MLB Player News

Antone (elbow) started a throwing program at the Reds' spring facility in Arizona earlier this month and resumed pitching off a mound last week, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

According to Rosecrans, if Antone remains free of setbacks while building up over the course of multiple bullpen sessions, he'll be cleared to face hitters in live batting practice beginning July 8. After that, Antone will be targeting July 19 as the starting date for his rehab assignment, and he'll most likely stay in the minors for close to the full length of the 30-day window as he aims to regain both velocity and command coming off his August 2021 Tommy John surgery. Antone had been expected to be fully healthy for spring training, but he suffered a flexor strain in the same elbow over the offseason to further delay his return to the Cincinnati bullpen. He now appears poised to make his 2023 debut at some point in August.

Law (elbow) began a rehab assignment with High-A Dayton on Sunday and struck out a batter over a perfect inning.

Because Law has been on the shelf since May 19 with a right flexor mass sprain, he'll likely require additional tune-ups in the minors before the Reds are ready to welcome him back from the 15-day injured list. Prior to being deactivated, Law bagged three wins, two holds and one save over his 20 appearances while pitching to a 2.57 ERA and 1.48 WHIP across 21 innings.

Wilson (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Tuesday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Wilson has been on the shelf all season while recovering from a Tommy John procedure he underwent in June 2022. Wilson figures to spend a good amount of time on assignment to ensure there are no lingering issues with his left elbow, so he could still be roughly a month away from making his debut in the Brewers' bullpen.

Simpson is on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Jacksonville with a left shoulder impingement, Baseball America reports.

A 25-year-old lefty reliever, Simpson logged a 6.55 ERA and 1.91 WHIP in 11 innings across eight appearances before landing on the injured list in early May. He is rehabbing the injury at the team's spring training complex in Florida.

Heller retired the only batter he faced Monday to record his first hold of the season in a win over the Twins.

Most of Atlanta's high-leverage options were getting the day off after a heavy workload over the weekend, so Heller was brought in to get the final out of the eighth inning in a 4-1 game. It's only the second hold of the 31-year-old's career, with his first coming as a rookie in 2016 with the Yankees. Since joining the Atlanta bullpen in mid-June, Heller has an impressive nine strikeouts in 4.1 innings, but they come with four walks and a 1.85 WHIP.

Yates picked up the save Monday against the Twins, allowing one hit while striking out two over a scoreless inning. He didn't record a walk.

With Raisel Iglesias, A.J. Minter, Nick Anderson and Joe Jimenez all unavailable after working multiple times in Atlanta's previous series, Yates got the call in the ninth Monday and delivered his first save. It was Yates' second save chance of the season, as he blew an opportunity versus the Mets on June 7. Since giving up two runs to Seattle on May 20, Yates has allowed just three runs over his last 14.1 innings while sporting a 20:4 K:BB during that stretch. However, he likely won't be in the mix for many more save chances moving forward as long as the quartet of relievers mentioned earlier are available.

Williams picked up the save Monday against the Mets, tossing a perfect ninth inning. He didn't record a strikeout.

Williams retired Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Daniel Vogelbach in order to record his 14th save. The right-hander is now 14-for-15 in save chances this season and sports elite numbers across the board (1.69 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 35:14 K:BB). The 28-year-old's career high for saves in a season is 15, which he set last year when he took over as the Brewers' full-time closer after the surprising trade of Josh Hader at the deadline.

Cosgrove (hamstring) allowed one run on one hit and one walk while striking out two over one inning Monday for the Arizona Complex League Padres.

Cosgrove landed on the 15-day injured list June 16 due to a left hamstring strain, but he's already been cleared for game action. He'll likely need another outing or two in the minors before being activated from the IL.

Smith was reinstated Monday from his 10-game foreign substance abuse suspension.

Smith received the 10-game ban after being ejected from the Mets' game against the Yankees back on June 13 when an umpire found sticky stuff on his right hand. He returns Monday to a 4.18 ERA and 28:10 K:BB through 23.2 innings for the year.

The Marlins claimed Villalobos off waivers from the Pirates on Monday and optioned him to Double-A Pensacola, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.

Villalobos will begin his second stint in the Marlins organization after he had previously been claimed off waivers by the Pirates in April when Miami designated him for assignment. Though he'll report to Pensacola initially, Villalobos has pitched exclusively at the Triple-A level this season, recording a 5.73 ERA and 1.82 WHIP in 22 innings out of the bullpen.