MLB Player News

The Diamondbacks recalled Vargas from Triple-A Reno on Sunday.

The hard-throwing right-hander will provide Arizona with a fresh arm in the bullpen for Sunday's series finale with the Pirates after Tyler Gilbert (personal) -- who covered three innings in relief in Saturday's 3-2 win -- was placed on the paternity list in a corresponding move. Vargas has previously made five appearances for Arizona this season, giving up three earned runs on five hits and four walks while striking out seven over 4.2 innings.

The Diamondbacks placed Gilbert on the paternity list Sunday.

Just one day after getting called up Triple-A Reno and tossing three innings of one-run ball out of the bullpen in a 3-2 win over the Pirates, Gilbert will leave the team in anticipation of the birth of his child. Gilbert should be ready to rejoin the Diamondbacks coming out of the All-Star break, but it's unclear if Arizona plans to keep him on hand as a bullpen option or potential No. 5 starter.

The Phillies recalled Bellatti from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday.

He'll be joining the Philadelphia bullpen as a replacement for southpaw Jose Alvarado (elbow), who was placed on the 15-day injured list. Bellatti has previously made 15 appearances with the big club this season, pitching to a 5.68 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 14:9 K:BB in 12.2 innings.

The Phillies placed Alvarado on the 15-day injured list Sunday with left elbow inflammation.

The transaction is retroactive to Friday, meaning that in addition to Sunday's series finale in Miami, Alvarado will miss at least the Phillies' first two series coming out of the All-Star break. Alvarado boasts a tidy 1.38 ERA and has struck out 39 and gathered six saves over 26 innings, but his fantasy value had been trending down since he returned in early June from a stint on the IL, also the result of an inflamed elbow. In the month since Alvarado returned to the Phillies' 26-man active roster, Craig Kimbrel has re-established himself as the unquestioned top option for saves out of the bullpen.

Wilson (pectoral) tossed a simulated inning Saturday, per MLB.com.

Wilson has been on the injured list since June 27 with a right pec strain. The righty reliever reportedly felt fine after throwing to hitters Saturday, and he's scheduled for another live session Tuesday. If that goes well, Wilson could rejoin the Padres bullpen immediately following the All-Star break.

Doval struck out two in a perfect ninth inning Saturday to record his 26th save of the season in a 5-3 win over the Rockies.

The right-hander needed only 10 pitches (eight strikes) to wrap things up, striking out pinch-hitters Nolan Jones and Harold Castro en route to his eighth straight successful save conversion. The save allowed Doval to keep pace with Alexis Diaz for the major-league lead, and the Giants' closer is already one short of tying the 27 he recorded in 2022 in his first full season in the majors.

Mlodzinski will serve as the Pirates' opening pitcher for Sunday's game in Arizona, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Rather than breaking in a new fifth starter for the final game before the All-Star break, the Pirates appear set to treat the series finale with the Diamondbacks as a bullpen day. Expect Mlodzinski to work an inning or two before turning the game over to the bullpen, with the Pirates likely to deploy a number of relievers the rest of the way. Over nine appearances with Pittsburgh spanning 10.1 innings, Mlodzinski owns a 2.61 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 8:3 K:BB.

Sims (3-1) picked up the win over Milwaukee on Saturday. He allowed one walk and struck out two over 1.1 scoreless innings.

It was a wild affair in Milwaukee, as the Reds came back twice to earn the victory. Sims is a trusted late-inning arm out of the bullpen for manager David Bell. Since June 1, the right-hander has a 2.04 ERA with 23 strikeouts and five walks over 17.2 innings. Most of the damage during that stretch came in one disastrous game when he ceded three home runs in one inning to Atlanta.

Jameson will get second opinions this week on his elbow injury, Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic reports.

Jameson, who was moved from the 15-day to 60-day injured list Saturday, sustained the injury during a pitch in Thursday's game. At the time, he reported it to manager Torey Lovullo, pitching coach Brett Strom and trainer Max Esposito as a cramping in his hand and mentioned nothing about the elbow. The right-hander remained in the game to throw another 17 pitches. Lovullo was told the extra pitches did not impact the injury and that "the damage had already been done." The manager acknowledged that doctors are looking at the area of the ulnar collateral ligament, which suggests Tommy John surgery is a possibility.

Diaz earned a save against the Brewers on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out two batters over one inning.

Diaz came on in the ninth inning with Cincinnati holding a three-run lead. He struck out Jesse Winker and Christian Yelich before giving up a single to William Contreras, but that hit proved harmless when Diaz got Willy Adames to ground out to end the game. Surprisingly, the talented closer had gone eight straight outings without picking up multiple strikeouts before Sunday, but he had still gotten the job done with five saves in six chances along with a 2.25 ERA during that span. Diaz has blown only one save opportunity all season and is tied for the MLB lead with 26 saves overall.