MLB Player News

Bender (elbow) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Saturday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Bender is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in the near future, so this is simply a procedural move to open up a 40-man roster spot for Bryan Hoeing to start Saturday's contest versus the Dodgers. Bender is not expected to be available until the 2024 season.

Suarez could see save chances after manager Bob Melvin told Dennis Lin of The Athletic that the team will give Josh Hader "a little break" from the closer role.

Suarez lost a large chunk of the campaign to a knee injury, but he's been great since his return, allowing one run on six hits and two walks while striking out six over seven innings. Following back-to-back scoreless, multi-strikeout appearances, Suarez is now down to a 2.67 ERA and 1.09 WHIP for the season. He was a star closer in Japan before making the jump to MLB this year.

Garcia could see save chances after manager Bob Melvin told Dennis Lin of The Athletic that the team will give Josh Hader "a little break" from the closer role.

Officially the team is going with a closer-by-committee approach, at least until Hader figures it out. Garcia was the one wrestling the job away from Taylor Rogers before the trade, and he makes for an obvious candidate to take over as the primary option in the interim. Robert Suarez and Nick Martinez are other righty candidates, along with lefty Adrian Morejon.

Manager Bob Melvin said Saturday that Hader will be given "a little break" from the closer role, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

This seems like a quick hook for a player the Padres just gave up a lot to acquire via trade, but Hader has allowed six runs in his last three appearances, walking four while recording just four outs in that span. The team apparently wants to try to get him right in lower-leverage spots for the time being, with the hope of eventually reinstalling the lefty in the ninth inning. Luis Garcia and Robert Suarez figure to see save chances in the interim as part of a late-inning committee.

Hoeing will have his contract selected from Triple-A Jacksonville and will start Saturday's game against the Dodgers, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

He will be making his big-league debut on very short notice after Braxton Garrett was scratched for an unknown reason. Hoeing, 25, has a 5.44 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 44:34 K:BB in 84.1 innings through 16 starts at Triple-A. It's not a very exciting profile for fantasy, but the one thing Hoeing does well is generate groundballs (53 percent rate at Triple-A).

Farmer (personal) was reinstated from the bereavement list Saturday.

While his overall numbers leave a lot to be desired (4.67 ERA, 1.44 WHIP), Farmer has been scored upon in just one of his last 11 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen. He earned his first career save July 31 and will likely continue to see mid-to-high-leverage opportunities now that he's back on the active roster.

Mears (elbow) was activated off the 60-day injured list Saturday and optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

Mears has been out all year after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow in early February. He's been pitching in the minors on a rehab assignment since late May, with a month-long disruption in the middle due to forearm tightness, and he'll remain in the minors for now.

Graterol (shoulder) is expected to be activated from the 15-day IL on Monday versus Milwaukee, Sarah Wexler of MLB.com reports.

There was originally a plan in place for Graterol to return to the Dodgers this weekend versus Miami, but he was first supposed to make back-to-back appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City. That didn't happen because Thursday's contest was rained out, so the fireballing reliever will instead be activated Monday. Graterol has made four rehab appearances with OKC, striking out four batters over 3.2 scoreless innings.

Martin (4-0) earned the win over Miami on Friday, striking out one batter in a perfect inning of work.

Dodgers starter Tyler Anderson was impressive with seven innings of one-run ball, but Los Angeles could manage only one run of their own while he was in the game. Martin took over on the mound in the eighth inning and threw 13 of 16 pitches for strikes to retire the side in order, and he was credited with the win as a result of the Dodgers scoring the go-ahead run in the bottom of the frame. Since joining Los Angeles in a July 30 trade, Martin has posted a 2.16 ERA, 0.48 WHIP and 10:0 K:BB over 8.1 innings while picking up three wins and one hold.

Thompson was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with lower-back tightness, Tim Stebbins of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

He gave up five earned runs in 3.2 innings Friday against the Brewers and was also chased early in his previous start against the Reds. However, Thompson had been quite effective for a stretch from mid-June until early-August, when he logged a 3.06 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 47 strikeouts in 50 innings across nine starts. He is eligible to return Sept. 6.