MLB Player News

Diaz elected to become a free agent Wednesday.

Diaz had been outrighted to Triple-A Omaha by the Royals, but he's decided to hit the free-agent market instead. The veteran catcher will likely have to settle for a minor-league contract.

The Reds outrighted Leibrandt to Triple-A Louisville on Thursday.

Having been outrighted previously, Leibrandt has the ability to decline the assignment and become a free agent, but it's unclear what his plans are. The southpaw saved the Reds' bullpen earlier this week by eating six innings and allowing five runs in a relief appearance Monday versus the Royals.

The Giants outrighted Porter to Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday.

Porter passed through waivers after being designated for assignment. He has the ability to decline an outright assignment and elect free agency, but at this point it appears Porter will stick around as organizational catching depth.

Williams (elbow) threw a simulated game at Nationals Park ahead of Tuesday's loss to the Marlins, MLB.com reports.

The veteran right-hander still lacks a concrete timeline for his return from last July's internal brace procedure on his elbow, but Williams is making progress in his recovery. He'll need a lengthy rehab assignment, but he could be a month or so away from providing the Nationals' beleaguered staff with an additional rotation option.

Phillips (elbow) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, yielding one hit and one walk over two-thirds of a scoreless frame.

Phillips struck out one batter and averaged 95.7 mph with his four-seamer, which is up 0.3 mph from last season. The righty is working his way back from Tommy John surgery and will likely need a fairly lengthy rehab assignment before rejoining the Dodgers' active roster.

The Rangers optioned Osuna to Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday.

Osuna has been the Rangers' regular left fielder lately and has gotten on base at a .376 clip this season. However, he's also slugging just .275, and with Wyatt Langford (forearm) about to return, Osuna's playing time was going to dry up.

The Rangers optioned Freeman to Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday.

Freeman had been promoted earlier this week but will head back to the minors after picking up one hit in two plate appearances. He's clearing out to make space on the roster for the return of Corey Seager (back).

The Rangers activated Seager (back) from the 10-day injured list Thursday.

Seager has been shelved since mid-May with lower-back inflammation, but he's been cleared to return to action after going 1-for-5 in a couple rehab games with Double-A Frisco. The shortstop had been in an offensive rut before getting hurt, going 0-for-25 over his last seven games. Seager will be back in the Rangers' lineup as they kick off a weekend series against the Guardians.

Trevino (hamstring) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville on Thursday, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

Trevino also caught six innings behind the plate in his first bit of game action since he strained his left hamstring nearly three weeks ago. The veteran backstop shouldn't require too many more rehab at-bats before rejoining the Reds' active roster.

Straw went 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored in Thursday's win over Atlanta.

Getting the start in center field in place of Daulton Varsho against southpaw Chris Sale, Straw produced a two-run single in the third inning before playing a role in the Blue Jays' four-run outburst in the top of the ninth. It was the veteran outfielder's first multi-hit performance since May 6, snapping a 1-for-23 skid that had dragged his OPS on the season down from .812 to .647. Straw remains an important bench piece for Toronto in a predominantly lefty-swinging outfield, but playing time will be even harder to come by once Addison Barger (elbow) is activated from the IL.