MLB Player News

Diaz (finger) was reinstated from Triple-A Reno's 7-day injured list Thursday and struck out six while allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings in his return to the club's rotation.

Diaz was placed on Reno's IL on Aug. 7 with a blister on his right hand but missed just over a week of action before making his return. The 24-year-old righty acquitted himself well in four starts with the big club earlier this season, but he could struggle to get another look with the Diamondbacks in 2024 if all of Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez, Jordan Montgomery and Ryne Nelson are all able to stay healthy down the stretch.

The Diamondbacks outrighted Castellanos to Triple-A Reno on Friday.

As expected, Castellanos cleared waivers after Arizona designated him for assignment Aug. 11. Since he had been previously outrighted, Castellanos could have elected free agency, but he'll instead stick around in the organization with the hope of earning a call-up to Arizona later on this season. Castellanos worked out of the bullpen for his seven appearances with the big club earlier in 2024 but has been a regular member of the rotation at Reno, with whom he's compiled a 4.39 ERA and 1.24 WHIP across 67.2 innings over 15 outings (14 starts).

Treinen (hip) made a rehab appearance for Double-A Tulsa on Saturday, retiring all three batters he faced via strikeout.

Treinen landed on the 15-day injured list Aug. 5 with left hip discomfort, but after turning in a dominant rehab appearance over the weekend, he looks on track to return to the Dodgers bullpen when first eligible Tuesday. Before he was deactivated, Treinen had turned in a 2.67 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 38:9 K:BB over 30.1 innings for the big club while gathering five wins, nine holds and one save.

The Pirates currently have no plans to shut Skenes down but are considering shortening his starts, Ken Rosenthal, Stephen J. Nesbitt and Zack Meisel of The Athletic report.

Skenes has thrown 125.1 innings this season between the majors and minors, which is just a few innings shy of how many he threw in 2023 between college and the minors. With the Pirates' playoff odds looking remote, it could make sense to tap the brakes a bit on Skenes' workload. When/if the team implements Skenes' innings restrictions and whether it would announce it beforehand isn't clear, creating some potential headaches for fantasy managers. While a full shutdown currently looks unlikely, the report notes that the Pirates have a possible incentive to shut Skenes down, as the pitcher would earn an additional year of service time if he finishes first or second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting, resulting in him reaching free agency a year earlier.

Ramos went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's win over the Athletics.

Ramos got the Giants on the board with a solo blast to center off JP Sears in the seventh for his first home run since Aug. 7. Ramos' bat has cooled off a bit over the last 10 days. In 10 games since Aug. 8, he's slashing .200/.256/.350 with two RBI, three runs and a 3:14 BB:K. He's struck out multiple times in six of the 10 games over that span. He's still been putting together an excellent campaign overall, slashing .279/.335/.490 with 18 homers, 57 RBI, 36 runs, four steals and a 29:102 BB:K in 373 plate appearances.

Encarnacion went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Sunday's win over the Athletics.

Encarnacion led off the top of the 10th with a two-run blast against Dany Jimenez to give the Giants their first lead of the game and ultimately give them the win. It was his second home run and third game with multiple hits since being called up from Triple-A Sacramento at the beginning of the month. Encarnacion has started in 12-of-16 games since his promotion and is slashing .255/.300/.447 with seven RBI, five runs, a steal and a 3:14 BB:K in 50 plate appearances.

Conforto went 1-for-1 with a solo home run in Sunday's win over the Athletics.

Conforto entered the game as a pinch hitter in the 10th and extended the Giants' lead with a solo blast off Dany Jimenez. The home run was his third this month but just his second extra-base hit since Aug. 6. He's hitting just .190 with 10 strikeouts over his last 26 plate appearances and the home run was his first RBI since Aug. 9. For the year, Conforto is slashing .236/.317/.439 with 13 homers, 51 RBI, 39 runs and a 36:90 BB:K in 372 plate appearances.

Hayes has played with a herniated disc in his back for much of the season, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Hayes missed most of May with the issue, and while he's stayed off the injured list since then, it sounds like the discomfort hasn't really gone away. It could at least partly explain the 27-year-old's dreadful .233/.283/.290 batting line this season. There doesn't seem to be any talk at this point of surgery and/or shutting Hayes down, but perhaps that changes when/if the Pirates decide they don't have a realistic chance of making the postseason. Hayes has five more years left on the eight-year, $70 million contract extension he signed in April of 2022.

Walker (8-3) got the win over the Athletics on Sunday, allowing an unearned run on two hits and a walk while striking out five over two innings.

Walker entered in the bottom of the ninth looking to send the game to extras with the score tied 1-1. He successfully did so and then came back out for the bottom of the 10th with a 4-1 lead after the Giants tacked on three. Walker found himself in a jam with the bases loaded and nobody out and struck out three batters in a row to seal the deal. He's now put together eight straight outings without giving up an earned run and has piled up three holds, a win and a save while posting a 14:2 K:BB over that span. For the year, Walker owns an impressive 2.10 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 79:15 K:BB in 64.1 innings.

Suter (shoulder) will need at least three rehab outings before being activated off the 15-day injured list, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Suter had a successful throwing session Friday and is expected to begin a rehab assignment this week. He's ahead of the original projected return from a partial tear of the left teres major muscle.