MLB Player News

Neal had his contract purchased from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Neal will provide a fresh arm out of the Dodgers' bullpen after the team used all eight of their relievers during Monday's 15-inning affair. The 29-year-old is being stretched out as a starter in the minors, so he should be able to go multiple innings if needed. In order to clear room on the 40-man roster, Jesus Liranzo was designated for assignment.

Fields was placed on the paternity list Tuesday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Fields will be away from the Dodgers for the next few days as he attends the birth of his child. Zach Neal was promoted from Triple-A Oklahoma City and will provide an extra bullpen arm until Fields is back, which should be over the weekend.

McGrath was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday.

The Padres needed to open up a spot on their active roster for Tuesday's starter, Tyson Ross, and McGrath was the corresponding roster move. The southpaw, who posted a 2.84 ERA across 19 innings of relief last season, should be back with the big club when additional bullpen depth is required.

Fields gave up one hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning while picking up his first hold of the season in Monday's extra-inning loss to Arizona.

The reason this game went 15 innings was due to Kenley Jansen's three-run implosion in the ninth. The Dodgers' normally-dominant closer has begun this year with lowered velocity and uncharacteristically poor outings. While this could just be a bad blip on the radar, Fields and fellow setup man Pedro Baez are maybe worth handcuffing to Jansen in the event the closer's issues continue.

Leiter (forearm) will undergo an MRI on Tuesday, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic Philadelphia reports.

Leiter opened the season on the disabled list after suffering a flexor strain near the end of camp. While manager Gabe Kapler said Leiter hasn't suffered a setback in his recovery, his lack of progress prompted the Phillies to send him for some additional testing. He was originally expected to miss most, if not all of April while recovering, but a more concrete timetable will hopefully emerge once his test results are known. In the meantime, Ben Lively should continue to fill in as the Phillies' fifth starter until Leiter or Jerad Eickhoff return from the DL.

Manager Don Mattingly said Richards will remain in the Marlins' rotation, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

Richards allowed five runs across 4.1 innings in his major-league debut against the Red Sox on Monday, but he apparently impressed Mattingly enough to stick in the Marlins' thin rotation for the time being. The 24-year-old hadn't pitched above Double-A prior to Monday's outing, though he posted a solid 2.87 ERA and 77 strikeouts across 75.1 innings with Double-A Jacksonville in 2017. It's best to wait and see if he settles in against major-league hitters before considering him for fantasy purposes.

Estevez (oblique) hopes to partake in simulated games this week, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

It seems like the right-hander is ramping up his activity at a good pace. The plan is for Estevez to embark on a minor-league rehab assignment shortly after the sim games, though no firm timetable for that has been announced yet.

Rusin allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in Monday's win against the Padres.

The southpaw was handed the ball for the ninth inning in a 7-2 ballgame, but he proceeded to turn the game into a save situation following a homer by Cory Spangenberg and an RBI triple by Jose Pirela. Rusin is off to a rough start to the season, as he also allowed three runs in his first outing against the Diamondbacks. He was an integral part of last year's bullpen and should have a decent leash, but it's hard to trust him right now in NL-only leagues.

Smith (elbow) has been throwing live batting practice sessions, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Smith is working his way back from Tommy John surgery which cost him the entirety of the 2017 season. He's expected to begin a rehab assignment in mid-April. He has been targeting a May 1 return and remains on track for that timeline. He's unlikely to be near the top of the closer depth chart when he returns, though with Mark Melancon already on the disabled list with a right elbow flexor strain, the Giants' bullpen situation is more fluid than it initially appeared.

Hicks fired 1.1 scoreless innings in Monday's 8-4 win over the Brewers, allowing a walk and recording a strikeout.

That's three straight scoreless appearances to open up his major-league career, the latest development in the rookie's meteoric rise. Hicks has rung up a strikeout in each of his first three games as well -- unsurprising given the elite velocity he possesses. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that prior to Monday's outing, six of the eight fastest pitches thrown in the majors thus far in the new season came off the right arm of Hicks, whose two-seam fastballs during that stretch all clocked at 100 mph or more. He also used a 99.3 mph sinker to set down Todd Frazier in Sunday's win over the Mets, flashing yet another lethal tool in an arsenal that projects to afford him plenty of late-inning opportunities over the course of the season.