MLB Player News

Yates (ankle) was activated off the 10-day disabled list Thursday, Bob Scanlan of FOX Sports San Diego reports.

The Padres optioned the struggling Luis Perdomo down to Triple-A El Paso to clear a spot for Yates as he returns from an ankle injury. Yates cleared his final hurdle in his rehab Wednesday by throwing a live batting practice session and now stands to reclaim his role as the Padres' setup man. He's been a reliable source of strikeouts in recent years, including having a 14.0 K/9 mark in 2017 and a 12.3 K/9 through five appearances in 2018.

The Reds are planning to send Hernandez (shoulder) to Triple-A Louisville on Friday to begin a rehab assignment, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Hernandez completed a 25-pitch bullpen session Tuesday and experienced no apparent issues with his right shoulder, so he'll receive the green light to start facing hitters. Since-fired manager Bryan Price said Wednesday that he expected Hernandez to require 2-to-3 outings in the minors before being ready to return from the 10-day disabled list. If that plan still holds, Hernandez could be activated at some point late next week.

Milner pitched two-thirds of an inning Wednesday against the Braves, allowing three earned runs on three hits, an intentional walk and a hit by pitch.

Milner was brought in for a lefty-on-lefty matchup against Freddie Freeman with one out in the eighth inning in an attempt to keep the deficit at two runs. He promptly hit Freeman and allowed three singles and an intentional walk, adding a balk for good measure. His ERA now stands at 7.71 after 4.2 innings. It's obviously a very small sample, but his 5.54 xFIP in 31.1 innings last season already suggested that he may not belong at the big-league level. There are no obvious threats to his roster spot, but another poor outing or two could see the Phillies turn to Zac Curtis, who lost out to Milner for a job in spring training, to fill their second lefty role.

Estevez (oblique) threw 22 pitches in two-thirds of an inning in his most recent rehab appearance with Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday.

He did manage to strike out one batter, but this was overall a lackluster appearance for the hard-throwing righty. Estevez only threw 10 of his 22 offerings for strikes and fell behind all but one of the hitters he faced. It seems like he's pretty healthy at this point, but the results may be the thing keeping him on a rehab assignment at this point.

Stewart is a candidate to start Monday against the Marlins, Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com reports.

The Dodgers will need an additional starter next week with Rich Hill (finger) on the disabled list and the team lined up for a doubleheader against the Giants later in the week. Stewart and Walker Buehler appear to be the most likely options to temporarily join the big-league rotation, as both are lined up to pitch over the weekend after toeing the rubber for Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier in the week (Buehler on Monday and Stewart on Tuesday). The 26-year-old Stewart owns a 2.65 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 17:4 K:BB across three starts (17 innings) at Triple-A this season, though he posted a lackluster 5.27 ERA in four major-league starts in 2017. Should Stewart be called upon to start Monday, he could stick in the rotation to start one of the team's doubleheader games later in the week if he holds his own.

Boxberger was handed the loss in relief Wednesday against the Giants after yielding two runs on two hits in his one-inning appearance.

Boxberger looked as though he would escape the top of the 10th inning unscathed after retiring two of the first three batters, but he paid the price for misplacing a pitch against Giants first baseman Brandon Belt, who clobbered the offering for a tie-breaking two-run home run. The pair of runs were the first Boxberger has allowed in his eight appearances this season, so the right-hander should still maintain a firm hold on the closing gig. Boxberger has converted all five of his save chances to date and owns a solid 11:4 K:BB and 1.13 WHIP over eight frames.

Dominguez has been working as a multi-inning reliever this season at Double-A Reading, logging a 2.70 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in 10 innings (five appearances).

This makes all the sense in the world for the Phillies, who have a lot of pitching depth in the minors. Dominguez could have been kept on a starter's track, but still would have likely ended up in the bullpen long term. Changing his role this year will allow him to move quicker to the big leagues, which is helpful, as he is already on the 40-man roster. Dominguez has electric stuff and could be a dominant reliever in the majors, capable of getting 3-to-6 outs per appearance.

Brebbia was sent down to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.

Brebbia appeared in a pair of games with the big-league team since being recalled from Memphis earlier this month, tossing a pair of scoreless innings while striking out three and allowing zero baserunners against Arizona and Cincinnati. The 27-year-old will likely return to the fold later this spring, but was removed from the active roster in favor of outfielder Tyler O'Neill, who will be making his first appearance in the majors.

Gearrin picked up the save Wednesday in the Giants' 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks in 10 innings. He gave up a run on two hits and two walks and struck out one.

Hunter Strickland was unable to hold the Giants' 2-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, but he was taken off the hook after San Francisco rallied for two runs at the top of the10th inning. Since Strickland's pitch count was already at 25 after his lone inning, Gearrin was summoned to close out the contest, but the right-hander nearly squandered the two-run cushion the Giants offense gave him. Though Gearrin was ultimately able to induce a game-ending groundout with the bases loaded to end the Arizona threat, the shaky performance probably won't establish him as second in line for saves behind Strickland. Lefty Tony Watson, who had already been used earlier in Wednesday's contest, looks like the best bet to close for the Giants when Strickland isn't available.

Koch will be recalled from Triple-A Reno to start Friday against the Padres in place of the injured Taijuan Walker (elbow).

With Walker expected to miss the remainder of the season thanks to a torn UCL, Koch will get the first shot to fill in for him in the big-league rotation. The 27-year-old spent some time with the Diamondbacks earlier in the season in a long-relief role, tossing a pair of scoreless innings while striking out three batters. He also impressed in his only outing with Triple-A Reno, allowing just three hits during six scoreless innings. That said, Koch struggled mightily across 10 starts with Reno in 2017, posting an 8.40 ERA and 1.84 WHIP across 45 innings, so it would be unwise to expect much in his first big-league start since 2016.