MLB Player News

Suarez could see save chances after manager Bob Melvin told Dennis Lin of The Athletic that the team will give Josh Hader "a little break" from the closer role.

Suarez lost a large chunk of the campaign to a knee injury, but he's been great since his return, allowing one run on six hits and two walks while striking out six over seven innings. Following back-to-back scoreless, multi-strikeout appearances, Suarez is now down to a 2.67 ERA and 1.09 WHIP for the season. He was a star closer in Japan before making the jump to MLB this year.

Garcia could see save chances after manager Bob Melvin told Dennis Lin of The Athletic that the team will give Josh Hader "a little break" from the closer role.

Officially the team is going with a closer-by-committee approach, at least until Hader figures it out. Garcia was the one wrestling the job away from Taylor Rogers before the trade, and he makes for an obvious candidate to take over as the primary option in the interim. Robert Suarez and Nick Martinez are other righty candidates, along with lefty Adrian Morejon.

Manager Bob Melvin said Saturday that Hader will be given "a little break" from the closer role, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

This seems like a quick hook for a player the Padres just gave up a lot to acquire via trade, but Hader has allowed six runs in his last three appearances, walking four while recording just four outs in that span. The team apparently wants to try to get him right in lower-leverage spots for the time being, with the hope of eventually reinstalling the lefty in the ninth inning. Luis Garcia and Robert Suarez figure to see save chances in the interim as part of a late-inning committee.

Hoeing will have his contract selected from Triple-A Jacksonville and will start Saturday's game against the Dodgers, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

He will be making his big-league debut on very short notice after Braxton Garrett was scratched for an unknown reason. Hoeing, 25, has a 5.44 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 44:34 K:BB in 84.1 innings through 16 starts at Triple-A. It's not a very exciting profile for fantasy, but the one thing Hoeing does well is generate groundballs (53 percent rate at Triple-A).

Smeltzer was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

While Tyler Mahle (shoulder inflammation) is going to the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move, Miller reports that Smeltzer is with the big club to pitch out of the bullpen against the lefty-heavy Rangers. Smeltzer has a 4.02 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 37 strikeouts in 62.2 innings across 12 starts in the majors this season.

Farmer (personal) was reinstated from the bereavement list Saturday.

While his overall numbers leave a lot to be desired (4.67 ERA, 1.44 WHIP), Farmer has been scored upon in just one of his last 11 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen. He earned his first career save July 31 and will likely continue to see mid-to-high-leverage opportunities now that he's back on the active roster.

Payamps was claimed off waivers by the A's on Saturday.

He was designated for assignment by the Royals a couple days ago, but the A's had a spot for him on the 40-man roster. Payamps should report to the Triple-A bullpen for now. He has a 3.16 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 33 strikeouts in 42.2 innings in the majors this year.

Snider was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.

He has a 7.71 ERA, 1.76 WHIP and 12:11 K:BB in 21 innings in the majors this year, and Snider had been at Triple-A for the last couple months. He should work in low-leverage situations.

Castillo was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.

It seemed that Castillo had earned a spot in the rotation, but Thursday's outing against the Rays was apparently just a spot start. The rookie right-hander has a 2.53 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 20 strikeouts in 21.1 innings across his six MLB appearances of two or more innings.

Taylor (elbow) left his rehab assignment for Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday after facing just two batters and throwing just 10 pitches, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Taylor has been out with elbow inflammation since early June. Friday's outing marked his third rehab appearance, but things didn't go well, as his fastball was sitting 89-90 mph, well below his season average of 92.6. Whether he's suffered a specific setback or just needs a bit more time to keep building up is not yet clear.