MLB Player News

The Nationals claimed Mills off waivers from the Dodgers on Thursday and optioned him to Triple-A Rochester.

The right-hander was pushed off the Dodgers' 40-man roster Monday following the acquisition of catcher Hunter Feduccia, but Mills has found a new home. He's turned in a 2.41 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 37.1 innings at Triple-A, but he coughed up four runs in just 6.1 innings while posting a 5:9 K:BB during his time in the majors this season.

Major League Baseball suspended Speier for three games Thursday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Speier was ejected from Wednesday's game after intentionally hitting Gleyber Torres with a pitch and will now also receive a three-game ban for his actions. Speier will appeal the suspension, per McCosky, and he'll remain eligible to pitch until a final verdict is reached.

Pannone cleared waivers Thursday and was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

The 32-year-old lefty was designated for assignment last Friday following DL Hall's return from the injured list. Pannone has the right to elect free agency, though it's unknown whether he will do so or remain in the Brewers organization as a minor-league depth piece.

Joyce pitched a scoreless and hitless inning in relief against Baltimore on Wednesday, walking one batter and striking out one.

Joyce was activated from the 60-day IL on Tuesday after being deemed ready to return from right shoulder surgery. The flamethrowing reliever showed that he still has impressive velocity, throwing nine of his 16 pitches over 100 mph and topping out at 102.2 mph. Joyce's command was a bit spotty -- he threw eight balls and eight strikes -- but that didn't cost him in the scoring column. Joyce has always had closer-like stuff, and with the Angels trading away Kirby Yates and Ryan Zeferjahn at the deadline, there's a clear path for Joyce to work his way up to the closer role before the end of the campaign.

Altavilla opted out of his minor-league contract with the Royals on Wednesday and is now a free agent, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Altavilla has made 38 appearances this season at the Triple-A level between the Twins and Royals organization, logging a 6.09 ERA and 36:33 K:BB over 44.1 frames. The 33-year-old will likely need to accept a minor-league contract as he seeks employment in a new organization.

Williams has been nursing right arm fatigue but is available out of the Mets' bullpen for Thursday's game in Cleveland, Laura Albanese of Newsday reports.

He was unavailable Wednesday, leading to Daniel Duarte closing things down to notch his second career save. Williams will be ready for a save opportunity Thursday should one present itself, and the Mets do not seem concerned at this point that Williams' fatigue will be a recurring issue.

Lee recorded his first career big-league save Wednesday, giving up one unearned run on one hit in the 10th inning of a 5-4 win over the Astros. He didn't walk or strike out a batter.

Tyler Rogers worked the eighth inning and Louis Varland the ninth to keep the game tied at 3-3, leaving Lee as the surprise recipient of a save chance after the Blue Jays took a lead in the top of the 10th. The right-hander did allow the phantom runner to score on a Yordan Alvarez single, but Lee wound up needing just five pitches (all strikes) to finish things out. While he's had success at Triple-A Buffalo this season, Lee's 6.23 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 1:4 K:BB through 4.1 MLB innings this season will limit him to a lower-leverage role for the most part.

The Cubs optioned Ferguson to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com reports.

Ferguson had pitched each of the last two days -- including throwing 29 pitches over two scoreless frames versus the Dodgers on Wednesday -- so he's being replaced by a fresh reliever. The 32-year-old has logged a 3.45 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 19:2 K:BB over 15.2 innings for the Cubs, so he's likely to be back with the big club sooner rather than later.

Suarez (forearm) has yet to increase the intensity of his throwing program as Atlanta takes a cautious approach with his recovery, Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The veteran reliever began playing catch right after the All-Star break, but he hasn't progressed beyond that yet. "The philosophy there is we want him to be 100% pain-free before he starts to ramp up again," manager Walt Weiss said Wednesday. "At this point of the season, we just can't afford a setback. If he were to have a setback, his season is probably over. So we're just really making sure he's 100% when he steps on the mound again so he can sprint to the finish line." Suarez hasn't seen game action since June 19, and given the length of his absence, a best-case scenario for his return might see him come off the IL in late August.

Anderson allowed three hits and a walk while failing to record a strikeout over 3.2 scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Mariners on Wednesday.

Anderson last pitched Sunday, so he wasn't on full rest. The right-hander is being stretched out as a starter to fill the holes created when the Tigers shipped out Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize ahead of Monday's trade deadline, although Jackson Jobe (elbow), Jack Flaherty (forearm) and Justin Verlander (hamstring) are expected back in the coming weeks as well. Anderson has primarily worked as a reliever this season, pitching to a 4.01 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 78:25 K:BB through 67.1 innings over 41 games (three starts). While this was a fairly promising performance, Anderson won't be much of a factor in fantasy until he gets into the 70-80 pitch range and shows an ability to work at least five innings consistently to give himself a chance of collecting wins. His next start is projected to be at home versus the Guardians, but it'll take at least a couple more turns through the rotation before he's stretched out enough to contend for wins.