MLB Player News

Ottavino (shoulder) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday and could return to the Rockies' bullpen as early as Saturday against the Cubs, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Ottavino also commented that his ailing shoulder feels great, which is a promising sign that he could return after a minimal DL stint. More information should come forth following Wednesday's outing, but the strikeout machine should be back in commission very soon and will likely regain his position as a primary setup man for Colorado.

Adleman (4-2) gave up one run on three hits and two walks while striking out seven over seven innings in Tuesday's 13-1 rout of the Cardinals.

He threw 71 of 110 pitches for strikes and took a possible shutout into the seventh inning until Stephen Piscotty touched him up for a solo shot. Adleman has now delivered three straight quality starts and will take a 4.42 ERA and 1.19 WHIP into his next outing Sunday on the road against the Dodgers.

Neris was pulled from a save opportunity Tuesday against the Braves after allowing two one-out singles in the ninth inning.

Neris got Nick Markakis to pop out, but then gave up singles to Matt Kemp and Matt Adams before he was pulled. Manager Pete Mackanin turned to Pat Neshek, who closed out the game. Neris is likely going to remain the first option to close in the Phillies' pen, but he has to perform to keep that role.

Lamet (2-1) was smashed for nine runs (seven earned) on five hits and five walks over three-plus innings in Arizona on Tuesday.

Having debuted with a pair of impressive outings against the Mets and Cubs, Lamet had the attention of fantasy owners, but this game may see him cut to the wire in a lot of leagues. That's not necessarily the best idea; after all, Lamet has significant potential and a friendly matchup on tap for his next turn in the rotation, Sunday at home against the Royals.

Floro was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The 26-year-old was recalled a day ago to fill in for Wade Davis while he was on paternity leave, but with Davis back in the fray, Floro will head back to the minors. Floro did not log an appearance during his brief time in the show, although he seems to be one of the first options to return to Chicago if any of the big-league bullpen arms falters or gets injured.

Melancon tossed a clean inning while striking out a batter in a non-save situation against the Brewers on Monday.

The veteran closer has pitched well this season (2.20 ERA and 15.0 K/BB), but he hasn't seen a save opportunity since May 27. This is due to the Giants' general lack of wins, but in the games in which they are victorious, there simply haven't been many save situations generated. Melancon's average of 49 saves over his last two seasons appears to be out of reach, but the 32-year-old remains a consistent closing option even if he maintains his 30-save pace.

Lamet's changeup has progressed enough over the past three months that he now has the three-pitch mix necessary to remain in the rotation long term, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Coming into the year, the big knock on Lamet was that he didn't have a third pitch, and would eventually need to move to the bullpen. His fastball and slider both project as plus pitches, but he needed to add a changeup to consistently turn over big-league lineups. Lamet didn't start regularly honing his circle changeup until he was sent to minor-league camp in March. With an average velocity of 90.2 mph, it is the hardest changeup in baseball, among pitchers who have thrown at least 30 changeups this year. "He could've been good with just fastball-slider," catcher Austin Hedges said. "The changeup could make him very, very special." Lamet has a 2.70 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 16:3 K:BB in 10 innings over two big-league starts this year, and given the addition of a quality third pitch, he should be scooped up in the majority of formats.

Hoffman is expected to make another start Saturday against the Cubs, Nick Groke of The Denver Post reports.

Hoffman was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday and entered the rotation later that day for his third start of the season, replacing the injured Tyler Anderson (knee). After impressing in his first two turns, Hoffman was even better against the Padres, holding the opposition to one run on three hits and no walks while striking out nine over seven innings. The right-hander is now 3-0 with a 24:2 K:BB and 2.33 ERA over 19.1 innings in his three starts, which could give him a compelling case to stick around in the rotation even once Anderson, who carries a 5.85 ERA for the season, is healthy again. Anderson won't come off the disabled list until Sunday at the earliest, so with a strong showing in the tough matchup during the upcoming weekend, Hoffman would certainly strengthen his claim to a starting role.

Brebbia fired a scoreless eighth inning in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Reds, allowing one hit.

The 27-year-old right-hander has opened up his major-league career with a trio of scoreless outings, and the hit he allowed Monday was the first he'd surrendered over that span. Brebbia has been deployed in low-leverage situations by manager Mike Matheny thus far, with all three appearances coming in losses. Early returns have certainly been promising, so the young reliever's usage could be in for an uptick in the coming weeks.

Garcia tossed a scoreless inning with one strikeout in Monday's 11-4 win over the Braves.

Garcia lowered his ERA to 1.83 and now has a 12:4 K:BB in 19.2 innings. His strikeout rate is down significantly from his past stints in the majors, but so is his walk rate. A 3.91 FIP indicates his ERA could be on the rise in the future.