MLB Player News

Smith was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on Thursday.

Smith has had brief stints with the big-league club this season and will rejoin the Rockies' bullpen since active rosters expanded to 28 players Thursday. He's posted a 3.09 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 35 innings over 32 appearances at the Triple-A level this year but should serve mainly as a middle reliever now that he's back in the majors.

Garcia picked up a hold against San Francisco on Wednesday, striking out the only batter he faced in the eighth inning.

When Josh Hader was demoted from the closer role nearly two weeks ago, Garcia was called upon for the Padres' next save chance. He converted that opportunity successfully, but Nick Martinez subsequently took over closing duties and notched the team's next four saves. With Martinez unavailable Wednesday, Garcia was used to face just one batter in the eighth frame while Hader closed out the game and picked up the save. It's unclear how Martinez and Hader will share ninth-inning duties moving forward, but it seems apparent that Garcia's role will be almost exclusively in a setup capacity. He's notched 20 holds and posted a 10.1 K/9 on the campaign, making him a solid target in fantasy leagues that count holds.

The Cubs returned Estrada to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday.

Estrada and fellow reliever Brendon Little were both added to the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster as replacement players earlier this week, when starters Justin Steele and Adrian Sampson were placed on the restricted list for the Cubs' series in Toronto. With both Steele and Sampson now having been formally reinstated, Estrada will lose his spot on major-league roster, but he'll remain on the 40-man roster since Chicago selected his contract. He made his MLB debut in Tuesday's 5-3 loss, striking out two and working around a walk in a scoreless inning out of the bullpen.

The Mets recalled Medina from Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Over his previous 13 appearances in the majors this season spanning 23.1 innings, Medina has struck out 17 while posting a 4.63 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. He's likely to be used mostly in lower-leverage spots out of the bullpen while he's up with the Mets.

The Nationals recalled Thompson from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

Thompson is back for his third stint of the season with the Nationals. Over his previous nine appearances out of the bullpen with the big club, Thompson has looked sharp while accruing a 1.13 WHIP and 1.00 WHIP across eight innings.

The Dodgers recalled Bickford from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Despite being optioned to Triple-A just two days ago, Bickford is eligible to rejoin the big club after the Dodgers placed fellow reliever Brusdar Graterol (elbow) on the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move. Bickford is likely to see most of his work in low-leverage spots during his upcoming stint in the majors.

The Dodgers placed Graterol on the 15-day injured list Thursday with right elbow inflammation, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Phil Bickford was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to join the bullpen as a replacement for Graterol, who hadn't pitched in any of the past three days while managing the elbow issue. According to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, Graterol had been scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday, but the Dodgers elected to deactivate him a day later after he apparently didn't look as sharp in the workout as the team had hoped. With Craig Kimbrel's job security as the Dodgers' closer on shaky ground, Graterol would have been a candidate to factor into the mix for saves, but Evan Phillips now looks to be the clear next man up for the job if manager Dave Roberts elects to make a change at the back end of the bullpen. It's unclear when Graterol might be ready to return from the IL, but he'll undergo an MRI on Friday that could shed more light on his outlook moving forward, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.

The Reds transferred Hoffman (forearm) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Thursday.

Since Hoffman hadn't pitched for the Reds since July 23, he'll be eligible to return from the IL in late September, though it's unclear if he's on track to make a full recovery from his right forearm injury before the season ends in the first week of October. Hoffman's move to the 60-day IL clears a spot on the 40-man roster for right-handed reliever Fernando Cruz, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Louisville.

The Reds selected Cruz's contract from Triple-A Louisville on Thursday.

Perhaps no September call-up has had a more interesting path to the big leagues than Cruz, who was drafted by the Royals as an infielder in 2007. He transitioned to a full-time pitching role in 2011 and bounced around between affiliated ball, the independent ranks and foreign leagues over the last decade before finally getting his first promotion to the majors at 32 years old. The right-hander will likely be ticketed for a low-leverage role out of the Cincinnati bullpen after compiling a 2.89 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 66:19 K:BB in 56 innings at Louisville.

Jansen notched a save against the Rockies on Wednesday, allowing two runs on one hit and one walk while striking out one batter in one inning.

Jansen came on in the ninth inning with Atlanta holding a 3-0 lead. The veteran closer made things interesting by serving up a two-out walk followed by Michael Toglia's first major-league homer, but he was able to get the final out to seal the save. Jansen began August by allowing only one run over his first eight innings, but he finished the month by yielding four runs over his final 1.1 frames. Despite the recent rough outings, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker indicated faith in Jansen following the game, saying, "I'm not worried about him. He bounced back after a tough outing and got a save," per David O'Brien of The Athletic.