MLB Player News

Merritt was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Saturday.

A spot on the active roster needed to be cleared so that Danny Salazar could return from the disabled list Saturday, and Merritt wound up being the casualty. The 25-year-old only appeared once during his most recent cup of coffee in Cleveland, tallying a scoreless inning Friday evening. He'll continue to stretch out as a starter in the minors, but could be back in the majors soon if more bullpen help is needed.

Smith (elbow, shoulder) threw a bullpen session Friday, Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports.

This was the third time Smith has thrown a bullpen session since the All-Star break, and he's expected to throw another two sessions. After that, the Red Sox will aim to have him face live batters. He'll still need a rehabilitation assignment, so his activation off the disabled list is not expected until early-to-mid August.

Wilson walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to pick up his 11th save of the season in a 6-3 win over the Twins.

The left-hander bounced back nicely from Wednesday's blown save. Wilson now has a 2.45 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and 7:3 K:BB in seven July appearances (7.1 innings) and is keeping his market value high if the Tigers decide to flip him to a contender at the trade deadline.

Giles struck out the only batter he faced to earn the save Friday against the Orioles.

The Astros entered the ninth inning with a six-run lead, but a massive O's rally had the team concerned about blowing a huge lead until Giles took the hill, as he quickly ended the drama by recording a single out. As the closer for one of the best teams in the league, he will continue to be one of the best options that fantasy managers can hope for.

Castro will remain in the Orioles bullpen for now, but manager Buck Showalter said he's not ruling out using the 22-year-old as a starter, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Castro started 35 of his 88 minor-league contests, so he's no stranger to throwing the game's first pitch. On the other hand, all 54 of the 6-foot-7 right-hander's MLB appearances have been in relief. He's also done a fine job (3.18 ERA) working out of the O's bullpen this season, and Showalter doesn't want to lose that production. Testing Castro as a rotation member is probably on the horizon, but that transition is more likely to take place next spring rather than this year.

Valdez is a candidate to pick up Monday's start against Oakland if Aaron Sanchez (blister) is unable to make it, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reports.

Valdez stepped in Wednesday, striking out five over four shutout innings, when Sanchez was forced out due to blistering. Joe Biagini is also a possibility to make Monday's spot start, but he's already banked a heavy workload in that role this year, and Toronto may was to limit his innings. Valdez has just three big-league starts to his name -- two in 2010 as a Diamondback, and one earlier this year with Oakland. Even if he does start Monday, the 32-year-old's ceiling isn't worth the risk of plugging him into a fantasy lineup.

Case was promoted from Double-A New Hampshire to Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday, The Buffalo News reports.

In just his fourth professional season, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound righty will get his first taste of Triple-A. Case owns a 2.64 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over 170.1 innings as a minor-league reliever. The 24-year-old has served primarily as a closer, locking down 32 of 42 save chances while notching 134 strikeouts in 122 games.

Povse was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday.

The Mariners needed to clear a space on the roster for newly acquired David Phelps, and Povse proved to be the subsequent casualty. The 23-year-old has had a rough go over three appearances with Seattle this season, allowing five runs (three earned) over 3.2 innings out of the bullpen. He returns to Tacoma, where he'll have a chance to work out the kinks and improve upon his 4.33 ERA in the minors this year.

Povse allowed two unearned runs on two hits over one inning in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Yankees.

Called up from Triple-A Tacoma earlier in the day, the rookie was partly done in by Robinson Cano's throwing error, which allowed two runs to score. Povse has made three appearances overall with the Mariners this season, allowing five runs in 3.2 innings.

Betances struck out one and allowed a hit en route to a scoreless eighth inning in Thursday's win over the Mariners.

With the acquisition of David Robertson, Betances' role as a setup man appeared to be in a bit of jeopardy. While manager Joe Girardi could end up using a mix-and-match approach, the fact that Betances was called upon in a 2-0 game suggests that he'll keep seeing opportunities in the eighth inning going forward. Though he struggled heading into the All-Star break, the time off seems to have gotten the 29-year-old back into form, as he's struck out seven in four shutout innings in the last week.