MLB Player News

The Pirates signed Bruihl to a one-year contract Thursday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Bruihl had been at Triple-A Louisville with the Reds until being released earlier this week in what was presumably an opt-out situation. The left-handed reliever collected a 2.31 ERA and 24:10 K:BB over 23.1 innings with Louisville. The Pirates will announce a corresponding move later Thursday.

The Dodgers outrighted Hernandez to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday after he cleared waivers, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

Hernandez was removed from the Dodgers' 40-man roster last week after he allowed nine earned runs across 9.2 innings. The 29-year-old remains in the organization, however, and is likely to re-enter Oklahoma City's rotation.

The Reds reinstated Pagan (triceps) from the 15-day injured list Thursday.

Right triceps tightness had kept Pagan sidelined since May 19, but he made enough improvement over the past couple of weeks to make his return to the Cincinnati bullpen without the need of a rehab assignment prior to being activated. The 33-year-old righty owns a 4.19 ERA and 1.34 WHIP through 19.1 innings on the season.

Lawrence (shoulder) will throw bullpen sessions during the Rockies' upcoming road trip, MLB.com reports.

The Rockies will head out for a road trip Thursday, with Lawrence accompanying the team. The activity will mark his first intense throwing since landing on the injured list May 27. Lawrence is expected to return in mid-June.

Warren (elbow) threw a scoreless inning Wednesday in his first rehab appearance with the Arizona Complex League Giants.

Warren has finally been cleared for a rehab assignment following the long road back from Tommy John surgery. He will likely need most, if not all, of his allotted 30 rehab days, putting him on pace to return in early July if all goes well.

Hjelle (3-1) allowed one run on one hit and struck out one over 1.1 innings to earn the win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Hjelle gave up a solo home run to Pavin Smith in the fifth inning, but Arizona never made a serious threat at a comeback. Hjelle ended up with the win because Jordan Hicks needed 92 pitches to get through 3.2 innings despite the Giants' strong offensive showing in support of their pitchers. All three of Hjelle's wins have come since May 17, and he's allowed three runs over 12 innings in that span. The right-hander is at a 2.77 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 25:4 K:BB through 26 innings this season, mainly serving as a long-relief option.

Neris (6-0) worked around a walk to toss a scoreless ninth inning and earn the win in Wednesday's 7-6 victory over the White Sox. He struck out two.

Neris found himself in a similar spot to Tuesday night, when he managed to shut the White Sox down and earn the save. In each game, speedy pinch runner Duke Ellis swiped second base to apply some pressure, but the veteran reliever escaped without allowing any runs both times. Neris isn't missing many bats, as his K/9 is down from 10.1 last season to 7.8 this year, but he's still been effective. Neris should have plenty of fantasy value as long as he remains the closer in Chicago.

Manager Rob Thomson said Tuesday that Turnbull will stay in the bullpen while the Phillies remain committed to Taijuan Walker as their No. 5 starter, Dan Gelston of the Associated Press reports.

While Walker began the season on the injured list, Turnbull secured a spot in the Opening Day rotation and dazzled over his six starts, going 2-0 with a 1.67 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 36:10 K:BB in 32.1 innings. Shortly after Walker returned from the IL in late April, the Phillies opted to move Turnbull to the bullpen rather than expanding the rotation to six men. Though his performance has taken a step back upon his move to the bullpen, Turnbull is coming off an impressive showing against the Cardinals on Saturday, when he struck out six over three scoreless frames. Walker, meanwhile, hasn't pitched into the seventh inning of his last five turns through the rotation and is sitting on a 5.73 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in 37.2 innings overall through seven starts on the season. At this point, Walker's exorbitant four-year, $72 million contract may be the main reason he's still in the rotation, but his leash has undoubtedly gotten shorter. Walker will start Sunday's game against the Mets in London, but another poor showing could prompt Thomson to change his tune and give Turnbull another look in the rotation.

Alvarado gave up a hit and struck out three in a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday to record his 11th save of the season in a 2-0 win over the Brewers.

The southpaw picked up his first save since May 21 with a dominant effort, as he fired 15 of 21 pitches for strikes. Alvarado is putting together a strong season, posting a 2.96 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 29:10 K:BB through 27.1 innings and blowing only one save chance so far, but the Phillies' tendency to play matchups in high-leverage spots keeps him from being an elite fantasy closer, as Jeff Hoffman (five saves) and Gregory Soto (two saves) are also in the ninth-inning mix.

Helsley earned the save in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Astros, recording a pair of strikeouts in a perfect ninth inning.

Helsley's now delivered back-to-back scoreless innings, striking out four in that span, after allowing four runs in his previous three appearances. The 29-year-old Helsley is now the first in the majors to reach to 20-save mark. His ERA is down to 2.33 with a 1.07 WHIP and 29:6 K:BB across 27 innings this season.