MLB Player News

Hammer was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The right-hander has endured a rough month of September that was topped off by allowing five runs on four hits and a walk across just one-third of an inning during Thursday's win over the Cubs. Hammer held a tidy 1.65 ERA and 1.16 WHIP at the conclusion of August, so the Phillies will hope he can regain that form with Lehigh Valley and become an option to rejoin the major-league bullpen before season's end. Reliever Damon Jones was called up to take Hammer's spot on the 28-man roster.

Hudson (elbow) will make a rehab start with Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Jim Hayes of Bally Sports Midwest reports.

Hudson has already made four rehab starts in the minors, and he allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks over five innings during his last outing Sunday. The 26-year-old is expected to fill a relief role upon his activation from the injured list, but he clearly stretched out as a starter during the rehab stint and could be in the mix for a spot start down the stretch, especially with a doubleheader against the Cubs scheduled for Sept. 24.

Long was recalled by the Giants on Thursday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Long has made five starts and six relief appearances at the big-league level this season, posting an unimpressive 5.72 ERA. He'll likely serve as a low-leverage relief option for now. Jay Jackson was optioned to open a spot for Long's return.

Jackson was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Jackson was called up Friday, and he made two appearances during his time with the major-league club. The right-hander allowed two hits and a walk in three scoreless innings, but he'll head back to the minors after left-hander Sammy Long was recalled Thursday.

Gilbreath worked around a walk to record the final two outs of the seventh inning in his relief appearance Wednesday in the Rockies' 3-2 win over Atlanta.

The scoreless appearance was Gilbreath's 14th in a row, and the rookie lefty has struck out 13 while allowing only 11 baserunners over that 14-inning stretch. Carlos Estevez appears to have settled in as the Rockies' new closer in place of the deposed Daniel Bard, but Gilbreath looks like he'll at least factor more prominently into the setup mix in light of his recent success.

Padres manager Jayce Tingler said Johnson would serve as the team's opening pitcher in a bullpen game Thursday in San Francisco, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Over the past four days, Johnson has made two relief appearances and tossed 33 pitches in total, so the Padres likely won't ask him to cover more than one or two innings Thursday before turning the game over to the bullpen. The Padres don't have an obvious primary pitcher to follow Johnson, making it difficult to predict which reliever is most likely to factor into a decision.

Atlanta placed Jackson on the paternity list Thursday.

The team will replace Jackson in the bullpen with Chris Martin (elbow), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. Jackson will be away from Atlanta for 1-to-3 days to spend time with his newborn child, and he should rejoin the team at some point during its 10-game West Coast road trip that kicks off Friday.

Atlanta reinstated Martin (elbow) from the 10-day injured list ahead of Thursday's game against the Rockies.

He'll assume the 28-man roster spot of reliever Luke Jackson (personal), who was placed on the paternity list. Martin spent just over two weeks on the injured list with an inflamed right elbow, but he proved healthy during his rehab appearance Tuesday at Triple-A Gwinnett, tossing a perfect inning. Look for him to quickly slot back into a setup role in front of closer Will Smith.

Leone (3-4) gave up two runs on two hits while striking out one over one-third of an inning to take the loss against San Diego on Wednesday.

The right-hander had excelled in his previous stints as an opener, but he couldn't get it done against the Padres on Wednesday. Leone allowed a pair of hits to open the contest, and though he followed by striking out Manny Machado, both runners eventually came around to score after his departure. San Francisco is still dealing with a shorthanded rotation, so Leone could get another turn as an opener depending on when Alex Wood (COVID-19) and Johnny Cueto (elbow) are able to return to the rotation.

Jansen picked up the save against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, striking out all three batters he faced in a scoreless inning.

The veteran closer was at his best Wednesday, mowing down the side on only 11 pitches. As a result, Jansen picked up his 33rd save of the campaign, moving him into third place overall in MLB. Since his last blown save July 22, the right-hander has converted 12 straight save chances while registering a 1.17 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 29:8 K:BB across 23 innings.