MLB Player News

Venditte was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

Venditte was sent back to the minors to open up a roster spot for Tuesday's starter, Brock Stewart. He didn't appear in a game for the Dodgers during his most recent big-league stint. Venditte will continue to serve as organizational bullpen depth in the minors.

Stewart was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City and will start Tuesday against the Rockies.

As expected, Stewart was summoned from the minors to take Rich Hill's place in the rotation. The 26-year-old owns a 4.37 ERA across 68 career big-league innings. Through five starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City this season, Stewart has compiled a shiny 2.08 ERA. Pat Venditte was sent to the minors in a corresponding move.

Grace (groin) threw a bullpen session Tuesday, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports.

Grace has been out since late April with a strained groin. He's schedule for a live bullpen session Friday which would be followed by a rehab assignment.

Stewart will start Tuesday against the Rockies, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

The 26-year-old has thrown 5.2 innings of relief for the Dodgers so far this year, allowing two runs. In 68 career big-league innings, he has a 4.37 ERA, with strikeout (19.7 percent) and walk (11.4 percent) rates which both fall on the wrong side of league average. He's been good in five starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season, posting a 2.08 ERA.

Robles (knee) is expected to start a rehab assignment Wednesday at Triple-A Las Vegas, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Robles is making steady progress towards a return from a sprained right knee and he'll take the next step by testing it in minor-league game Wednesday. The length of this minor-league stint will likely be determined by how the injury responds to game action.

Miller (elbow) is scheduled to throw Wednesday at extended spring training, Jim Hoehn of MLB.com reports.

It's expected that Miller will face minor-league hitters Wednesday in his third simulated game, but Arizona may instead opt to just have him throw batting practice and/or complete a bullpen session. Either way, Miller seems to be coming along nicely in his recovery from May 2017 Tommy John surgery and looks to be closing in on a minor-league rehab assignment. He could be activated from the 60-day disabled list and warrant consideration for a spot in the Arizona rotation at some point in the second half of June.

Dominguez allowed his first career hit in his seventh career appearance Monday against the Braves, but still came away with his fourth hold of the year after throwing a scoreless eighth inning, striking out one batter.

Dominguez entered the game with a three-run lead in the top of the eighth, facing a pinch hitter followed by the top three hitters of the Braves' lineup. The outing did little to elucidate the Phillies' closer situation, as Dominguez was used in a setup role in front of Hector Neris despite getting a clean two-inning save last time out. It's quite likely that manager Gabe Kapler has no intention of having a defined closer but will instead use relievers based on matchups and situations. If that's the case, Dominguez seems to be seen as the best reliever in the bullpen at the moment, as he was trusted against the top of the Braves' order while Neris faced an easier set of hitters. That means he'll likely get a decent number of saves, but if the most important situation comes up earlier in the game, Kapler won't hesitate to use him.

Neris picked up his ninth save of the season Monday against the Braves by pitching a clean inning with one strikeout.

The save came in Neris' first save chance since May 11, with Edubray Ramos and Seranthony Dominguez getting opportunities ahead of him in that time period. Dominguez threw a scoreless eighth inning Monday, but given manager Gabe Kapler's progressive sensibilities, that shouldn't be taken to mean that Neris is back in the closer role with Dominguez as the setup man. Kapler has said all season that he'd play the matchups, and Dominguez got the tougher assignment Monday, facing the top three hitters in the Braves' order. It may be that Dominguez is now Kapler's most trusted reliever, but that won't rule out Neris from getting a handful of saves going forward, as there will be many occasions where the most important inning is not the ninth.

Collins allowed one hit and struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning during Monday's win over the Padres.

It was hardly a high-leverage situation with the Nats up 10-2, but Collins still looked sharp in his first big-league action since 2014. The left-hander is attempting to come back from two Tommy John surgeries, and at least Monday his 93.2 mph average fastball was right in line with his pre-injury form. The team's bullpen is unsettled right now behind closer Sean Doolittle, so Collins could work his way into a setup role if he continues to impress, but for now don't expect Washington to lean on the 28-year-old too heavily.

Hernandez (0-1) allowed one run on five hits while striking out three over five innings Monday as he was tagged with the loss against the Mets.

Hernandez put together a decent outing, but he was ultimately hit with the loss after departing with a one-run deficit. Through two starts and four total appearances this season, the 23-year-old right-hander sports a 2.08 ERA and 1.15 WHIP across 13 innings.