent weeks, his production has taken a dip. In 52 games since jamming his finger on a stolen base attempt, the outfielder is slashing .255/.373/.413 with six home runs. While those aren't bad numbers, they do pale in comparison to the .283/.391/.520 slash line and 12 homers he posted in 58 contests through the end of May. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer acknowledged the 28-year-old may have developed some bad habits in his swing to compensate for the issue, even if the finger was no longer bothering Tucker. Either way, the outfielder seems determined to play through his aches and pains, and he has enough talent to get back to the elite level he displayed earlier this season.

Henderson is slated to start Saturday's game against the Mets at American Family Field.

The rookie right-hander will make his second straight turn through the rotation in place of Jacob Misiorowski (tibia). After being recalled from Triple-A Nashville last weekend, Henderson took a no-decision in this past Sunday's win over the Nationals, covering 4.1 innings while striking out four and allowing one earned run on three hits and two walks. The Brewers seem optimistic that Misiorowski is on track to return from the IL when first eligible Aug. 15, so Henderson may not be in line for additional starts beyond Saturday.

Martinez is slated to start Saturday's' game against the Pirates at PNC Park.

After one appearance out of the bullpen following the acquisition of Zack Littell, Martinez will slot back into the rotation after Cincinnati placed Nick Lodolo (finger) on the injured list Tuesday. Lodolo sustained a blister on his pitching hand Monday, resulting in his early exit while Martinez came on to cover 2.1 innings in relief. The righty tossed 103 pitches and six innings in a July 30 start versus the Dodgers, so he shouldn't be operating with any workload restrictions as he steps back into the rotation.

Triolo went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Reds.

Triolo has started six of eight games since Ke'Bryan Hayes was traded, with his primary on-field value coming from his glove. However, he managed a two-RBI single in the first inning Thursday to make a rare offensive contribution. Triolo has gone 6-for-20 with three RBI and five runs scored across his six starts since inheriting the starting role, with the last three starts coming at shortstop while Isiah Kiner-Falefa has shifted to third base.

Davis went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and two runs scored Thursday against the Reds.

Davis entered Thursday with only one hit across his previous 39 at-bats while striking out at a 30.6 percent clip. That drought ended when he led off the fourth inning with a single before coming around to score, and he then went yard three frames later. While Davis managed to tally his fifth home run of the campaign, he is still hitting only .172/.254/.290 across 193 plate appearances.

Baldwin went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI in Thursday's win over the Marlins.

Baldwin opened the scoring with a solo blast off Eury Perez, Baldwin's first long ball since July 9, before adding a three-run shot in the sixth for his first multi-homer game in the majors. The rookie backstop is heating up in August, batting 8-for-21 (.381) with three multi-hit performances. As Atlanta furthers from playoff contention, Baldwin could see more at-bats versus left-handed pitching down the stretch.

Iglesias earned the save Thursday against the Marlins, working a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts.

Called on to protect a two-run lead, Iglesias shut down the top of the Marlins order with ease. Over his last eight appearances, the veteran right-hander has posted a 1.13 ERA while allowing just five total baserunners. He's up to 15 saves on the season and should remain locked into the closer role after Atlanta refrained from moving him at the trade deadline.