MLB Player News

Howard will be called up to start one of the two games in Sunday's doubleheader, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The 24-year-old was the likely candidate to start Sunday's game, and the team has now told him that he'll get the nod. It's unclear which of the two seven-inning contests he'll start. Since Howard isn't on the 40-man roster yet, he should be officially added to the major-league club sometime after Saturday's contest. The highly-touted prospect turned heads during summer camp, but the team secured an extra year of service time by letting him develop at the alternate training site to begin the regular season. If all goes well in his MLB debut Sunday, he could become a regular fixture in the Phillies' rotation.

Clarke struck out three over three scoreless innings in Friday's 3-0 loss to the Padres.

The Diamondbacks went into the game planning to limit starter Luke Weaver to three innings, so there was going to be a need for bulk innings. It was his third outing, all three coming in relief of Weaver, who ran into significant fourth-inning trouble during his first two starts. Clarke has thrown at least three innings in all of his outings and sports a 2.79 ERA with eight strikeouts and three walks over 9.2 innings.

Yates notched his second save of the season Friday against the Diamondbacks. He pitched a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and fanning one.

Yates allowed a single to Starling Marte, who advanced to second on a throwing effort from the Padres' closer. Yates would close the door by inducing a popout and a liner to first, and as a result, he earned his second save of the campaign. It was only the second time in five outings this season in which Yates didn't allow a run.

Helsley has tested positive for COVID-19, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The Cardinals had two players and one staff member test positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and Thursday, and Helsley was revealed as one of those players Friday. He's reportedly experiencing a low-grade fever as he deals with the virus. The team's weekend series against the Cubs was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak among team members, but Giovanny Gallegos could see save chances once the Cardinals return to play. Helsley will be eligible to return to the team once he produces two negative tests.

Martin was placed on the 10-day injured list with an esophageal constriction Friday.

Martin last pitched Wednesday and delivered a scoreless inning, and it's unclear when and how he suffered the injury. The 34-year-old has no official timeline for his return.

Howard remains the likely candidate to start Sunday's game against the Braves, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic reports.

The 24-year-old is expected to make his major-league debut in Sunday's series finale, though Philadelphia continues to list the probable starter as TBD. Howard needs to be added to the 40-man roster, so the the Phillies are unlikely to make the roster move until after Saturday's contest. The right-hander began the season off the 30-man roster -- which helped the team secure an extra year of service time -- or he otherwise may have been included in the Opening Day rotation. Howard is one of baseball's top pitching prospects and a strong debut performance could secure a longer-term spot in the rotation.

Guzman was optioned by the Marlins on Friday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Guzman will remain with the team as part of the taxi squad. Humberto Mejia was activated off the taxi squad in advance of his MLB debut in a corresponding move.

Gsellman (triceps) was activated from the 10-day injured list Friday.

Gsellman had been on the shelf since developing triceps tightness in mid-July, but the issue evidently wasn't a particularly severe one. The Mets' closer situation is somewhat unclear due to Edwin Diaz's poor start, and Gsellman does have 14 career saves, but his career 4.44 ERA and 18.7 percent strikeout rate are hardly closer material, making him seemingly unlikely to move ahead of Seth Lugo, Dellin Betances or Jeurys Familia.

Ponce de Leon won't start as scheduled Friday against the Cubs since the game was postponed following more positive COVID-19 test results from the Cardinals, Mark Saxon of The Athletic reports.

The Cardinals were set to resume their season Friday after their past two series were postponed following the team's COVID-19 outbreak last week, but it appears they aren't out of the woods yet and produced another positive test result. It remains unclear what this means for the rest of the series against the Cubs, but it's a troublesome development with the Cardinals already out of action since July 29.

Diaz's last two appearances have come with the Mets trailing. He has three strikeouts while allowing zero hits and one walk in two scoreless frames over that span.

Seth Lugo picked up the save Wednesday, and given Diaz's usage of late, it seems like Lugo is the guy to roster in that bullpen right now. There is no denying that Diaz has the stuff to close, but he also doesn't have the trust of manager Luis Rojas.