MLB Player News

Neris pitched a scoreless ninth to nail down his eighth save Sunday in Milwaukee despite allowing two hits.

Neris came in with a 5-2 lead but promptly allowed a pair of singles to bring the tying run to the plate. He settled down from there, though, striking out Stephen Vogt before inducing a pair of popups to seal the victory. Neris has converted eight of 11 save opportunities and owns a 3.43 ERA.

Hoffman (6-1) allowed four runs off seven hits and one walk while striking out three over the course of six innings during Sunday's win against the Mets.

Hoffman gave up four runs for the second consecutive start but walked away with a victory after the Rockies put up nine runs by the end of the fourth inning. The right-hander had a relatively smooth afternoon and was able to get out of jams besides home runs by Lucas Duda and Asdrubal Cabrera in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. Hoffman continues to provide a sturdy presence on the mound for Colorado and has been a reliable starter during his road starts away from Coors Field this season. His next scheduled start projects to be Friday against the Pirates at home.

Vizcaino (finger) will make a rehab appearance Monday, followed by a possible return to Atlanta by the end of next week, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Vizcaino tossed a bullpen session Sunday, which marked the second one in the past three days, and appears to be on the verge of activation. The reliever will likely be able to rejoin the team prior to the series against the Dodgers, barring any setbacks during his rehab appearance.

Robles was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday, Marc Craig of Newsday reports.

Robles heads back to New York after spending the better part of the last two months down in Triple-A. He has appeared in 21 games for the Mets this season, allowing 15 earned runs in just 21.2 innings of work. The main problem for Robles has been giving up free bases, with 13 walks handed out to opposing batters. In a corresponding move, the team demoted Chasen Bradford back to Las Vegas.

Ramirez owns a 1.36 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 38:18 K:BB over 53 innings out of the bullpen for Double-A Biloxi this season.

Ramirez's numbers would be excellent for any reliever, but they're even more impressive when considering that he first began converting from first base to pitcher last fall. The 27-year-old doesn't have a spot on the 40-man roster and likely won't surface with the Brewers this season, but he certainly has a clearer path to the big leagues than he did as a position prospect.

Bickford (hand) tossed a bullpen earlier this week but is still weeks away from returning to action, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports.

Bickford has been out since the end of last year. He was handed a 50-game suspension in December for testing positive for a drug of abuse and broke his hand this past May. The right-hander will likely remain on the shelf until the beginning of August, barring any setbacks.

Collins (elbow) tossed a scoreless inning during a rehab appearance Saturday for the Nationals' rookie-level Gulf Coast League affiliate. He struck out a batter and surrendered two hits.

It was Collins' first appearance in affiliated ball since 2014 after a pair of Tommy John surgeries sidelined him for two and a half years. Still just 27 years old, the left-handed Collins has plenty of time to reemerge as a big-league bullpen arm, but it might be unwise to bank on that happening in 2017 while he reacquaints himself with pitching again.

Hoover (shoulder) was activated from the 10-day disabled list Sunday.

Hoover hasn't pitched since June 22 while he's dealt with shoulder inflammation in his throwing arm. He only wound up making two rehab appearances with two of Arizona's affiliates, but he appears ready to return to his role in the bullpen after feeling "no pain" during his latest outing Thursday with Low-A Kane County. The right-hander will take the 25-man roster place of Randall Delgado, who is headed to the DL with right elbow inflammation.

Grace pitched a scoreless ninth inning to collect his second save of the season during Saturday's win over Cincinnati.

Grace recorded his first save of the year Friday, so considering the Nationals' bullpen has been a year-long weakness, Washington might have a new interim closer. It's expected that the Nats will bring in a proven reliever from outside the organization before the trade deadline, so Grace probably only offers fleeting fantasy value. But he's definitely worth a look in the short term.

Maurer picked up the win in a non-save situation during Saturday's walkoff victory over the Giants.

Maurer came into a 3-3 game and proceeded to retire the side on just nine pitches before Hector Sanchez launched a two-run walkoff blast in the bottom half of the inning. Although the right-handed closer is 19-for-21 in save situations this season, the struggling Padres will likely use his arm whenever they deem it necessary, especially considering the fact he hasn't allowed an earned run over his last six appearances.