MLB Player News

Strahm will start Sunday against the Dodgers.

The plan seemed to be for Luis Perdomo to get this start, but Perdomo went down with a right shoulder injury and thus San Diego will be forced to go with a bullpen game headed by Strahm. Strahm has allowed four earned runs while posting a 3:8 K:BB in 7.1 innings since returning from a knee injury. He hasn't thrown more than 36 pitches in an appearance this season.

Hand walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Saturday to record his 16th save of the season in a 7-5 win over the Dodgers.

The 28-year-old closer has now converted 10 straight save chances, posting a 0.68 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP and a 19:7 K:BB in 13.1 innings over the course of that streak. Hand is demonstrating once again that he's one of the most dominant relievers in the game, and the only real threat to his fantasy value might come if he gets dealt to a contender by the 22-31 Padres and put in a setup role.

Garcia notched his first save of the season Saturday against the Blue Jays, allowing one hit while striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning.

Seranthony Dominguez did some of the heavy lifting in between starter Aaron Nola and Garcia, coming into a tie game with two on in the seventh and getting out of that jam before pitching a scoreless eighth inning. However, Garcia deserves plenty of credit for striking out Justin Smoak and then getting Teoscar Hernandez to ground into a game-ending double play (Josh Donaldson led off the inning with a single). The last four Phillies saves have gone to four different pitchers, with Dominguez, Hector Neris and Edubray Ramos also having notched saves over the last two weeks. Garcia may continue to be a part of that mix but is unlikely to get saves often enough -- or record enough strikeouts -- to be overly useful in standard mixers.

Dominguez struck out one and gave up one hit in a scoreless 1.1 innings Saturday against the Blue Jays, notching his first big-league win.

He came into a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh inning with runners on first and third and two outs and got the crucial out to get the Phillies out of trouble. Dominguez then went out and pitched a scoreless eighth inning, needing just 12 total pitches to get four outs. Luis Garcia then got the save (his first of the season) in the ninth inning, as manager Gabe Kapler's eclectic bullpen usage continues. Dominguez isn't a true closer, but he will get some saves if he continues to pitch like this, as it is clear that he is one of Kapler's most trusted relievers.

Reyes (elbow) will start Wednesday's game against the Brewers, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

He will reportedly be pitching without restrictions, at least on a per-start basis, so his owners will want to make sure to deploy him next week for the start in Milwaukee. The 44 strikeouts he racked up over 23 innings during his rehab assignment was awfully impressive, even if his stuff is much more electric than minor-league hitters are accustomed to. It is unclear what the Cardinals will do with the rotation when Carlos Martinez (lat) returns in the coming weeks, but for now, Reyes should continue pitching every fifth day, and he would retain significant fantasy value in roto formats even if he heads to the bullpen later this season.

Grace (groin) will begin a minor-league rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg on Monday, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports.

Grace is set to return to game action for the first time since landing on the disabled list near the end of April with a groin strain. Given the length of his absence, Grace will likely need to make multiple rehab appearances before rejoining the Nationals' bullpen.

Brebbia struck out one and allowed two earned runs on three hits and a walk over one inning in a loss to the Pirates on Friday.

Brebbia has had a rough go of it lately, as Friday's appearance marked his fifth over the last six in which he's allowed at least one run. That's led to an unsightly 7.20 ERA for the 27-year-old over 10 May innings. Brebbia has also surrendered two home runs during that stretch as part of the 12 hits he's allowed, making it a stark departure from the three scoreless efforts he generated during his first big-league stint last month 2018 last month.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo confirmed Friday that Miller (elbow) would begin a minor-league rehab assignment at High-A Visalia on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

Miller tossed a bullpen session Friday after his final extended spring training outing Wednesday went off without a hitch, so the lefty will now advance to the final phase of his long recovery from Tommy John surgery. Lovullo said he expects Miller to throw up to 75 pitches in his first start for Visalia and make at least one more start in the minors beyond that before being activated from the 60-day disabled list. With that timeline in mind, Miller looks like he could rejoin the Diamondbacks as soon as early-to-mid-June, which is a bit sooner than what was initially projected coming out of spring training.

Hernandez recorded the first two outs of the seventh inning in Thursday's win over the Pirates.

Hernandez's past closing experience put him on the short list of possible replacements for Raisel Iglesias (left biceps) in the ninth inning. However, it seems Jared Hughes is the preferred option at the moment, as he worked the ninth inning in a tie game at home Wednesday and then got the save Thursday. Thus Hernandez's appeal remains limited mostly to NL-only and leagues that count holds.

Gsellman is an option to start the second game of Monday's doubleheader against the Braves, but he won't be stretched out if he does get the assignment, Kristie Ackert of The New York Daily News reports.

Mets manager Mickey Callaway has apparently been paying attention to what the Rays have been up to, and he's considering deploying Gsellman or Seth Lugo for an abbreviated "start" much like the ones Sergio Romo has been making. Lugo seems the more likely candidate of the two, however, as Gsellman has become a key part of the late-inning mix in front of closer Jeurys Familia. If either of them do get the nod, don't expect that pitcher to last more than 2-3 innings, making it impossible for him to pick up a win and limiting his fantasy appeal for the day.