MLB Player News

Payamps (illness) began a rehab assignment Friday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Payamps has been on the COVID-19 injured list for the last 12 days. Given the relatively brief length of his absence and the fact that he doesn't have to work up to a large pitch count as a reliever, it's possible he's activated after just one or two rehab outings.

Brentz (elbow) paused his rehab assignment to return to Kansas City and be reevaluated Friday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Brentz has been out since late April with a flexor strain. He'd recently begun a rehab assignment but felt renewed tightness in the same area, so his game action will be put on hold for now. A new timeline for his return should be available after the reevaluation.

Loaisiga (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Saturday, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

Previous reports indicated that Loaisiga could advance from throwing off flat ground to a bullpen session Thursday or Friday, but he's evidently a bit behind that schedule. He's been out for over a month with shoulder inflammation, so his return isn't imminent, but he's trending in the right direction.

Castro (4-0) earned the win over Houston on Thursday, issuing one walk and striking out one batter in one inning.

The right-hander's outing at first resembled mop-up duty with the Yankees trailing by three runs entering the ninth inning and facing the daunting task of trying to come back against Astros closer Ryan Pressly, but Castro's scoreless frame ended up being critical when New York stormed back for four runs and a walk-off win in the bottom of the frame. The veteran reliever has already set a single-season career high with four victories on the campaign.

Diplan was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Friday.

Diplan was sent down in early June, and he posted a 1.13 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in eight innings over four relief appearances in the minors following his demotion. The right-hander has posted a 1.59 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in 5.2 innings over five appearances for the Orioles this year, and he should serve mainly as a low-leverage reliever now that he's back with the major-league club.

Hall has a 3.86 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 57:23 K:BB through 35 innings for Triple-A Norfolk.

He issued five walks his last time out, and Hall's 5.9 BB/9 since ascending to Triple-A is one major reason that he hasn't yet had the opportunity to make his big-league debut. Stamina is a factor as well -- Hall has finished five innings just once in 11 starts across three levels this season. He's one of the hardest-throwing lefties in all of pro ball and his strikeout upside is obviously spectacular, but Hall's profile as a whole suggests noteworthy relief risk, albeit with ace reliever upside.

Chapman (Achilles) will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Somerset on Friday.

Chapman has been on the injured list for a month but has now been cleared to return to game action at the Double-A level. He'll likely be able to rejoin the Yankees following a brief rehab assignment, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him activated early next week. Once Chapman is deemed fully healthy, it's certainly possible that Clay Holmes maintains a share of the closer role, as Holmes has converted 10 of his last 11 save chances while posting a 0.59 ERA and 0.65 WHIP in 15.1 innings over his last 14 appearances.

Taylor (back) allowed one hit and one walk while striking out over one scoreless inning for Triple-A Worcester on Thursday.

Taylor ran into trouble during the inning. With one out, he allowed a single and a walk before a passed ball put runners on second and third. A fielder's choice nailed rehabbing White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez trying to score from third, and Taylor punched out Blake Rutherford looking to get out of the jam. This was Taylor's second rehab outing, and he appears on track to make his season debut for Boston before the end of the month.

Thielbar earned a save over the Guardians on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over two-thirds of an inning.

Team saves leader Emilio Pagan wasn't used after throwing 41 pitches and allowing five runs over two innings during the previous two days, and Jhoan Duran -- who has four saves on the campaign -- was deployed against the top of Cleveland's order in the eighth frame. Minnesota thus turned to the southpaw Thielbar to face lefty Andres Gimenez with one out in the ninth, and the latter knocked a two-strike double to move into scoring position. Thielbar was able to bounce back, however, retiring the next two batters to pick up the first save of his big-league career. Despite striking out 33 batters over 25.1 innings this season, Thielbar's 6.04 ERA and 1.42 WHIP make it unlikely that he'll see many more ninth-inning chances moving forward.

Smeltzer (4-1) earned the win over Cleveland on Thursday, pitching six scoreless innings during which he gave up three hits and struck out three batters.

Smeltzer was pummeled for six earned runs over 4.1 frames in his worst outing of the season in his previous appearance, but he responded with one of his better performances of the campaign Thursday. This was the second time in 2022 that the left-hander tossed a scoreless outing, and he kept the ball in the park for the first time in his past four appearances. Smeltzer hasn't struck out many batters this season -- he has 22:11 K:BB over 44.1 innings -- but he has managed a solid 3.05 ERA and 1.06 WHIP while registering a 4-1 record.