MLB Player News

Atlanta reinstated Riley (abdomen) from the 10-day injured list Friday.

The third baseman was still feeling some discomfort in his lower abdomen earlier this week, but he's ready to rejoin the big-league roster Friday after spending two weeks on the injured list. Riley had a hot start to July prior to the injury, going 13-for-41 (.317 average) with five doubles, two homers, six RBI and five runs in 10 games.

The Mets aren't considering shifting Holmes to the bullpen to limit his innings, Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic report.

The 32-year-old former closer for the Yankees was converted to a starting role this season and has more than held his own, posting a 3.48 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 86:43 K:BB over 108.2 innings. That's already 45.2 innings more than he pitched during the regular season last year, however, and Holmes' recent performances suggest he could be feeling the strain of that workload, as he has a 5.66 ERA over four July starts. The Mets do have the depth to move the right-hander to the bullpen once the likes of Tylor Megill (elbow) get healthy -- even before factoring top prospects like Nolan McLean, or any trade deadline additions, into the rotation mix -- but the team doesn't have any plans to make that move pre-emptively. Holmes will try to get back on track when he takes the mound Friday in San Francisco.

Donovan went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer and an additional run scored in Thursday's 9-7 win against San Diego.

The second baseman put St. Louis up 4-2 in the second inning with a three-run homer, which was the Cardinals' second three-run blast in the frame. It was Donovan's ninth home run of the season, and he's now batting .300 (21-for-70) with three doubles, three homers, 11 RBI and nine runs through 18 games in July.

Wentz is slated to start Friday's game against the Rangers in Arlington.

Wentz will pick up a second straight start after he struck out two over four scoreless innings in his first turn through the rotation out of the All-Star break this past Saturday against the Yankees. After having mostly served as a reliever this season across stops with Pittsburgh, Minnesota and now Atlanta, Wentz is still in the process of getting stretched out, so he could be limited to around five innings or 70 pitches Friday.

Contreras went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, a home run and four RBI in Thursday's 9-7 win against San Diego.

The first baseman put St. Louis on the board with an RBI double in the opening frame and followed up with a three-run homer in the second inning. Contreras has a modest four-game hit streak with an extra-base hit in each of those contests, going 9-for-21 with four doubles and two home runs. The strong performance coming out of the All-Star break has boosted his season slash line to .262/.345/.452 through 98 games.

Helsley struck out two and allowed a hit in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Thursday against the Padres.

The right-hander picked up his first save since July 13 and has converted seven straight chances, giving up just one earned run across his past 10 appearances. In 2025, Helsley has rarely looked like the closer that led the league with 49 saves last season, but he's still expected to garner significant interest on the trade market with a 3.09 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 39:14 K:BB over 35 innings this year.

Assad (oblique) tossed three scoreless innings for the Cubs' Arizona Complex League affiliate Thursday. He allowed one hit and struck out six.

It was the first game action for Assad since April and the righty looked sharp, albeit against lesser competition. The team will progress slowly with the 27-year-old, who has yet to pitch in the majors this season. The next steps for Assad will be to increase his workload and face more seasoned hitters, possibly at Triple-A Iowa. Once he's able to come off the IL, Assad could slot back into a rotation that lost Justin Steele (elbow) for the season and is also currently without Jameson Taillon (calf).

Darvish (0-3) took the loss Thursday in St. Louis after allowing eight runs on eight hits and two walks over 3.1 innings. He struck out three.

The right-hander didn't surrender any long balls through his first three starts of the year, but St. Louis tagged him for two three-run homers during the second inning Thursday. Darvish threw 49 of 68 pitches for strikes but generated only seven whiffs and got tagged for four extra-base hits in total. The 38-year-old didn't make his season debut until July 7 due to an elbow injury, and he has a rough 9.18 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 11:9 K:BB over 16.2 innings through his first four starts of 2025.

Gray (10-4) picked up the win Thursday against the Padres despite giving up seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits and no walks over five innings. He struck out five.

The veteran right-hander was able to notch his 10th win of the campaign even though he gave up 11 hits and at least six earned runs for a second straight start. Since throwing a complete-game shutout June 27 in Cleveland, Gray has scuffled to an 8.34 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and 27:2 K:BB in his last five starts. The poor stretch has inflated his ERA to 4.33, though he still has a 1.19 WHIP and 128:19 K:BB across 116.1 innings.

Smith (oblique) could become the primary starter at first base after the Diamondbacks traded Josh Naylor to the Mariners on Thursday, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports.

Smith first needs to get over his oblique injury. He recently began taking dry swings, but it's unclear when he'll be ready to rejoin Arizona. Rather than seeing an everyday role, he may work on the strong side of a platoon upon his return -- he has just 17 at-bats against lefties in 2025. While Smith remains sidelined, Tristin English will likely see most of the action at first base.