MLB Player News

Smyly (hip) struck out five over three perfect innings in his rehab start Tuesday with High-A South Bend.

Pitching in a game for the first time in a month after landing on the 15-day injured list April 23 with a right hip impingement, Smyly looked about as good as possible while tossing 40 pitches. The lefty had been working exclusively as a reliever prior to landing on the shelf, but with the Cubs moving the struggling Kyle Hendricks to the bullpen earlier this week, Smyly could be under consideration to step in as the team's No. 5 starter if he makes it back from the IL before Jordan Wicks (forearm). If the Cubs intend to bring Smyly back in a starting role, he'll still need to get stretched out a bit further, so it wouldn't be surprising if he stuck around at South Bend or joined a higher-level affiliate for another rehab outing. Regardless of whether Smyly serves as a starter or reliever upon his return to the Cubs, manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday that he expects the 34-year-old to be activated at some point next week, per MLB.com.

Liberatore threw a bullpen session ahead of Wednesday's action against the Orioles, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Following last weekend's start against the Red Sox, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Liberatore wasn't likely to start Saturday versus the Cubs. However, the left-hander's bullpen session could indicate a change of plan, since it wouldn't make much sense to have a regular reliever make himself unavailable on a day during which St. Louis had to complete Tuesday's suspended game in addition to Wednesday's regularly scheduled contest. It remains to be seen who actually starts for the Cardinals on Saturday, but Liberatore seems to still be in the mix, at least.

The Orioles returned Vespi to Triple-A Norfolk following Wednesday's loss to the Cardinals, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Vespi pitched a scoreless inning in his season debut, but he will head back to Triple-A after serving as Baltimore's 27th man. The 28-year-old lefty owns a 3.22 ERA and 1.45 WHIP across 22.1 innings in the minors this season.

Garrett signed a minor-league contract with the Angels on Wednesday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Garrett elected free agency Sunday after being DFA'd by the Angels, but he will now return to the organization on a minor-league deal. He will report to Triple-A Salt Lake, where he has allowed two earned runs through 7.1 innings while striking out 10 batters and walking four.

The Diamondbacks recalled Hughes from Triple-A Reno on Wednesday. He'll serve as Arizona's opening pitcher for the team's series finale in Los Angeles versus the Dodgers, Jesse Friedman of GoPHNX.com reports.

Hughes allowed four earned runs in 2.2 innings during his first stint with Arizona earlier this month, but he's thrown five innings of one-run ball since returning to Triple-A. The 28-year-old lefty is likely to only pitch an inning or two Wednesday before giving way to Ryne Nelson, who is expected to pitch the bulk of innings out of the bullpen.

Manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday that Alzolay (forearm) will be shut down from throwing for at least two weeks, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Alzolay went in for a second opinion on his right flexor strain Tuesday, and the damage appears to be serious enough to warrant a shutdown. Counsell added that Alzolay could require surgery, but his next steps will be determined after the two-week rest period.

The Padres transferred Patino (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.

Patino's move to the 60-day IL was fully expected at some point after he underwent Tommy John surgery April 30. With the right-hander expected to be sidelined until at least the middle of the 2025 season, he'll be a strong candidate to get non-tendered by the Padres this offseason.

Smith earned the save in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Mets, allowing one hit while striking out two in a scoreless inning of work.

After Emmanuel Clase pitched in three consecutive days, the Guardians turned to Smith in the ninth with a three-run lead Wednesday. The rookie right-hander would allow a two-out double to Francisco Lindor before rebounding to strike out Pete Alonso, sealing his first MLB save. Smith's been solid out of the bullpen for Cleveland this year, pitching to a 2.01 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 32:7 K:BB while recording five holds in 22.1 innings. While he won't unseat Clase for the closing job, Smith has certainly established himself as a high-leverage option going forward.

The Rangers optioned Winn to Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday.

Winn will give up his spot on the 26-man active roster to right-hander Dane Dunning (shoulder), who was reinstated from the 15-day injured list ahead of his start Wednesday versus the Phillies. The demotion comes after Winn had struggled mightily thus far in May, giving up runs in five of his six appearances while pitching to a 13.50 ERA and 2.05 WHIP over 7.1 innings.

Duran picked up the save in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Nationals despite allowing a run on two hits in the ninth inning. He struck out one.

Called upon to protect a two-run lead in the ninth, Duran got off to a rocky start, surrendering a leadoff homer to Joey Meneses followed by a Luis Garcia single. However, following a sac bunt that moved Garcia into scoring position, Duran struck out Joey Gallo before inducing a game-ending groundout from Keibert Ruiz to close out a 3-2 win. While he was able to escape with the save Wednesday, Duran's been shaky recently, allowing homers in three consecutive outings and five runs over 2.2 innings in that span. He now has four saves with a 4.66 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 10:3 K:BB across 9.2 innings to start the year.