MLB Player News

Rodney tossed a scoreless ninth inning in Thursday's 4-0 win over the Cardinals, working around a base hit to record three strikeouts.

The Diamondbacks haven't encountered a save situation in any of their first 13 games out of the All-Star break, which has prompted manager Torey Lovullo to find other opportunities to get Rodney on the mound. Fortunately for fantasy owners, Rodney has at least been making some headway in lowering his ERA during his three appearances of the second half, tossing three scoreless innings and amassing six strikeouts.

Singer was promoted to Double-A Reading on Thursday, Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Singer, 23, was 5-2 with a 2.34 ERA, 19 saves and a 66:28 K:BB in 50 innings for High-A Clearwater. The lefty was equally effective against left-handed and right-handed batters. His strikeout ability makes him a solid relief prospect, but he'll need to work on cutting back on the free passes.

Hand struck out two batters during a scoreless ninth inning to earn his fifth save of the season during Thursday's win over the Mets.

Now locked into the closer role for San Diego with Brandon Maurer out of the picture, Hand has tremendous fantasy upside moving forward. He owns an elite 2.04 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 11.7 K/9 for the campaign, and the 27-year-old lefty has now converted three consecutive save opportunities.

Stephenson (0-4) allowed three runs on four hits and seven walks while striking out just two batters through 4.1 innings during Thursday's loss to Miami.

This was just the second start of the year for Stephenson, and the 24-year-old righty showed poorly again Thursday. With a 7.86 ERA and 2.04 WHIP through 34.1 innings this season (mainly in relief), Stephenson is off the fantasy radar in the majority of settings. He does sport an encouraging 8.9 K/9, but those ratios are crippling. Additionally, Stephenson isn't a lock to remain in the rotation at this stage of the game.

Lamet will make his next start Saturday against the Pirates, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Lamet was originally scheduled to throw Friday night, but the Padres will instead turn to recent acquisition Travis Wood to toe the rubber in the series opener. The rookie will now face off with right-hander Ivan Nova on Saturday.

Smith was traded to the Mets on Thursday in exchange for Lucas Duda, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Although Smith isn't the most high-profile prospect in the Rays' system, many teams have been interested in him thanks to the high-octane fastball and above-average breaking ball he flashes as a reliever. He strikes out batters at a solid rate, and he even managed to make a brief appearance at the Triple-A level this season. Smith is already 23 years old, but he likely needs a bit more seasoning in the upper levels of the minor leagues before appearing out of the Mets' bullpen.

Mayers was optioned back to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports.

Although he was just recalled by the club prior to Wednesday's game, Mayers was sent back down to Memphis in order to make room for Luke Weaver, who will start against the Diamondbacks on Thursday. Mayers has only made two appearances with the big-league club this season, but has been stellar with Memphis recently, accumulating an ERA of 0.84 and 0.97 WHIP in 32 innings since the beginning of June.

Wittgren has surpassed his strikeout totals from last season, posting 43 in 42.1 innings so far this season.

In all of 2016, Wittgren only struck out 42 in 51.2 innings. With the improved strikeout numbers, however, has come an increase in walks as well. He is at 13 free passes in 2017, up from the 10 he had last year in his rookie season.

Brebbia fired a scoreless seventh inning in Wednesday's 10-5 win over the Rockies in which he recorded a strikeout.

Brebbia's streak of not allowing an earned run is now at 11 appearances -- a stretch that's allowed him to lower his ERA from 3.38 to 1.54. The rookie right-hander has been one of the bullpen's pleasant surprises since debuting May 28, and given his ability to work multiple frames when necessary, he figures to continue seeing plenty of work for the balance of the campaign.

Hand struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to pick up his fourth save of the season in a 6-3 win over the Mets.

The left-hander continues to impress, and Hand hasn't allowed a run in 9.1 July innings with a 16:2 K:BB. Assuming he isn't traded before the deadline, he seems ready to settle into the Padres' closer role.