MLB Player News

Wittgren was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans on Thursday, Craig Davis of the Sun Sentinel reports.

Wittgren will replace reliever Bryan Morris in the bullpen while he is on the disabled list with a herniated disc in his lower back. Wittgren posted a 3.18 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in 5.2 innings during his two stints in the majors this season.

Smith (knee) threw a scoreless inning with High-A Brevard County on Tuesday in his first rehab appearance.

Smith allowed a hit, struck out a batter, and threw 15 pitches (nine strikes) in Tuesday's outing. More importantly, no setbacks were reported following the contest, so his rehab process remains on track. He figures to throw several more times in the minors and is on track to join the Brewers in June.

Melancon allowed a hit, but he managed to pick up the save Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.

Melancon allowed a two-out double to put a runner on scoring position, but he forced Tomas to fly out on a 2-2 count to pick up the save. Melancon has had another solid season as Pittsburgh's closer, converting 15 of his 16 save opportunities and boasting a 2.21 ERA.

De La Rosa (4-5) surrendered two home runs and ended allowing five runs on nine hits while striking out four against the Pirates on Wednesday.

De La Rosa has surrendered at least one homer in three of the past four games, and he failed to reach the fifth inning for the first time since April 18. The 27-year-old righty had one his worst outings of the campaign, and he'll look to bounce back in his next start against the Astros on Monday.

Gomez retired the Tigers in order to earn his league-leading 17th save of the season Wednesday afternoon.

The Phillies closer induced a ground out, fly out and line out. Despite this being only his second appearance in a week, Gomez still leads all of baseball in saves. He also has a 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 18 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.

Rusin will re-enter the Rockies rotation to replace the struggling Jorge De La Rosa, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Rusin filled in admirably in the rotation while De La Rosa was on the disabled list, and after yet another horrific short outing by De La Rosa, manager Walt Weiss was finally willing to send the veteran to the bullpen and give Rusin a full spot in the rotation. Rubin's previous appearance relieving Jordan Lyles went extremely well, as the left-hander fired 4.2 scoreless innings. The 29-year-old will look to ride that momentum into his next scheduled start, which is expected to come Sunday against the Giants.

Stephenson is 3-2 with a 3.02 ERA and 1.26 WHIP through seven starts at Triple-A Louisville this season.

The Reds' 2011 first-round pick finally broke into the majors this season for two solid starts before being sent back to Triple-A to continue to work on his game. Stephenson has shown a lot of promise and is considered the Reds' number three prospect. He could be in line for another call up later in the season should the Reds need additional pitching help.

Hader boasts a 0.79 ERA and 1.02 WHIP through nine starts at the Double-A level this season.

Hader also has a ridiculous 11.75 K/9 and has been virtually untouchable through two months. If the 22-year-old can continue to pitch anywhere close to this well, a promotion to Triple-A could be a possibility.

Alvarez was claimed off waivers by the Braves on Wednesday and assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Alvarez was designated for assignment by the Mets on Monday after New York called up Ty Kelly to the big leagues, and the Braves found Alvarez intriguing enough to swipe him off waivers. Although his 2016 stats in the minors are putrid to say the least (9.98 ERA and 2.12 WHIP in 15.1 innings pitched), the left-hander did hold a 2.45 ERA and 15.6 K/9 at Triple-A last season, which could mean good things for the Braves organization if he can get back to that form. For now, he'll develop more in the minor leagues, but with the ridiculous amount of injuries to the Braves bullpen this season, there's a decent chance he could find his way to the major leagues if he can find success after the change in scenery.

Ramirez has a .253/.324/.462 line after playing in 34 games at Double-A Biloxi.

The start of the 2016 campaign marked Ramirez's third straight season playing at the Double-A level. In that time, he's reduced his number of strikeouts and steadily increased his batting average from .231. Even though his game has gotten better, the 26-year-old lefty will likely have to continue waiting for the opportunity to test his skills at Triple-A Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs' roster currently has two capable first basemen in Jake Elmore and Andy Wilkins.