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Trevor Gott RP | WAS
Nationals' Trevor Gott: Heads back to minors
Gott was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday, Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post reports.
Gott was sent back to the minors in order to free up a roster spot for Ryan Madson (pectoral), who was activated from the disabled list in a corresponding move. The 25-year-old owns a 5.28 ERA and 12:7 K:BB across 15.1 big-league innings this season. He'll continue to serve as organizational bullpen depth in the minors.
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Kyle Barraclough RP | BOS
Marlins' Kyle Barraclough: May get opportunity to close
Marlins manager Don Mattingly wasn't willing to firmly commit to Brad Ziegler as his closer after Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Padres and suggested Barraclough would likely be first in line to save games if a change is made at the back of the bullpen, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. "You talk about leverage situations. Do you want your best guys pitching against the best part of the order? Or do you want [Barraclough] to pitching somewhere else?" Mattingly said, regarding his decision on how to deploy Barraclough going forward.
Ziegler retired only one of five batters he faced Wednesday to blow his first save in 10 chances this season, but the 38-year-old's 0-5 record and 7.83 ERA better illustrates how unreliable he has been in big spots this season. Despite righting the ship to some extent in the second half last season, Ziegler still finished with a 4.79 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 47 innings, so the groundball specialist didn't enter the current campaign with much job security. In the aftermath of Ziegler's latest blowup, it appears the Marlins may finally be ready to consider other options in the ninth inning, with Barraclough and Drew Steckenrider both representing more dependable, higher-upside alternatives. Since Steckenrider endured a brief rough patch earlier in May, Barraclough likely has the inside edge on closing should Ziegler be pulled from the role. Barraclough has supplied a 1.48 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and has struck out 27 batters in 24.1 innings this season.
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Raisel Iglesias RP | ATL
Reds' Raisel Iglesias: Notches save in return from DL
Iglesias (biceps) converted his ninth save of the season Wednesday in the Reds' 7-4 win over the Diamondbacks. He retired four of the seven hitters he faced, scattering three base hits.
After throwing a bullpen session Monday without incident, Iglesias was activated from the 10-day disabled list prior to Wednesday's series finale and was immediately summoned for a save chance. Iglesias entered the contest with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and allowed an infield single to put the tying run at the plate, but notched a strikeout to end the threat. He then worked around back-to-back singles to lead off the ninth inning by putting away the final three batters. Though Iglesias needed 26 pitches to collect the save, an off day Thursday should provide sufficient rest and keep the righty available out of the bullpen for Friday's series opener in San Diego.
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Andrew Chafin RP | CIN
Diamondbacks' Andrew Chafin: Works scoreless eighth inning
Chafin worked around a base hit to deliver a scoreless eighth inning in the Diamondbacks' 7-4 loss to the Reds on Wednesday.
Chafin hasn't yielded an earned run in 14 of his last 15 appearances, dropping his season ERA to 1.89 in the process. The southpaw historically does his best work against same-handed hitters, but he's actually been more dependable against righties this season, holding them to a .158/.273/.216 batting line across 44 plate appearances.
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Dennis Santana RP | ARI
Dodgers' Dennis Santana: Listed as Sunday's starter
The Dodgers are listing Santana as the probable starter for Sunday's game against the Rockies, MLB.com reports.
According to Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers made Santana available out of the bullpen for Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Phillies after promoting him from Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier in the day, but the 22-year-old right-hander wasn't needed with starter Ross Stripling working seven innings. Santana will be available in relief again Thursday for the series finale with Philadelphia, so if he isn't pressed into action for that contest, he'll make his MLB debut at Coors Field over the weekend. Santana likely wouldn't be in store for a long-term stay in the Los Angeles rotation, however, as the organization is hopeful that the starter he's replacing, Kenta Maeda (hip), will only be sidelined for around a week, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.
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Josh Hader RP | HOU
Brewers' Josh Hader: Just misses another save
Hader struck out four batters but also allowed four runners to reach base over 1.2 innings in Wednesday's victory over the Cardinals.
Hader entered Wednesday's game in the eighth inning, and manager Craig Counsell seemingly would have allowed him to finish the contest had he been sharp and pick up another save as a result. However, with Hader allowing more runners on base than usual, Counsell decided to bring in Corey Knebel for the final out, and Knebel was able to close the door. While Hader did not reward fantasy players with a save Wednesday, he did keep the opponent off the scoreboard for the 13th time in 14 appearances and raised his strikeout total on the season to a whopping 66.
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Adbert Alzolay RP | NYM
Cubs' Adbert Alzolay: Sent to minor-league DL
Alzolay (lat) was placed on the minor-league disabled list Wednesday.
Alzolay suffered a Grade 1 lat strain during his most recent start with Triple-A Iowa. It's unclear how long the injury will keep the 23-year-old sidelined at this point, but the Cubs figure to proceed cautiously with the prospect. He owns a 5.30 ERA across seven starts with Iowa this season.
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Tyler Beede RP | CHC
Giants' Tyler Beede: Sent back to Triple-A
Beede was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Beede will head back to the minors after going unused in his lone game with the big club. He'll likely rejoin the rotation at Sacramento, where he owns a 6.23 ERA across seven starts and one relief appearance (39 innings).
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Robert Gsellman RP | WAS
Mets' Robert Gsellman: Picks up second save Wednesday
Gsellman worked a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his second save of the season in a 4-1 win over the Braves.
Manager Mickey Callaway elected to use Jeurys Familia in the eighth inning against the top of the Atlanta order, while Gsellman finished things up against the less dangerous trio of Kurt Suzuki, Johan Camargo and Preston Tucker. While the usage doesn't necessarily suggest a full changing of the guard at closer for New York, it does confirm that Gsellman is the top option behind Familia, and he could get more save opportunities moving forward if Callaway continues to show flexibility in how he deploys his best relievers.
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Pat Venditte RP | LAD
Dodgers' Pat Venditte: Recalled from minors
Venditte was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com reports.
Venditte will offer an extra arm out of the bullpen after the Tuesday's starter, Kenta Maeda (hip), lasted just 1.2 innings. The ambidextrous pitcher owns a 6.75 ERA across 2.2 innings with the big club this season, so he'll likely be limited to low-leverage situations during his time in the majors. Chase Utley (thumb) was placed on the 10-day disabled list in a corresponding roster move.