MLB Player News

Smith was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Smith pitched Friday, his second appearance in as many days, and the Blue Jays decided to swap him out for a fresh arm in Mike Bolsinger. Assuming Smith pitches well enough with Buffalo to maintain his spot on the 40-man roster, he should be back up to eat low-leverage innings no later than Sept. 1.

Giles struck out two in a perfect ninth inning Friday to record his 22nd save of the year in a 6-5 win over the Tigers.

While the Astros' potent offense sometimes overshoots the mark and denies him a save situation, Giles has still been on a roll in July, posting a 1.23 ERA and 0.68 WHIP in 7.1 innings over eight appearances while converting all four of his save chances. The 26-year-old flamethrower isn't quite an elite-tier closer, but he remains among the best of the rest.

Kolarek was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays acquired Steve Cishek in a trade with the Mariners on Friday, and Kolarek appears to be the bullpen casualty as a result of the acquisition. The lefty reliever hasn't seen too much action as part of the Tampa Bay relief corps this year and hasn't exactly impressed in his limited opportunities, racking up a 5.87 ERA in 11 appearances. He'll head back to Triple-A for now, where he owns a 1.36 ERA over 33 innings.

Pruitt (5-2) allowed five runs on four hits and two walks while striking out seven across five innings to take the loss Friday against the Yankees.

Pruitt allowed three homers but the last one, a three-run bomb by Clint Frazier, broke open a close game in the fifth inning. With a 6.63 ERA over 36.2 innings of work at the big-league level, he'll likely leave the rotation once Jake Odorizzi (back) returns from the disabled list. For now, he'll make his next start Wednesday against the Astros.

Graveman (shoulder) will make his third, and perhaps final, rehab start Saturday with Triple-A Nashville, Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports California reports.

Manager Bob Melvin indicated that Saturday's outing could be Graveman's final rehab appearance if all goes well, though it remains unclear whether he will rejoin the starting rotation. The right-hander has been out since May with a shoulder injury and hasn't exactly looked sharp in his rehab starts thus far, posting an 11.81 ERA and 3.00 WHIP.

Lawrence was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.

The 29-year-old will return to the majors after spending roughly a month and a half back with the Rainiers. During that time in Tacoma, Lawrence took strides in his development as a starter, posting a 3.48 ERA while walking just nine batters in seven starts (44 innings pitched). He only has long-relief appearances to his name with Seattle, but this encouraging stretch of starts in the minors could help him land a rotation spot to replace Andrew Moore, who was optioned in a corresponding move.

Hendriks (3-2) gave up four earned runs on a hit and three walks over two-thirds of an inning in Friday's 8-4 extra-inning loss to the Blue Jays. He also recorded a strikeout.

The 28-year-old right-hander gave up four earned runs for the second time in July, allowing a game-winning grand slam to Steve Pearce in the 10th inning. Hendriks may have been auditioning for a late-inning spot following closer Santiago Casilla's own implosion Wednesday, and if so, he certainly didn't make a strong case for the job. Save for a couple of stretches, Hendriks has had trouble stringing together an extended streak of scoreless appearances this season, leading to a 5.79 ERA and 1.45 WHIP that are his worst figures in those respective categories since 2014.

Johnson was scratched from Thursday's start due to shoulder fatigue, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

There was tons of speculation that the scratch was a response to the David Price (elbow) injury earlier in the day, but apparently there's also an injury in play for the minor-league hurler as well. However, those close to the situation don't expect Johnson to land on the minor-league disabled list due to this issue, so consider him day-to-day for now. If he does get back on the mound soon, though, there is a good chance he could head to Boston to provide a fresh arm at some point in August.

Kolarek was credited with his second hold in Thursday's extra-inning loss to the Yankees, getting one out on six pitches.

Kolarek gave way to Sergio Romo after retiring Brett Gardner to open up the seventh, and he's now notched holds in back-to-back appearances after not recording any over his first eight outings. The 28-year-old southpaw has scoreless efforts in three of his last four trips to the mound, a stretch during which he's also recorded his first major-league win.

Johnson is a likely candidate to start for Boston on Tuesday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

David Price hit the disabled list with elbow inflammation Friday, but the Red Sox were able to bump up the rest of the rotation thanks to an off day Thursday. Boston recalled reliever Robby Scott and can get through the weekend without making another move, but will need a fifth starter (likely Johnson) by Tuesday.