MLB Player News

Smoker (elbow) is with the club and should be activated before Thursday's game, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

Tests recently revealed Smoker is dealing with loose bodies in his elbow, but apparently he's well enough to return to action. The left-hander holds a 7.45 ERA but should be a welcome addition to the bullpen because of his 36 strikeouts in 29 frames.

Corbin will take the mound for the Diamondbacks on Thursday against the Reds, as scheduled starter Tajuan Walker has been scratched due to a family emergency.

Corbin faced the Reds in his last start before the All-Star break, turning in a quality start with nine strikeouts across six innings. He'll get a rematch sooner than expected, serving as the last-minute replacement for Walker. The lefty will be opposed by Luis Castillo in the afternoon matchup.

Walker will not start for the Diamondbacks on Thursday against the Reds due to a family emergency.

Walker had been in line to take the hill for the series finale, but the sudden shift in rotation plans will result in lefty Patrick Corbin taking the mound. Look for the team to release updated rotation plans later in the day Thursday.

Maeda (8-4) allowed one run on five hits and a walk while striking out three over five innings in Wednesday's 9-1 win over the White Sox.

The right-hander threw only 83 pitches (54 strikes), but after the Dodgers extended their lead in the top of the sixth inning, manager Dave Roberts elected not to push Maeda too far. The 29-year-old has put his rough start to the season behind him and now has a 2.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 8.8 K/9 over his last eight outings. He'll next take the mound Tuesday at home against the Twins.

Cole struck out 10 over seven innings of one-run ball against Milwaukee on Wednesday, only to settle for a no-decision. He gave up six hits and didn't walk anyone.

This marks Cole's first double-digit-whiff outing of the year, and he's pulling his numbers back in a positive direction after a handful of rough outings derailed his 2017 to some degree. The talented righty's ERA is still rather high at 4.18, but if you take out the four-start stretch in late May and early June that saw him give up 23 runs in 19.1 innings, Cole has otherwise given up 33 earned runs in 101.1 frames -- a 2.93 ERA. Look for the 26-year-old to carry forward his strong start to the season's second half; fortunately, his turn in the rotation won't come up in this weekend's series at Coors Field. Instead, he'll next start Monday at San Francisco.

Davies went seven innings against the Pirates on Wednesday, allowing just an unearned run on eight hits and a walk while striking out four. He didn't factor into the decision in the eventual 10-inning loss.

Davies turns in sharp outings like this one every now and again, but he tends to put way too many men on base (1.49 WHIP) while striking out way too few hitters (6.0 K/9) -- not a formula for success in the fantasy realm. Yes, he somehow owns an 11-4 record, but don't mistake that for an indication of success on the mound. The soft-tossing righty's next start is scheduled for Tuesday against the Nationals.

Greinke allowed three runs on eight hits and three walks over five innings while striking out three but didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's extra-inning loss to the Reds.

He'd gone at least seven innings in three of his prior four starts, but Greinke ran up his pitch count early in this one, eventually exiting after tossing 104 pitches (64 strikes). The right-hander will still take a strong 2.97 ERA into his next outing Monday at home against the Braves.

DeGrom (11-3) held the Cardinals to a single run over 6.2 innings Wednesday, allowing seven hits and a walk while striking out three in a 7-3 victory.

It's been a rough season for the Mets as a whole, but one shudders to imagine where they might be without deGrom. Back on May 31 and June 6, he got rocked for 15 runs in eight innings, but he's won seven consecutive starts since then, allowing just nine earned runs over 53.1 innings in that span (1.52 ERA) while posting a sparkling 50:10 K:BB. After an unsteady first couple months, he's stabilized things and is back on track to turn in a pretty normal campaign by his standards. DeGrom will next take the ball Monday in San Diego.

Gray (3-1) allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven batters through six innings during Wednesday's win over San Diego.

Gray cruised through the first five frames without allowing a run before the Friars got to him in the sixth. Holding an opponent to four runs through six innings at Coors Field qualifies as a solid outing, and Gray also sported a 13-run lead entering the sixth, so it was essentially mop-up duty at that point of the game. Gray's fantasy upside is capped by his hitter-friendly home park, but his 9.0 K/9 makes him an intriguing asset for road starts. A date with the Cardinals at Busch Stadium is up next for the 25-year-old righty.

Ryu (foot) will start Monday's game against the Twins, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Ryu tossed a simulated game Wednesday, and after getting through it without issue, he'll receive clearance to reenter the rotation. He'll line up for a matchup with young right-hander Jose Berrios in the series opener at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers had been using Kenta Maeda as a replacement starter while Ryu has been sidelined, but manager Dave Roberts indicated that the team would move to a six-man rotation next week to allow both pitchers to keep starting.