MLB Player News

Yates (elbow) will begin a minor-league rehab assignment Saturday, Jeff Schultz of the Athletic reports.

Yates has been slowly working his way back from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in March 2021 and appears set to return to Atlanta's bullpen in the coming weeks. It's unclear which affiliate he'll start his rehab assignment with, but he'll likely need to make multiple appearances before being added to the active roster. Yates remains on track to join Atlanta at some point in early August.

Hendriks struck out two without allowing a baserunner in a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 18th save of the season Wednesday against the Guardians.

Hendriks held a one-run lead in dominant fashion to tally his 18th save of the season. He's shown no lingering issues from a forearm injury that sidelined him for nearly a month, turning in four scoreless innings with a 7:0 K:BB since being activated from the injured list July 4. Overall, Hendriks has an excellent 2.43 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 44:8 K:BB across 29.2 frames for the campaign.

Leclerc allowed two runs on three hits and one walk while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning during Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Athletics.

Leclerc, who was coming off a promising stretch during which he allowed zero runs over his last seven innings, was deployed to close out a 5-0 lead but ran into trouble. His first pitch was taken deep by Skye Bolt, then he gave up another solo blast to Ramon Laureano, before Garrett Richards rescued the Rangers. With Joe Barlow (blister) landing on the injured list, manager Chris Woodward may have been acclimating Leclerc, a former closer, to a late-inning role.

Gallegos (2-4) was tagged with the loss and a blown save against the Dodgers on Wednesday as a result of allowing two runs on three hits over one inning. He struck out two batters and did not issue a walk.

Gallegos inherited a one-run ninth-inning lead, but he wasn't able to keep things that way. The right-hander allowed the first two batters he saw to reach base, and a subsequent sacrifice fly and single resulted in two runs for Los Angeles. Gallegos and Ryan Helsley have been sharing closer duties, but it wouldn't be surprising to see more chances going Helsley's way given Gallegos' recent struggles. The latter has given up at least one run in each of his past four appearances and has two losses in addition to two blown saves over that span.

Phillips earned the save over the Cardinals on Wednesday with a perfect inning that included one strikeout.

The Dodgers were down big through six frames, but they posted seven runs over the final three innings to take the lead. Manager Dave Roberts had used closer Craig Kimbrel to cover the eighth inning, so the skipper turned to Phillips in the ninth. The right-hander came through by retiring all three batters he faced on seven pitches for his second career save. The successful outing continued a dominant stretch for Phillips -- since the start of May, he's allowed only one run over 26 innings while racking up two wins and 11 holds in addition to Wednesday's save. He's posted a 28:7 K:BB during that span.

Winckowski (3-4) was tagged with the loss against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, completing six innings and allowing three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five.

Winckowski bounced back from giving up six runs over five innings in his previous outing, and he ended with his third quality start of the campaign. However, the trio of runs he allowed between the third and fourth frames were enough to saddle him with his fourth loss. Winckowski has allowed three or fewer runs in five of his seven starts overall, and he's been a helpful addition to the rotation in light of injuries to a number of Boston starters. However, Nathan Eovaldi (back), Rich Hill (knee) and Michael Wacha (shoulder) are all nearing a return, so it's unclear if Winckowski will stay in the rotation following the All-Star break.

Poche earned a save against the Red Sox on Wednesday, pitching a scoreless inning during which he allowed one hit and struck out one batter.

Poche inherited a three-run ninth-inning lead and worked around a one-out single to collect his first save since June 22. The southpaw leads the team with six saves on the campaign, but four other Rays relievers have notched at least three thus far. As such, Poche isn't the most reliable source of saves in fantasy, though he's more valuable in leagues that count holds -- he has 10 on the campaign and has posted a 1.88 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over 28.2 innings.

Morejon (shoulder) gave up a run on two hits and struck out one in one inning during Wednesday's 10-6 loss to the Rockies.

Morejon missed about three weeks with shoulder inflammation. The 23-year-old southpaw has allowed at least one run in three of his four appearances this season, though he's also picked up one win. He's added a 2:1 K:BB with a 4.76 ERA and 1.06 WHIP through 5.2 innings. Morejon is expected to fill a middle-relief role going forward, and his background as a starter could allow him to cover multiple innings.

Barlow struck out two without allowing a baserunner in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Wednesday against the Tigers.

Barlow protected a three-run lead to earn his 15th save of the season. He's rebounded from a shaky stretch spanning late June and early July -- Wednesday's outing marked his fifth consecutive scoreless appearance, a span in which he's picked up three saves while maintaining a 6:0 K:BB. Overall, Barlow has maintained a 2.16 ERA and 42:12 K:BB across 41.2 innings for the season.

Melancon (3-8) allowed one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out one across one-third of an inning to take the loss Wednesday against the Giants.

Melancon entered the game in the ninth inning with the score knotted at three. However, he allowed two singles, a double and a walk to take his eighth loss of the season. Melancon has served as Arizona's primary closer this season -- particularly since Ian Kennedy (calf) has been sidelined -- but has allowed one earned run in four of his last 10 appearances. Melancon owns a 5.28 ERA and a 21:9 K:BB across 30.2 frames on the season.