MLB Player News

Castano was optioned to the alternate training site Sunday.

The 25-year-old surrendered one unearned run on five hits with one walk and one strikeout Friday, but he'll head to the alternate site before Sunday's twin bill. Castano gave up four earned runs in his first outing of the season, but he has a 1.84 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 8:5 K:BB in his past four appearances, so he could rejoin the Marlins for the closing stretch.

Brogdon was recalled from the alternate training site Sunday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

The 25-year-old was demoted to the alternate site Friday, but he'll make a quick return to the team with Spencer Howard (shoulder) heading to the injured list. Brogdon has appeared in three games this season, allowing five runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks across 2.2 innings.

Howard was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with right shoulder stiffness, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

The 24-year-old was removed during the fourth inning Saturday due to the injury and will be sidelined for at least 10 days. Howard has yet to be given an official timeline for his return, but he'll be eligible to be activated for the game against the Nationals on Sept. 23.

The Cardinals plan to recall Ponce de Leon from their alternate training site to start one half of Monday's doubleheader against the Brewers in Milwaukee, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

St. Louis has yet to announce a starter for the other game, but the decision appears to be between Johan Oviedo (COVID-19) or Kwang-Hyun Kim (chest), both of whom could be ready to return from the injured list. Once both pitchers are reinstated, Ponce de Leon may not be in store for additional starts, even though the Cardinals will have three more doubleheaders in the final two weeks of the season that will result in the team running out a seven-man rotation. Austin Gomber excelled in a spot start last week and may have moved ahead of Ponce de Leon as the Cardinals' No. 7 starter.

Suter worked three scoreless frames while taking a no-decision in his start Saturday in the Brewers' 4-2 loss to the Cubs. He struck out six and gave up a base hit and no walks.

The Brewers summoned Suter to start on short notice after Brett Anderson (hip) was scratched from the outing. Considering the circumstances, Suter likely fared even better than Milwaukee could have hoped, as he induced 10 swinging strikes in just 46 pitches. Milwaukee is listing Anderson as day-to-day for the time being, but if he's forced to miss more time, Suter could get the chance to stretch out a little more and make another start or two before the regular season draws to a close.

Kimbrel worked a scoreless ninth inning to notch his second save of the season Saturday in the Cubs' 4-2 win over the Brewers. He gave up two hits and struck out one in the 26-pitch appearance.

With scoreless outings in 10 of his last 11 appearances to go with a 22:7 K:BB in 10.1 innings over that span, Kimbrel appears to have re-entered manager David Ross' circle of trust. While he wasn't at his sharpest Saturday, Kimbrel did well to limit the damage after giving up back-to-back singles to kick off the bottom of the ninth. Jeremy Jeffress still looks like Chicago's top end-game option with a sub-1.00 ERA and seven saves in eight chances on the season, but Kimbrel's strong form of late may have allowed him to move ahead of Rowan Wick on the closer depth chart.

Hader gave up four runs on four hits and zero walks while striking out one Saturday against the Cubs. He recorded his second loss and second blown save of the season.

Hader entered the game in the top of the ninth inning with the Brewers up 2-0 and eventually served up a three-run home run to Jason Heyward. Ildemaro Vargas took him yard after that to give the Cubs an insurance run. Hader has provided the strikeouts (21 in 13.2 innings) and the saves (nine), but his ratios, particularly his 4.61 ERA, are a good example of the pitfalls of paying up for a top reliever in a 60-game season. Hader has been particularly bad lately; he had not allowed a run this season prior to Aug. 29 but has given up runs in three of his six appearances since then.

Jansen (3-1) blew the save and took the loss and against the Astros on Saturday, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits without retiring a batter.

Jansen had no problem getting the ball over the plate in the disastrous outing -- 18 of his 21 pitches went for strikes -- but he was unable to locate his cutter, allowing Houston to scatter base hits at will. Los Angeles stuck with him in the hope that he'd be able to rediscover his early-season dominance, but the veteran never found his form and left the mound without recording an out. After an effective outing Sept. 4, Jansen had a superb 1.06 ERA and had surrendered only two earned runs on the season. Since that time, he has given up eight runs (six earned) in 1.1 frames to push his ERA all the way up to 3.93. The organization is likely to give their longtime closer a chance to get back on track over the final few weeks of the regular season, though there could be some urgency to ensure that Jansen doesn't carry over his recent struggles to the postseason.

Melancon secured the save Saturday against the Nationals after allowing two hits with one strikeout and one walk during a scoreless ninth inning.

The veteran right-hander flirted with disaster as he allowed a pair of singles to begin the frame, but he was able to escape unscathed with a strikeout, a groundout, an intentional walk and a flyout. Melancon is 10-for-11 in save chances and has a 2.04 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 10:5 K:BB across 17.2 innings this season.

Hudson (3-2) pitched six innings of one-run ball, allowing a hit and four walks while striking out four in a win over the Reds on Saturday.

Hudson was excellent in the start, outside of allowing a run via three walks and a fielder's choice in the third inning. The lone hit against Hudson was a Joey Votto double in the sixth. The 25-year-old Hudson dropped his ERA to 2.92 with a 0.97 WHIP and 31 strikeouts in 37 innings this year. He's won three straight starts and will look to keep that hot run going Thursday in Pittsburgh.