MLB Player News

Yarbrough is expected to serve as a bulk reliever in Friday's game versus the Giants, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Caleb Ferguson will be the Dodgers' opener. It's possible the team will use a right-hander in between Ferguson and Yarbrough in order to break up the lefties, but Yarbrough looks to be in line to eat up the bulk of the innings.

Ferguson will serve as an opener for the Dodgers in Friday's game versus the Giants, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Manager Dave Roberts also noted that Ryan Yarbrough will be part of the pitching plan, likely as a bulk reliever. It's the sixth opener assignment this season for Ferguson, who boasts a 2.56 ERA and 66:21 K:BB over 56.1 frames in 2023.

Vines was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.

Vines is replacing Max Fried (blister) on the roster and could get a start over the final week-plus, although the rookie right-hander is more likely to be used for length in the bullpen. Vines holds a 3.27 ERA and 8:2 K:BB over 11 innings in three appearances (one start) for Atlanta this season, and per Jonathan Mayo and Sam Dykstra of MLB.com, he'll head straight to the Arizona Fall League right after the end of Atlanta's regular season.

Chargois will serve as an opener for Friday's game against the Brewers, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Johnny Cueto was originally set to start, but the veteran righty would appear lined up for bulk relief duty instead as Miami opens up a huge series versus Milwaukee. It's the fourth opener assignment this season for Chargois, who holds a 3.46 ERA and 32:15 K:BB over 39 innings this season.

Barnett logged a 3.58 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 43 strikeouts and a 50 percent groundball rate in 32.2 innings (seven starts) for Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

Among the college pitchers the Royals have drafted in recent years, Barnett had the best statistical season while splitting time between High-A and Double-A. A burly 6-foot righty who turns 23 in November, Barnett leans heavily on his mid-90s fastball and mid-80s slider. He built up to 114.2 innings this year, so he won't face any workload restrictions in 2024 while having a chance to pitch his way to the majors.

Rodriguez was outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

Rodriguez was designated for assignment Monday and went unclaimed on waivers. As a result, he'll remain in Atlanta's organization and likely finish out the minor-league season with Gwinnett.

Alvarado picked up the save Thursday against the Mets. He allowed a hit while striking out two over a scoreless inning.

Alvarado worked around Brandon Nimmo's one-out double, logging a pair of strikeouts while improving to 9-for-11 in save chances. The 28-year-old lefty continues to see occasional save chances and has three in September, but Craig Kimbrel remains the primary closer in Philadelphia. Alvarado's ERA is down to 1.88 with a 1.25 WHIP and 59 strikeouts across 38.1 innings this season.

Clase picked up the save Thursday against the Orioles. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning.

After the first two Orioles reached safely in the ninth, Clase rebounded to strike out his next two batters before coaxing a game-ending flyout from Gunnar Henderson. Clase remains the lone closer with over 40 saves on the year. He's allowed just one earned run in his last six outings (five innings), lowering his ERA to 2.97 with a 1.15 WHIP and 63:16 K:BB across 69.2 innings this season.

Estevez (5-5) blew the save and took the loss Thursday against the Rays. He allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning.

Estevez immediately ran into trouble allowing the first two batters (Harold Ramirez and Yandy Diaz) to reach via singles in the ninth inning. He was unable to stem the tide and eventually allowed the game-winning run to score via a Manuel Margot single. Before Thursday, Estevez had thrown four straight scoreless outings dating back to Sept. 5, his last blown save. He has 30 saves and four blown saves on the year.

The Dodgers could deploy Yarbrough as a piggyback pitcher behind starter Emmet Sheehan in Thursday's game against the Giants, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

While manager Dave Roberts hasn't revealed how he plans to manage his pitching staff in the series opener, piggybacking the right-handed Sheehan with the left-handed Yarbrough would make sense. The Dodgers are cognizant of managing the rookie Sheehan's workload and haven't had him cover more than five innings in the majors or minors since July 29, so having him toss three or four frames before exiting the contest may be Roberts' preferred approach. Additionally, having Yarbrough enter the contest in the middle innings would help the Dodgers neutralize a Giants lineup that often contains four lefty bats in Michael Conforto, Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski and LaMonte Wade. Yarbrough last pitched Sunday, but he should be capable of giving the Dodgers three or four innings on three days' rest, if necessary.