MLB Player News

Banda was officially recalled to start Saturday against the Nationals.

The highly touted Arizona prospect will be thrown into the fire in his major-league debut as he'll face one of the best lineups in all of baseball. Even considering the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League that Banda has pitched in this year, his numbers have been underwhelming at best, as he notched a 5.08 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP while allowing 11 home runs in 101 innings. This could be just a spot start for Banda with Taijuan Walker nearing activation from the paternity list.

Bowman (2-3) got one out to close out the seventh inning in Friday's 11-4 win over the Cubs.

Bowman didn't even break a sweat while notching his second win, getting Willson Contreras on two pitches for his only out. The 26-year-old right-hander is having a great month, allowing just five hits and a walk in seven scoreless innings across 10 appearances.

Okert was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Okert threw 1.2 scoreless innings (34 pitches) in Friday's loss and would have been unavailable for a couple days, so the Giants decided to swap him out for a fresh arm. The lefty has struggled throughout most of the season, but he will likely be on the shuttle back to San Francisco the next time bullpen reinforcements are needed.

Stephenson was recalled from Triple-A Louisville and will start Saturday against the Marlins.

The Reds made the roster move official, swapping out Ariel Hernandez for Stephenson, who will toe the rubber in place of Scott Feldman (knee). Stephenson has struggled in 21 appearances (eight starts) at the big-league level so far in his career, and he's lost his shine as a former top prospect as a result, but the 24-year-old has been throwing a lot of strikes lately with Louisville (13 walks in 40.1 innings).

Hernandez was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on Saturday.

Hernandez was called up earlier this month to bolster the Cincinnati bullpen, but was rocked for six earned runs in his last outing, Thursday against Arizona. The meltdown skyrocketed his season ERA to 5.28 over 15.1 innings, earning him the honor of being sent down to clear a roster slot for Saturday's starting pitcher, Robert Stephenson. Look for the right-handed reliever to see more opportunities at the Triple-A level and possibly vie for a late-season call-up.

De La Rosa (shoulder), who has made two rehab appearances at Triple-A Reno since landing on the 10-day disabled list July 6, didn't pitch for the minor-league affiliate Friday as expected.

With rain falling Friday in Colorado Springs, Reno's game Friday was called following the top of the eighth inning, which may have explained why the left-hander went unused. There's been no indication that De La Rosa experienced any sort of setback with his shoulder, so the expectation is that he'll pitch for Reno at some point this weekend before potentially returning from the disabled list thereafter.

Koch won't make a spot start Saturday against the Nationals, as the Diamondbacks announced Anthony Banda would instead be recalled from Triple-A Reno to take the hill, Jarrid Denney of MLB.com reports.

Since Taijuan Walker was placed on the paternity list Thursday and isn't due to rejoin the Diamondbacks until Sunday, the Diamondbacks were in need for a spot starter Saturday, with Koch considered one of the leading candidates to fill the void. After being called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move for Walker's placement on the paternity list, Koch went unused out of the bullpen both Thursday and Friday, which would have left him available for Saturday. However, since the right-hander had compiled an 8.47 ERA over 17 innings with Reno, the Diamondbacks evidently weren't comfortable deploying Koch in the rotation on even a temporary basis, so it's likely that he'll head back to the minors Saturday to facilitate Banda's promotion to the big club.

Rodney (4-3) picked up the win Friday against the Nationals after firing a perfect ninth inning. He struck out one.

The veteran closer sat down the side on 12 pitches (eight for strikes), helping him grab the win when Arizona walked off in the bottom half of the frame. Rodney's 5.23 ERA isn't the prettiest thing to look at, but Friday's outing marked his third straight scoreless appearance. With no reinforcements in sight and 22 saves on the season, it doesn't seem like Rodney is on the hot seat at this time.

Hoffman (6-2) surrendered seven runs on nine hits and four walks over three-plus innings while striking out two in Friday's 13-5 loss to the Pirates.

Nothing was working for the 24-year-old in this one, and Hoffman now has a rough 8.44 ERA, 1.88 WHIP and 7:7 K:BB in 16 innings over his last three starts. Even on the road, as he will be in his next outing Wednesday in St. Louis, the right-hander is a very risky fantasy play right now.

Banda will be recalled from Triple-A Reno to start Saturday's game against the Nationals, Sarah McLellan of The Arizona Republic reports.

A previous update suggested Banda would join the club Tuesday as the Diamondbacks shuffle up their rotation in the wake of Taijuan Walker's placement on the paternity list, but the 23-year-old will instead make his MLB debut Saturday in order to keep the rest of the starting staff on normal rest. Banda has struggled in 18 starts for Triple-A Reno this season, posting a 5.08 ERA and 1.43 WHIP, but it's worth noting that the Pacific Coast League is notoriously hitter friendly. Nonetheless, Banda will make for a weak streaming option against a powerful Nationals lineup, and probably won't be in line for a lengthy stay with the Diamondbacks with Walker due back Sunday.