MLB Player News

The Giants selected Bivens' contract from Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday.

Bivens hadn't been used at Sacramento since Tuesday, so he'll provide the San Francisco bullpen with a much-needed fresh arm in Sunday's series finale versus the Angels. After Kyle Harrison (ankle) was scratched from the start Sunday and placed on the 15-day injured list, lefty reliever Erik Miller will be tabbed to open the game for the Giants. Bivens has four three-inning appearances under his belt in the minors this season and will be a strong candidate to see work behind Miller. The 29-year-old righty has accrued a 2.81 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 36:16 K:BB across 41.2 innings with Sacramento this season.

The Giants released Avila (undisclosed) on Sunday.

Avila will cede his spot on the Giants' 40-man roster to right-hander Spencer Bivens, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Sacramento. Rather than designating Avila for assignment and waiting for the waiver process to play out, the Giants will part ways with the 26-year-old right-hander and allow him to get a head start on finding his next organization. Avila had posted an 8.49 ERA and 1.71 WHIP over his 11.2 innings with the Giants this season and hadn't performed much better for Sacramento (6.75 ERA, 1.21 WHIP in 9.1 innings) before landing on the club's 7-day injured list May 31 with an unspecified injury.

Estrada (illness) struck out two and gave up an earned run on one hit and one walk over one inning out of the bullpen in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Athletics.

Estrada relayed prior to Wednesday's game that he had been dealing with an illness, but it didn't deter the Padres from turning to him in the eighth inning while they faced a 3-2 deficit. Though Estrada let in a run to give the Athletics a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth, Donovan Solano tied the game with a two-run home run later in the frame before Jackson Merrill hit a walk-off blast in the bottom of the ninth. Estrada hasn't been used since Wednesday, but with his bout with the illness now a few more days in the rear-view mirror, he should be available for Sunday's series finale against the Mets.

The Astros selected Contreras' contract from Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

After several years in the Brewers organization, Contreras joined the Astros on a minor-league deal last winter. The right-hander has put up impressive numbers at Triple-A -- he owns a 1.40 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 20:7 K:BB in 19.1 innings this season -- and it looks like he will get a chance to make his major-league debut in the coming days. He replaces Nick Hernandez in the Houston bullpen.

Fleming is slated to start Sunday's game against the Rockies at Coors Field, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Fleming was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday but went unused out of the bullpen for the first two games of the Pirates' series in Colorado. He'll step into the rotation for the series finale Sunday as Pittsburgh looks to give each of their other starters an additional day of rest, but Fleming will likely head to the bullpen or return to Triple-A immediately after the start. Fleming had worked as a multi-inning reliever for Indianapolis prior to his call-up, covering at least two frames in each of his last four appearances while pitching to a 5.68 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in seven outings overall.

Treinen (2-1) took the loss and was charged with a blown save Saturday against Kansas City. He allowed four runs on one hit and three walks while striking out one batter over two-thirds of an inning.

Treinen had been dominant coming into Saturday, posting a 19:2 K:BB over 13 scoreless innings across 14 appearances. However, he struggled with his control against the Royals, issuing three straight one-out walks. It appeared Treinen might get out of the jam when he fanned Adam Frazier for the second out of the frame and then backed MJ Melendez into a 1-2 count, but Melendez put together a brilliant 12-pitch at-bat that included six straight two-strike foul balls before launching a grand slam. Treinen's ERA jumped to 2.63 due to the poor outing, but given his overall body of work this season, he should continue to be a high-leverage option for the Dodgers.

The Marlins optioned Anderson to Triple-A Jacksonville on Saturday.

Miami sent Anderson back to Triple-A just one day after he was called up from Jacksonville to make a spot start in the series opener versus the Nationals. The 29-year-old lasted just two innings in the Marlins' 8-1 loss, giving up seven earned runs on 10 hits. The Marlins will still need to fill the vacant No. 5 spot in their rotation Wednesday versus the Cardinals, but the team called up Kent Emanuel from Triple-A to provide a fresh arm out of the bullpen in the meantime.

The Athletics called up Basso from Triple-A Las Vegas to serve as the 27th man for Sunday's doubleheader against the Twins, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Basso will provide depth to the Oakland bullpen, but it will likely be only a one-day stint in the big leagues. The lefty has struggled in the harsh pitching environments of the Pacific Coast League, allowing 18 runs in 21.1 innings since advancing from Double-A Midland earlier this season.

The Marlins selected Emanuel's contract from Triple-A Jacksonville on Saturday.

Despite being lit up for 12 earned runs in just two innings in his latest outing for Jacksonville to bring his season-long ERA at Triple-A up to 6.60, Emanuel got the call to the majors with Miami looking to add a fresh arm to its bullpen. Shaun Anderson was optioned to Jacksonville in a corresponding move.

Hernandez was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

No corresponding move was announced, but the Astros are expected to have a fresh arm in the clubhouse soon to replace Hernandez in the bullpen. Hernandez worked 3.2 innings in relief of Spencer Arrighetti on Saturday, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out five. He should get another big-league opportunity before long.