MLB Player News

The Pirates shifted Howard's (back) rehab assignment from Low-A Bradenton to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Howard will get a stiffer test for his second rehab outing after he struck out two and issued one walk over a scoreless inning for Bradenton on Friday. If all goes well in his appearance for Indianapolis, Howard could be activated from the 10-day injured list at some point over the weekend.

The Diamondbacks recalled Gilbert from Triple-A Reno ahead of his scheduled start Tuesday in the second game of Arizona's doubleheader in Washington.

With Arizona playing six games in a five-day stretch, Gilbert is stepping into the rotation as a temporary sixth starter. Since the Diamondbacks have designated him as their 29th man for the twin bill, Gilbert will be optioned back to Reno following his start Tuesday. In 40 innings with the big club in 2021, Gilbert submitted a 3.15 ERA and 1.02 WHIP over 40 innings, but those strong ratios were supported by weak peripherals (7.6 K-BB%, 38.6 percent groundball rate, 5.09 xFIP). Gilbert thus profiles as a risky DFS and season-long streaming option.

Arizona claimed Webb off waivers from Atlanta on Tuesday and optioned him to Triple-A Reno, Jody Jackson of Bally Sports Arizona reports.

The Diamondbacks cleared room for the right-handed reliever on the 40-man roster by designating outfielder Stuart Fairchild for assignment. Though Webb will begin his tenure in the Arizona organization at Triple-A, a promotion to the Diamondbacks could come in short order, given the lack of established middle-relief options in the big-league bullpen. Webb owns a 2.47 ERA and .240 batting average against over 78 career MLB relief appearances.

Atlanta recalled Lee from Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday.

In order to open up a spot for the left-handed Lee, Atlanta designated southpaw Sean Newcomb for assignment. Lee appeared in just two regular-season games for Atlanta in 2021, but he made three appearances in the playoffs during the club's run to the World Series crown last fall. He'll likely see most of his usage out of the bullpen in lower-leverage spots as he makes his return to the 28-man active roster.

Johnson earned a hold against the Reds on Monday, pitching a perfect inning during which he struck out one.

The right-hander entered in the eighth inning to serve as a bridge to closer Taylor Rogers. Johnson did well in his outing, retiring all three batters he faced on 17 pitches. He has a 5.40 ERA due to one poor outing but has allowed no runs in four of his five appearances overall. Johnson is tied for the MLB lead with four holds on the season.

Thompson scooped up the win in relief during Monday's 4-2 victory over the Rays after striking out five and allowing one hit and one walk over 3.2 scoreless innings.

Heading into the season, Thompson looked as though he might serve as the Cubs' No. 5 starter with all of Wade Miley (elbow), Alec Mills (back) and Adbert Alzolay (lat) on the injured list, but manager David Ross may prefer to keep the 27-year-old right-hander in his current role as a multi-inning fireman out of the bullpen. He's been fantastic through three appearances, scooping up two wins and working 9.2 scoreless frames in total while permitting only seven baserunners and striking out 10. Predicting when he might be used could be difficult, however, so Thompson's fantasy value is mostly contained to NL-only or deeper mixed leagues for the time being.

Bickford picked up a hold Monday against Atlanta, allowing one hit in one scoreless inning.

Bickford started the season in the minors after having his spring schedule delayed by arm soreness, and he was called up to the big club Sunday. He was sharp in his first big-league outing of the campaign Monday, throwing 13 of 16 pitches for strikes and allowing only an infield single. The right-hander enjoyed a breakout season with Los Angeles last season and figures to play a significant role in the team's bullpen now that he is back to full health.

Marte won't be called up from Triple-A Sacramento for Tuesday's doubleheader with the Mets, as the Giants have instead designated utility man Luke Williams as their 29th man for the twin bill, Evan Webeck of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

After he joined the Giants in Washington earlier Tuesday, Marte was expected to be added to the roster for the twin bill, but he'll instead remain on the taxi squad for the club's East Coast road trip. Marte will presumably be first in line for a promotion if the Giants need an extra reliever at any point.

The Giants will recall Marte from Triple-A Sacramento to serve as the team's 29th man for Tuesday's doubleheader with the Nationals, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Less than a week after being optioned to Sacramento, Marte is rejoining the Giants, but he's expected to be up with the big club for only a day before returning to the minors. Marte will give the Giants an extra arm out of the bullpen for the twin bill, but he'll likely be ticketed for lower-leverage work.

The Nationals will call up Perez from Triple-A Rochester ahead of the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader with Arizona, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Perez will be designated as Washington's 29th man for the twin bill and gives the club an extra left-hander in the bullpen, though he's unlikely to see high-leverage innings. The 24-year-old allowed three runs in 6.2 innings in his MLB debut season for Cleveland in 2021.