MLB Player News

Alzolay (lat) was placed on the minor-league disabled list Wednesday.

Alzolay suffered a Grade 1 lat strain during his most recent start with Triple-A Iowa. It's unclear how long the injury will keep the 23-year-old sidelined at this point, but the Cubs figure to proceed cautiously with the prospect. He owns a 5.30 ERA across seven starts with Iowa this season.

Beede was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Beede will head back to the minors after going unused in his lone game with the big club. He'll likely rejoin the rotation at Sacramento, where he owns a 6.23 ERA across seven starts and one relief appearance (39 innings).

Gsellman worked a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his second save of the season in a 4-1 win over the Braves.

Manager Mickey Callaway elected to use Jeurys Familia in the eighth inning against the top of the Atlanta order, while Gsellman finished things up against the less dangerous trio of Kurt Suzuki, Johan Camargo and Preston Tucker. While the usage doesn't necessarily suggest a full changing of the guard at closer for New York, it does confirm that Gsellman is the top option behind Familia, and he could get more save opportunities moving forward if Callaway continues to show flexibility in how he deploys his best relievers.

Venditte was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com reports.

Venditte will offer an extra arm out of the bullpen after the Tuesday's starter, Kenta Maeda (hip), lasted just 1.2 innings. The ambidextrous pitcher owns a 6.75 ERA across 2.2 innings with the big club this season, so he'll likely be limited to low-leverage situations during his time in the majors. Chase Utley (thumb) was placed on the 10-day disabled list in a corresponding roster move.

The Dodgers formally recalled Santana from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday, MLB.com reports.

Reports surfaced earlier Wednesday that Santana, one of the organization's top pitching prospects, would receive his first callup to the big leagues, but the Dodgers didn't confirm the move until a few hours prior to their game against the Phillies. Kenta Maeda (hip) was placed on the 10-day disabled list in a corresponding move and will therefore miss his upcoming start Sunday against the Rockies at Coors Field, potentially leaving the door open for Santana to temporarily slot into the rotation. That may only come to pass if Santana goes unused in relief for the remaining two games of the Dodgers' series with the Phillies, however, as the team's primary motivation in bringing the right-hander up from Triple-A was to add a fresh arm to an overtaxed bullpen.

Melancon (elbow) is expected to be activated from the 10-day disabled list Friday, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Melancon has been cleared to rejoin the Giants prior to their weekend series against the Phillies after getting through his fourth -- and presumably final -- rehab appearance Tuesday with no issues. Across four outings with Triple-A Sacramento, the veteran reliever tossed 3.2 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out four. Melancon is expected to settle into a lower-leverage role upon his initial return, and he'll likely need to pitch well for a stretch before manager Bruce Bochy considers returning him to the ninth inning.

Beede was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Beede will take the roster spot of Jeff Samardzija (shoulder), who was sent to the disabled list in a corresponding roster move. The 25-year-old has struggled in a pair of starts for the big club this season, allowing seven runs on nine hits and eight walks across 7.2 innings. He'll likely work in long relief during his time with the Giants, though he could be an option to make a spot start in place of Samardzija as well.

Rodriguez (leg) could start Sunday's game against the Phillies, Henry Schulman of SFGate.com reports.

He took a line drive off his right leg Tuesday against the Rockies, but not before giving up four runs (only one earned) off five hits and one walk while striking out four over 3.1 innings. Rodriguez had logged a 3.40 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 53 strikeouts in 50.1 innings (nine starts) at Triple-A prior to his promotion. He was essentially a non-prospect before the season, but may have unlocked something after joining the Giants this past offseason, as his strikeout rate was up from 19.3 percent in 2017 at Double-A in the Twins organization to 25 percent in his first taste of Triple-A as a San Francisco farmhand. Even if he gets the start Sunday, it would likely amount to a spot start unless he really impressed, as the Giants rotation is expected to get back Madison Bumgarner (finger) and Jeff Samardzija (shoulder) next week.

Blach will either start Sunday's game against the Phillies or be confined to a relief role going forward, Henry Schulman of SFGate.com reports.

The Giants announced that Chris Stratton and Andrew Suarez will start Friday and Saturday, which suggests Blach may be on the outs, as he had been following Stratton in the rotation. Blach was used out of the bullpen in Tuesday's 11-4 loss in Colorado, which could have just been him throwing in between starts, but now that looks less likely. Rookie Dereck Rodriguez (leg) could be an option to start Sunday if he is deemed healthy, otherwise that start could go to Blach. However, Madison Bumgarner (finger) is expected to rejoin the rotation next week and Jeff Samardzija (shoulder) could be back next weekend, at which point Blach will either join the bullpen full time or be sent to Triple-A.

Reyes said he felt fine following Wednesday's start against the Brewers, Mark Saxon of The Athletic St. Louis reports.

Reyes said he wasn't sure why his velocity dipped during his 2018 big-league debut Wednesday, but the 23-year-old didn't seem overly concerned about the issue. "I felt fine, a little fatigued but anything beside that, I wasn't really worried about," the right-hander said. "I'm not really worried about it now." He's currently lined up to make his next start against the Marlins on Tuesday after tossing four scoreless frames -- striking out four while allowing three hits and two walks -- against the Brewers on Wednesday.