Assad (oblique) tossed three scoreless innings for the Cubs' Arizona Complex League affiliate Thursday. He allowed one hit and struck out six.

It was the first game action for Assad since April and the righty looked sharp, albeit against lesser competition. The team will progress slowly with the 27-year-old, who has yet to pitch in the majors this season. The next steps for Assad will be to increase his workload and face more seasoned hitters, possibly at Triple-A Iowa. Once he's able to come off the IL, Assad could slot back into a rotation that lost Justin Steele (elbow) for the season and is also currently without Jameson Taillon (calf).

The Mariners traded Garcia and Ashton Izzi to the Diamondbacks on Thursday in exchange for Josh Naylor, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The Diamondbacks are expected to prioritize pitching while they sell their pieces at the deadline, and they'll bolster their bullpen depth by picking up Garcia. The 25-year-old southpaw made his MLB debut Monday against the Brewers and has given up one run in two innings since then. He was optioned back to Triple-A by Seattle shortly before being traded, though it's unclear if he'll return to the bigs upon joining his new organization. Garcia had been a starter prior to this season, and he has a couple plus pitches in his fastball and slider, so it's possible Arizona will look to stretch him back out at some point.

Leahy has generated "intrigue" as a potential option for the Cardinals' rotation, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

All 76 of Leahy's appearances in the majors have come from the bullpen, and he has been used almost exclusively as a reliever since 2023. However, he has lots of past experiences as a starter in the minors, and many of his relief appearances have spanned multiple frames, including his last time out Tuesday in Colorado when he struck out seven while yielding one run over 3.2 innings. It does not sound like a move to the Cardinals' rotation is imminent for Leahy, but it could be considered if they trade other members of the rotation at the deadline. Leahy has posted a 2.95 ERA and 48:19 K:BB over 55 frames in 2025.

Hjelle allowed three earned runs on four hits while striking out one over one inning in Wednesday's 9-3 victory over Atlanta.

Hjelle gave up three singles and a ground-rule double in his second appearance since being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. The 28-year-old threw 15 of his 20 pitches for strikes before escaping the inning. The right-hander has struggled in the majors this season, posting a 7.71 ERA, 1.93 WHIP and an 11:8 K:BB while surrendering two home runs across 14 innings in 11 appearances (one start).

The Rockies are expected to call up Anderson from Triple-A Albuquerque, Chase Ford of MiLBCentral reports.

Anderson has spent all of the 2025 season at the Triple-A level between the Cardinals and Rockies organizations, collecting a 5.79 ERA and 35:15 K:BB over 32.2 innings. The veteran right-hander is likely to operate in a middle-relief role.

Lucchesi threw a scoreless inning in Wednesday's 9-3 win over Atlanta, allowing no hits while striking out one.

Lucchesi threw eight of his 10 pitches for strikes, recording his 10th consecutive scoreless outing. During that span, the left-hander has allowed six hits and two walks while striking out 16 over 12 innings. Since joining the major-league roster from Triple-A Sacramento on June 15, the 32-year-old has posted a 1.93 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and a 17:2 K:BB across 14 innings in 13 appearances.

Kriske tossed two scoreless innings of relief in Wednesday's 8-4 loss to the Royals. He allowed a hit and two walks while striking out one.

Kriske has now logged three scoreless appearances to begin his tenure with the Cubs, spanning five innings. The 31-year-old righty has bounced between the minors and majors during his career, and he's probably nothing more than organizational depth at this point. However, Kriske has pitched well, so it's possible he sticks around in Chicago and sees more meaningful relief work down the road.

Diaz struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings Wednesday to record his 21st save of the season in a 6-3 win over the Angels.

He did hit two batters with pitches, one in the eighth inning and one in the ninth, but Diaz immediately struck out the next hitter each time. The Mets closer hasn't given up a run since June 2, tossing 15 consecutive scoreless innings with a 22:3 K:BB while converting eight of nine save chances during that span.

The Nationals activated Ribalta (biceps) from the 15-day injured list Wednesday and optioned him to Triple-A Rochester.

Ribalta has recovered from the right biceps strain that's kept him out since mid-April, but the Nationals have elected to keep him at Rochester, where he had been on a rehab assignment. The righty reliever should get another opportunity with the big club later on this season.

Faucher earned the save in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Padres, allowing one hit without recording a walk or strikeout over 1.2 scoreless innings.

Faucher was called upon with one out and the tying run aboard in the eighth, and he delivered a five-out save on just 22 pitches. It was an encouraging effort after the 29-year-old blew a save Friday and entered Wednesday having allowed six earned runs across his previous eight outings. On the season, he's 9-for-14 in save chances with a 4.03 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 37:16 K:BB across 38 innings as part of a closer committee with Ronny Henriquez and Anthony Bender.