MLB Player News

Suarez was recalled by the Giants on Saturday.

Suarez will replace Jeff Samardzija, who landed on the injured list with a shoulder impingement. It's not yet clear whether he'll be filling Samardzija's rotation spot, however. Just two of his 21 appearances last season were starts, and it wouldn't make a ton of sense for the Giants to call him up Saturday with no intention of using him until Wednesday, when Samardzija was next due to pitch.

Patino is a candidate to start against the Dodgers on Monday or Tuesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

The Padres have an open spot in their rotation with Joey Lucchesi moved to the team's alternate training site Thursday, so they will choose from a number of options to fill the role. Cal Quantrill appears to be the leading candidate for the job, but Patino is in the running, according to Padres manager Jayce Tingler. Patino pitched two innings against the Dodgers in his MLB debut Wednesday, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out two.

Strop (groin) could be out for an extended period of time, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Strop has yet to be placed on the injured list after leaving Friday's game against the Brewers with a groin injury, though it sounds like that move could be coming soon if "an extended period" translates to "at least 10 days." Michael Lorenzen and Amir Garrett will handle top setup duties in front of Raisel Iglesias.

Strop suffered a groin injury in Friday's win against the Brewers, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Strop was removed from Friday's contest after issuing two walks and failing to record any outs. Manager David Bell didn't know the severity of the injury following the contest.

Howard will be called up to start one of the two games in Sunday's doubleheader, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The 24-year-old was the likely candidate to start Sunday's game, and the team has now told him that he'll get the nod. It's unclear which of the two seven-inning contests he'll start. Since Howard isn't on the 40-man roster yet, he should be officially added to the major-league club sometime after Saturday's contest. The highly-touted prospect turned heads during summer camp, but the team secured an extra year of service time by letting him develop at the alternate training site to begin the regular season. If all goes well in his MLB debut Sunday, he could become a regular fixture in the Phillies' rotation.

Clarke struck out three over three scoreless innings in Friday's 3-0 loss to the Padres.

The Diamondbacks went into the game planning to limit starter Luke Weaver to three innings, so there was going to be a need for bulk innings. It was his third outing, all three coming in relief of Weaver, who ran into significant fourth-inning trouble during his first two starts. Clarke has thrown at least three innings in all of his outings and sports a 2.79 ERA with eight strikeouts and three walks over 9.2 innings.

Yates notched his second save of the season Friday against the Diamondbacks. He pitched a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and fanning one.

Yates allowed a single to Starling Marte, who advanced to second on a throwing effort from the Padres' closer. Yates would close the door by inducing a popout and a liner to first, and as a result, he earned his second save of the campaign. It was only the second time in five outings this season in which Yates didn't allow a run.

Helsley has tested positive for COVID-19, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The Cardinals had two players and one staff member test positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and Thursday, and Helsley was revealed as one of those players Friday. He's reportedly experiencing a low-grade fever as he deals with the virus. The team's weekend series against the Cubs was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak among team members, but Giovanny Gallegos could see save chances once the Cardinals return to play. Helsley will be eligible to return to the team once he produces two negative tests.

Martin was placed on the 10-day injured list with an esophageal constriction Friday.

Martin last pitched Wednesday and delivered a scoreless inning, and it's unclear when and how he suffered the injury. The 34-year-old has no official timeline for his return.

Howard remains the likely candidate to start Sunday's game against the Braves, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic reports.

The 24-year-old is expected to make his major-league debut in Sunday's series finale, though Philadelphia continues to list the probable starter as TBD. Howard needs to be added to the 40-man roster, so the the Phillies are unlikely to make the roster move until after Saturday's contest. The right-hander began the season off the 30-man roster -- which helped the team secure an extra year of service time -- or he otherwise may have been included in the Opening Day rotation. Howard is one of baseball's top pitching prospects and a strong debut performance could secure a longer-term spot in the rotation.