MLB Player News

Bivins will serve as the Giants' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Dodgers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The right-hander has made five appearances since he received his first call-up to the majors in mid-June, and he'll make his first big-league start Sunday versus Los Angeles. Bivens last pitched Thursday versus the Cubs and covered one inning, and he's topped out at 49 pitches since joining the Giants. He should be able to provide some length but likely won't handle a full starter's workload. Slusser suggests that Landen Roupp -- whom the Giants called up from Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday -- will likely work multiple innings in relief behind Bivens.

The Cardinals optioned Graceffo to Triple-A Memphis on Sunday.

The 24-year-old was called up Friday and made his MLB debut Saturday versus Cincinnati, and he pitched well in long relief with just one run allowed across 4.1 innings. Graceffo won't be available for a few days following that appearance, so Jacob Bosiokovic will come up as a fresh bullpen arm.

The Guardians designated McCaughan for assignment Sunday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

McCaughan will cede his spot on the 40-man roster to right-hander Gavin Williams (elbow), who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Since the Guardians acquired him from the Marlins on May 9, McCaughan made two appearances out of the Cleveland bullpen, giving up six earned runs on nine hits and six walks over six innings. He'll stick around in the organization as starting depth at Triple-A Columbus if he clears waivers.

The Mets transferred Raley (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.

One month ago, Raley underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery with an internal brace augmentation, so his move to the 60-day IL was merely procedural. As a result of the transaction, the Mets were able to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Matt Festa, who was called up from Triple-A Syracuse ahead of Sunday's game against the Astros.

Muller (shoulder) allowed an earned run on two hits and two walks over 1.1 innings in a relief appearance for Triple-A Las Vegas against Sacramento on Friday. He struck out one.

Muller's second rehab outing didn't go quite as smoothly as his first, when he fired a scoreless frame against the River Cats on Tuesday. Nevertheless, the veteran southpaw was able to work up to 31 pitches, and although he located only 17 for strikes, he seemingly corroborated his shoulder is capable of handling a normal relief workload. Consequently, Muller may not be much longer for his rehab assignment, with the potential to be activated at some point in the coming days if he doesn't experience any residual effects from Friday's volume.

Bido fired 4.2 scoreless relief innings in a loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday, allowing two hits and three walks while recording two strikeouts. He also uncorked a wild pitch and hit a batter.

Bido's control was an issue at times, as his final line indicates; otherwise, the young right-hander delivered his second effective innings-eating performance of the past week, this time preserving the rest of the bullpen after starter Hogan Harris was chased in the fourth inning. Bido ended up throwing nearly as many pitches (62) as Harris' 73, so the former is likely to be unavailable until the middle of the week at the earliest. However, the 28-year-old may be carving out a legitimate niche for himself in Oakland's relief corps for the time being after struggling over 2.2 innings against the Rangers in his one major-league start this season on May 8.

The Mets optioned Young to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday.

The left-hander was recalled by the Mets last weekend and made four appearances during the brief stint in the majors, allowing six runs on six hits with a 4:2 K:BB over 3.1 innings. Young has a 5.11 ERA across 13 outings with the big club this year.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Bednar is making progress in his recovery from a left oblique strain, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Though Cherington struck an optimistic tone about Bednar's health, the two-time All-Star doesn't appear to have a concrete timeline to return from the 15-day injured list. Bednar is first eligible for activation next weekend, but because he has yet to resume throwing since landing on the shelf, he doesn't appear to be on track for a return in the minimum amount of time.

Banda issued one walk and struck out two batters over one scoreless frame in Saturday's extra-innings victory against San Francisco.

Banda entered in the seventh frame and preserved a 6-6 tie with his scoreless inning. The lefty reliever has been excellent since joining Los Angeles in mid-May, posting a 0.98 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 17:9 K:BB over 18.1 innings of mostly low-leverage work. Those numbers are a stark contrast to the 5.69 ERA and 1.64 WHIP he caried over 118.2 frames across his first seven major-league campaigns.

Little (3-1) tossed a scoreless inning of relief to earn the win in Saturday's 5-3 victory over the Brewers. He allowed two hits and struck out one.

Little retired the first two batters of the seventh inning, then made things interesting by allowing consecutive hits. However, he escaped the frame when Andruw Monasterio was caught attempting to steal home. The lefty then earned the win when the Cubs scored two in the top of the eighth to break open a 3-3 tie. Little has been back and forth between Triple-A and the majors, though he's been fairly effective when called on by Chicago, posting a 3.80 ERA and 26 strikeouts across 23.2 innings.