MLB Player News

Thompson (biceps) is back with the Nationals and will be activated from the 60-day injured list Friday, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.

Thompson will rejoin the team ahead of their series with the Marlins, making his return from a biceps injury that has sidelined him since April 10. The reliever has pitched one scoreless inning this season, walking two batters while striking out three. He'll initially operate in low-leverage situations.

Phillips (2-3) pitched 1.1 perfect innings against San Diego on Thursday, striking out one batter and earning the win.

Phillips came on in the seventh inning and needed only eight pitches to retire the side in order. He stayed in to face Manny Machado in the top of the eighth and struck out the superstar before departing. The Dodgers scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead and give Phillips his second win. The right-hander has been outstanding since the start of May, allowing only one run over 21 innings and posting a 23:7 K:BB over that span. He doesn't have any saves but has picked up seven holds during the campaign.

The Yankees placed Castro on paternity leave Friday.

It's unclear exactly how many games Castro will be unavailable while on paternity leave. The righty has strung together four straight scoreless appearances with seven strikeouts over five innings in that span.

Chapman (Achilles) was activated off the 15-day injured list Friday.

As expected, Chapman returns to the bullpen for the start of this weekend's series in Cleveland. Soon enough, the lefty figures to be pitching in late-game, high-leverage situations for the first-place Yankees.

Clase (2-2) allowed a hit and struck out one in an inning of work to earn the win Thursday versus the Twins.

The Guardians tied the game at 3-3 in the eighth inning, and Clase was able to keep it that way in the top of the ninth before Andres Gimenez walked it off. Clase has had an absolutely dominant run lately -- he's pitched 19 straight scoreless innings, allowing 10 hits and a walk with 22 strikeouts in that span. The closer has a 1.35 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 36:4 K:BB while converting 18 of 20 save chances in 33.1 innings overall.

Bednar (back) allowed three earned runs on four hits and a walk across 0.2 innings Thursday against the Brewers.

Bednar pitched for the first time since June 25 and was immediately inserted back into the ninth-inning role, albeit with a four-run lead. However, things didn't go according to plan and he was pulled before he could record the final out of the game. It remains to be seen whether the poor performance was caused by rust, or if it's an indication that he's still not fully healthy. If Bednar becomes unavailable for an extended amount of time, Yerry De Los Santos appears to be the next man up for saves.

Yarbrough was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Friday, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

The soft-tossing lefty yielded four runs on eight hits Thursday versus Toronto in his first big-league appearance since June 5. Yarbrough and his 5.82 ERA through 34 innings will likely return to the majors at some point this season.

Duffey allowed no runs with no hits or walks while striking out four over 1.2 innings Thursday against the Guardians, and the addition of a changeup to his arsenal has contributed to his recent improvement, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Duffey has thrown nine scoreless innings over his last six appearances with a 8:2 K:BB. It's a stark turnaround after he began the season with a 6.38 ERA and 24:8 K:BB in his first 24 innings, a rough stretch that saw him relegated to low-leverage opportunities. Duffey has switched his pitch mix, relying less on a high fastball and using the changeup more frequently. He could return to a key setup role if he continues performing well.

Feyereisen (shoulder) has begun one-armed plyo ball exercises, Ethan Diamandas of MLB.com reports.

Manager Kevin Cash said that Feyereisen is continuing to feel better, but the bone bruise in his shoulder has not yet fully healed. As a result, he has yet to resume throwing and appears to still be at least a few weeks from returning to the mound.

Thornton gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless seventh inning Thursday to record his second hold of the season in a win over the Rays.

With closer Jordan Romano getting a rest, Adam Cimber handled the ninth inning and David Phelps the eighth, opening up a high-leverage setup spot for Thornton as he protected a 2-1 lead. The right-hander is prone to occasional blowups, but he posted a solid 4.08 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 15:4 K:BB through 17.2 innings in June, and his ability to work in a variety of roles should keep him busy in the second half for Toronto.