MLB Player News

The Phillies recalled Hoffman from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday.

Hoffman will provide a fresh arm for the Phillies' bullpen. The right-handed reliever holds a 2.35 ERA and 14:4 K:BB over 7.2 frames at Lehigh Valley this season.

The Phillies released Walker on Thursday.

Walker was roughed up for five runs (four earned) over four innings in Wednesday's loss to the Cubs, which actually lowered his season ERA to 9.13. With Zack Wheeler (shoulder) due back Saturday, Walker was about to lose his rotation spot, and now he's lost his roster spot altogether. Walker will finish his tenure in Philadelphia with a 5.12 ERA over 89 regular-season appearances (71 starts). The Phillies remain responsible for the roughly $15 million Walker is owed through the remainder of this season.

Reyes will start in left field and bat cleanup in Thursday's game versus the Cubs.

It's the third straight start in the cleanup spot for Reyes, who is 3-for-11 with one home run in his first three big-league games. The first two of those starts came against lefties, but the right-handed-hitting Reyes will remain in the cleanup slot Thursday versus Cubs righty Edward Cabrera. Adolis Garcia is getting a day off for the Phillies.

Garcia is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.

It's the first day off this season for Garcia, who is slashing only .212/.299/.329 with a pair of home runs and a 27.8 percent strikeout rate in his first 24 contests this season. Brandon Marsh is sliding over to right field, and Felix Reyes will get the start in left field as the Phillies try to avoid a ninth straight loss.

Kelly is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Phillies.

It's the first time this season Kelly has been out of the lineup for consecutive games, and he's now started just three of the last eight tilts. Miguel Amaya will draw a second straight start at catcher as the Cubs try to finish off a sweep.

Wood went 2-for-3 with two walks, a solo home run and a second run scored in Wednesday's loss to Atlanta.

The 23-year-old slugger has gone yard four times in the last six games, including a 413-foot shot off southpaw Martin Perez in the sixth inning Wednesday that cleared the visitors' bullpen in left-center field at Nationals Park. After a tepid start to the season, Wood is slashing a massive .339/.506/.774 over his last 17 games with eight of his nine homers on the year, along with four steals, 17 RBI and 21 runs.

Peralta tossed 1.2 relief innings against Colorado on Wednesday, allowing one run on one hit while striking out one batter.

The run Peralta allowed came on a Hunter Goodman homer. It was just the third run surrendered by Peralta this season over 11.2 frames, with two of the tallies coming via solo home runs. The southpaw's fantasy relevance is minimal since he has only one hold and zero saves so far, but he's been effective with a 2.31 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 11:3 K:BB across 11 outings.

Priester (wrist) yielded four runs on three walks while recording just two outs in his first rehab start with Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday.

After walking the first hitter of the game, Priester bounced back with consecutive strikeouts. Unfortunately, he then hit the next batter with a pitch before issuing two straight walks, the second of which forced in a run and spelled the end of his night. Three more runs were charged to his line after reliever Peter Strzelecki served up a grand slam. Even more disturbing than Priester's line was his velocity, as he averaged only 91.2 mph with his sinker (down from last year's 93.9 mph) and 88.9 mph with his cutter (down from last year's 92.3 mph). It was Priester's first game action since last October, so it's possible his velocity will rise as he gets ramped up. However, given that he's coming back from thoracic outlet syndrome symptoms, there's a chance the velocity will remain down. Priester will need multiple additional rehab starts before the Brewers consider reinserting him into their rotation.

Cruz was promoted to High-A Wilmington on Monday after beginning the season by slashing .333/.460/.627 over 14 games with three homers and 15 steals in 18 attempts for Single-A Fredericksburg, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports.

The Nationals have a logjam of top infield prospects in the low minors, but a breakout for Cruz could allow him to climb the ladder a little quicker than his peers. The 19-year-old shortstop was acquired from the Cubs at the trade deadline last year as part of the package for Michael Soroka, and in his first two games for Wilmington he's gone 2-for-9 with a homer.

Lukes went 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored and an RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Angels.

The 31-year-old outfielder has seen his bat come to life since getting on a treatment program for a case of vertigo that had been plaguing him since spring training. Over the last six games, Lukes is batting .500 (10-for-20) with three doubles, three runs and six RBI, and he's taken over the leadoff spot against right-handed pitching. He might lose that role once George Springer (toe) is off the IL, but Lukes should remain near the top of the order against RHP as long as he stays locked in at the plate.