MLB Player News

Stephenson is a candidate to start Saturday's game against the Marlins, John Fay of WCPO.com reports.

The Reds are not yet listing a probable starter for Saturday, but Stephenson would be on normal rest, having last pitched for Triple-A Louisville on Monday. Manager Bryan Price said the team is pleased with what it's seen from Stephenson at Louisville since his demotion in late May, and indeed the numbers in eight appearances (seven starts) are impressive. Cincinnati may also consider starting Michael Lorenzen on Saturday, making it a bullpen game.

Koch, who was recalled from Triple-A Reno on Thursday, missed more than two months earlier this season due to a shoulder impingement, Bill Mitchell of Baseball America reports.

Koch is completely healthy after missing significant time with the injury, and should see his first appearance of the season Thursday against the Reds or during the Diamondbacks' three-game series with the Nationals over the weekend. With Koch taking over Taijuan Walker's spot on the active roster after Walker hit the paternity list, it's possible that Koch could be called upon to make a spot start Saturday against the Nationals if he goes unused over the next two days. Koch wouldn't make for an appealing streaming option in that scenario, as he was sporting a 8.47 ERA in 17 innings at Reno prior to his promotion.

The Diamondbacks recalled Koch from Triple-A Reno on Thursday.

The right-hander accrued a 2.00 ERA in 18 major-league innings last year but has an 8.47 figure in 17 Reno frames. Koch will occupy a depth role among Diamondbacks relievers and may head back to the minors when Taijuan Walker returns from the paternity list, likely in the next few days.

Layne signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers on Wednesday.

After being cut by the Yankees on July 5, the southpaw reliever will now attempt to make his way back to the majors through the Dodgers' organization. In 13.0 innings with New York this season, Layne gave up 11 runs on 16 hits with nine strikeouts before being outrighted to Triple-A in the middle of June.

Brebbia fired three scoreless innings in Wednesday's 7-3 loss to the Mets, allowing just one hit and recording three strikeouts.

The 27-year-old reliever was razor sharp, throwing 28 of his 37 pitches for strikes and extending his streak of not allowing an earned run to nine appearances. Brebbia has quietly become one of manager Mike Matheny's most trusted bullpen options, with Wednesday's outing lowering his ERA and WHIP to 1.64 and 0.77, respectively.

Reyes (elbow) announced he's begun his throwing program on his personal Instagram account Wednesday.

The promising right-hander is five months removed from Tommy John surgery, so Wednesday's development is certainly an encouraging sign and keeps him on track to potentially throw off a mound by September or October. Reyes is considered the organization's top pitching prospect and has compiled a 3.50 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, .220 BAA and 449:170 K:BB over 334.1 minor-league innings.

Adleman gave up three runs on seven hits over six innings while striking out seven but didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's extra-inning win over the Diamondbacks.

It's the right-hander's sixth quality start of the year but his first since June 16, and Adleman has stumbled to a 6.53 ERA and 1.65 WHIP over his last six starts despite a strong 34:12 K:BB in 30.1 innings. He'll get another tough matchup in his next trip to the mound Monday in Cleveland.

Pivetta (3-5) picked up the win Wednesday against the Marlins, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk in 5.1 innings of work. He struck out four.

Pivetta was touched up twice for home runs, as both Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich took him out of the park. Outside of that, the 24-year-old ran into relatively little trouble, with the only other run scoring due to a pair of wild pitches on his part. He also filled the zone well, tossing 64 of his 95 pitches for strikes. This was a good bounce-back outing after serving up nine runs in his previous start, allowing him to lower his ERA to 5.58. He'll look to continue his winning ways in his next start Tuesday against the Astros.

Hoover tossed two scoreless innings in Tuesday's 11-2 win over the Reds. He gave up one hit and no walks and struck out a batter.

Hoover made his first appearance since June 22, after a shoulder injury had kept him on the disabled list for a little over three weeks. It was just the second time all season that Hoover was asked to cover multiple innings, but that was likely just a means of limiting the usage of the team's other relievers amid the blowout win. Hoover, who ranks fourth on the team with eight holds to go with a 3.86 ERA over 25.2 frames this season, should primarily work as a sixth- or seventh-inning setup man as part of the bridge to closer Fernando Rodney during the second half.

Rusin coughed up a pair of runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning Tuesday night against the Padres.

A light show from the Rockies' offense kept him from being the goat, but this was the second consecutive lackluster outing from the left-hander. Overall, Rustin continues to be one of the most consistent members of Colorado's rejuvenated bullpen, as his ERA and WHIP now sit at 2.68 and 1.07, respectively. His limited strikeout potential does make him less attractive in most fantasy formats, especially now that he's not being seriously considered for spot starts like he was last season.