MLB Player News

The Phillies acquired Hill and international bonus pool money from the White Sox on Thursday in exchange for Dylan Campbell and Jose Colmenares, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Hill is effectively replacing Johan Rojas, who needs season-ending internal brace surgery on his right elbow. The right-handed-hitting Hill has a career .521 OPS versus right-handed pitching but boasts a .780 OPS against lefties. He will be used as a late-inning defensive replacement and should see occasional starts in center field against southpaws.

The Dodgers selected Robinson's contract from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday.

The 31-year-old will join the big club for the first time this season to make up for the loss of Will Smith, who landed on the injured list Thursday with neck inflammation. Robinson owns a .763 OPS through 84 plate appearances at Triple-A this season but isn't likely to receive many at-bats with the Dodgers while working as a backup to Dalton Rushing.

The Dodgers placed Smith on the 10-day injured list Thursday, retroactive to Monday, due to neck inflammation.

Smith has missed the Dodgers' last four games because of his injured neck, and manager Dave Roberts confirmed Wednesday that the All-Star backstop would require an IL stint and ramp-up period before returning to action. Dalton Rushing will fill in behind the plate most days while Smith is out, and Chuckie Robinson will join the big club from Triple-A to work as the backup catcher.

The Brewers returned Priester (shoulder) from his rehab assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Thursday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Priester has struggled to gain any sort of momentum during his rehab outings, posting a 21.60 ERA in 10 innings across six appearances between Triple-A Nashville and High-A Wisconsin, and more recently allowing four earned runs on three hits and seven walks across six innings between two starts in rookie ball. The Brewers haven't outlined what Priester's next steps will be now that his rehab assignment has been paused, but he doesn't appear to be anywhere near a return to Milwaukee's rotation.

The Brewers signed Richardson to a minor-league contract Thursday, Jim Goulart of BrewerFanatic.com reports.

Richardson elected free agency last week after being booted off the Reds' 40-man roster. The 26-year-old holds a career 6.67 ERA and 46:39 K:BB over 56.2 innings covering parts of four seasons at the major-league level. Richardson will report to the Brewers' Arizona Complex League affiliate for now but should move up to Triple-A Nashville soon.

The Pirates recalled Valdez from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday.

Valdez went 2-for-16 with a pair of home runs during an earlier stint in the big leagues this season. The Pirates could give Valdez regular chances in the outfield while they deal with the fallout of the Oneil Cruz's absence due to a hand injury. Valdez, 22, has slashed .255/.388/.526 with 13 home runs across 237 plate appearances with Indianapolis this season.

The Pirates optioned Wendzel to Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday.

Wendzel was just promoted earlier this week and went 0-for-4 at the dish in his only start. He's being replaced on the active roster by Esmerlyn Valdez.

Harper went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double, a walk and two additional runs scored in Wednesday's 7-4 win over the Blue Jays.

Harper is off to a strong start in the month of June. The All-Star first baseman is hitting 9-for-29 (.310) with two homers, two doubles, four RBI and two stolen bases over his last nine games. For the season, Harper is slashing a robust .267/.376/.517 with 15 big flies, 38 RBI, five stolen bases and 45 runs scored across 282 plate appearances.

Bohm went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 7-4 win over Toronto.

After a brutal start to the season, Bohm has turned it around at the dish. Since the start of May, the third baseman is batting 37-for-129 (.287) with seven home runs, six doubles and 21 RBI. For the year, Bohm is slashing .226/.283/.366 with eight long balls, nine doubles and 34 RBI over 258 plate appearances.

Hurt (1-1) took the loss and was charged with a blown save Wednesday against Pittsburgh, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks over one-third of an inning.

Hurt was summoned to begin the eighth frame with the Dodgers up 6-4. He quickly gave up the lead by issuing two walks, which were followed by a Tyler Callihan three-run homer. Hurt then surrendered two more hits before being replaced by Jack Dreyer, and the only out Hurt recorded came when Jake Mangum was caught stealing. The poor outing was the continuation of a rough stretch for Hurt, who has given up eight earned runs over his past 3.1 frames spanning four appearances. Prior to that, the right-hander had been extremely effective, pitching to a 1.00 ERA and 0.78 WHIP with a 21:4 K:BB through his first 18 innings of the season.