MLB Player News

The Dodgers activated Darvish (back) from the 10-day disabled list ahead of his scheduled start Sunday against the Brewers, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Darvish ended up missing the minimum amount of time with the back issue and received clearance to reenter the rotation after completing a bullpen session Wednesday without incident. With Darvish back in the fold, Brock Stewart, who started Tuesday against the Pirates before shuttling back to Triple-A Oklahoma City, will lose his spot in the rotation. Prior to hitting the DL, Darvish had been fitting in nicely with the Dodgers, who acquired him from the Rangers on July 31. In his three starts with Los Angeles, the right-hander has produced a 2.50 ERA and 22:4 K:BB over 18 innings.

Farrell was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on Sunday, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Farrell's demotion creates room on the 25-man roster for Tyler Mahle, who was promoted from Triple-A Louisville to start Sunday's game against the Pirates. The 26-year-old Farrell was with the Reds for less than a week, making his long appearance in long relief Wednesday against the Cubs. He could rejoin the big club when rosters expand in September.

The Reds selected Mahle's contract from Triple-A Louisville in advance of his scheduled start Sunday against the Pirates, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The 22-year-old earned the call to the big leagues after dominating at Double-A Pensacola to begin the season before lighting it up in his 10 starts in the International League, submitting a 2.73 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 59.1 innings. Since Mahle has already compiled 149.1 innings in the minors this season, the Reds may not keep him around in the rotation for all of September, but he'll at least have a chance to stake his claim to a full-time role in the big leagues in 2018 if he's able to impress Sunday in his MLB debut and in any subsequent starts he receives with Cincinnati before the campaign winds down.

Stripling allowed one hit and one walk while striking out five over three scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Brewers on Saturday.

Stripling did a fine job heading up this bullpen game and the rest of the relief corps held pretty steady, but the Dodgers' offense couldn't muster anything against Zach Davies and company. With Yu Darvish (back) and Clayton Kershaw (back) both returning imminently, Stripling will head to the bullpen and likely stay there for good over the remainder of the campaign.

Davies (15-7) earned the win over the Dodgers on Saturday, giving up three hits over seven scoreless innings. He struck out seven and did not issue a walk.

The right-hander stymied the best team in baseball for the second time this season -- he pitched six scoreless frames against them back in June -- and ended the Dodgers' 13-game winning streak. Davies now has a 2.28 ERA since the All-Star break despite a couple hiccups against the Phillies and Twins. After a shaky first three months, Davies has reemerged as a viable option in nearly all formats.

Despaigne (0-1) allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out one across six innings in a no-decision Saturday against the Padres.

Despaigne gave up his lone run on a double steal in the second inning while the offense was unable to give him much support. He was very strong in this spot start, but for now it's uncertain as to whether he'll remain in the rotation, as his next start has yet to be determined.

Walker (7-7) gave up one run on four hits and one walk while striking out three over 6.1 innings in a win over the Giants on Saturday.

The 25-year-old outdueled Madison Bumgarner to earn his first win in over two months. He's been pitching pretty well since the All-Star break, but he hasn't been pitching deep into games and the strikeouts have been down lately (12 strikeouts in his last four starts). Owners in shallower leagues may want to proceed with caution with road starts against the Rockies and Dodgers on tap.

Freeland (11-8) allowed four runs on 10 hits and one walk while striking out five across six innings in a no-decision Saturday against the Braves.

Freeland entered the sixth inning with a lead, but was unable to hold on by allowing a pair of runs in the frame. In three starts this month, he's allowed nine earned runs over 17.2 innings, making him a shaky fantasy option. He'll make his next start Friday against the Diamondbacks.

Lively (1-5) allowed six runs on five hits and two walks while striking out eight across five innings to take the loss Saturday against the Cubs.

Lively allowed four homers and simply didn't give the Phillies any reasonable chance to compete with the Cubs. Overall, he's held opponents to three or fewer earned runs in all but a pair of his nine starts, and aside from this horrible outing, he's been a pretty steady fantasy option when taking the mound. He'll make his next start Thursday against the Marlins.

Hendricks (5-4) allowed two runs on six hits while striking out eight across seven innings to earn the win Saturday against the Phillies.

Hendricks gave up a first-inning homer to Rhys Hoskins, but shut down the Phillies over the next six innings to earn his fifth victory. He finished off a solid August in which he allowed nine runs in five starts to lower his ERA from 3.80 to 3.45, and he's proven to be a strong fantasy option with limited downside. He'll make his next start Thursday against the Braves.