MLB Player News

Flaherty was called up ahead of his start against the Giants on Friday, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports.

Flaherty will make his major-league debut in San Francisco in the wake of Mike Leake's departure to the Mariners. The 21-year-old has made 15 starts at the Triple-A level this season with Memphis, compiling a 2.74 ERA and an 85:24 K:BB in 85.1 innings. Moving forward, Flaherty could wind up getting another opportunity to start depending on the health of Adam Wainwright's elbow, and how he performs against the Giants.

Alcantara was recalled by the Cardinals on Friday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Alcantara is set to make his major-league debut in the near future, as he figures to serve out of the bullpen for St. Louis throughout the rest of the season. The 21-year-old could wind up getting an opportunity to start, depending on how the next couple of weeks go for the Cardinals, as he's posted a 4.31 ERA and 1.43 WHIP over 125.1 innings, and 22 starts for Double-A Springfield in 2017. But it seems as though the club wants Alcantara in a relief role this September, since they've had him come out of the bullpen during his past three outings in the last week with Springfield.

Woodruff was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Friday. He will start Saturday's game against the Nationals.

Woodruff should serve as the Brewers' No. 4 starter this month. He has posted a 1.62 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 12 strikeouts in 16.2 innings (three starts) in the majors this season after more than holding his own in the harsh conditions at Colorado Springs and the Pacific Coast League. That ERA looks pretty good, but his 5.25 xFIP suggests he has the potential to regress in a major way this month. If Woodruff stumbles, Junior Guerra is an option to get starts.

Wacha (10-7) allowed an earned run on four hits and two walks over six innings to pick up the win over the Giants on Thursday. He struck out two.

Wacha got through his six frames on an efficient 84 pitches, an encouraging bounce-back after he'd allowed 14 earned runs over the 10.1 innings encompassing his previous three starts. The 26-year-old notched his first win since Aug. 8 and was successful keeping the ball down for the most part, as he generated a total of 11 ground balls and didn't allow a home run for the first time in the last four starts. He'll look to put together a successful encore when he faces the Padres on the road next Tuesday.

Worley is expected to move to the bullpen will Dillon Peters on tap for a promotion from Double-A Jacksonville to start Friday's game against the Phillies, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

A surprising second-half surge has thrust the Marlins into the National League wild-card picture, and with Worley proving to be an ineffective fifth starter, the team will give Peters a look at least temporarily to see if he can provide an upgrade at the back end of the rotation. After conceding just one run in 13 innings during his first two outings of August, Worley regressed mightily to close out the month, delivering a 9.17 ERA and 2.15 WHIP while failing to escape the sixth inning in any of his last four turns. He'll now presumably be ticketed for low-leverage mop-up duty in relief throughout September.

Fried was called up by the Braves prior to Friday's contest against Chicago, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. He will start Sunday's game against the Cubs.

Fried had spent most of August with the big-league team, but only saw the mound for 6.2 innings over the course of a few weeks. During that time, the left-hander allowed four earned runs and sported a 1.95 WHIP. Although he had only been deployed as a reliever in those occasions, it appears as though the club will give him an opportunity to start Sunday's game against the Cubs in order to prevent R.A. Dickey from tossing on short rest, according to Mark Bowman. The Braves could give Fried some more starts this month beyond Sunday in order to determine what they have in the 23-year-old.

Thompson will likely replace Jared Eickhoff (hand) in the Phillies' rotation, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Eickhoff could miss the rest of the season with nerve irritation in his right hand. Thompson has a 5.40 ERA and a 14:11 K:BB in 20 innings with the Phillies this season. If he is the choice to replace Eickhoff, his first start will come Sunday against the Marlins. The Phillies could also consider going with Henderson Alvarez or Drew Anderson to fill their rotation opening.

Velasquez has decided to proceed with surgery to address the blood flow issue that has caused numbness in his right middle finger, CSN Philadelphia reports.

Velasquez sought a second opinion Tuesday with another doctor in Dallas and presumably was given the same advice he had received from his first doctor. A timetable for the procedure has not yet been determined, but it should happen soon enough to give Velasquez plenty of recovery time prior to next season. He said he will be ready for spring training.

Hendricks (6-4) allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts over 6.2 innings in a win over the Braves on Thursday.

Hendricks was handed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and kept his team in front the rest of the way en route to a 6-2 victory. He has now logged quality starts in four consecutive appearances while posting a 2.10 ERA and 25:9 K:BB over 25.2 innings. Hendricks' next start is scheduled for next Thursday in Pittsburgh.

Despaigne (0-2) took the loss Thursday against the Phillies after allowing three runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts over four innings.

Despaigne labored through this one, needing 90 pitches to get through four frames despite holding Philadelphia off the board in the first three. He was given another turn in the rotation after a strong spot start against the league-worst San Diego lineup last time out, but failed to back that result up despite getting another favorable matchup here. Things could get ugly in his next start Tuesday against a high-powered Nationals offense.