MLB Player News

Atlanta designated Ornelas for assignment Friday.

The transaction frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of Jhancarlos Lara. It's the second time Ornelas has been designated for assignment this season, as the Rangers booted him off their 40-man roster in May before trading him to Atlanta. He's spent most of the 2025 campaign at the Triple-A level, where he's slashed only .196/.295/.303 in 115 contests.

Atlanta selected Lara's contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.

Lara has split time between the rotation and bullpen at Double-A Columbus and Gwinnett this season, posting a 7.73 ERA and 104:65 K:BB over 68.2 innings. The 22-year-old has electric stuff but has really struggled to throw strikes at every level. Atlanta will take a look at Lara as a bullpen arm down the stretch.

Atlanta optioned Dunning to Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.

Dunning has struggled in a mop-up role with Atlanta, posting a 10.80 ERA over seven appearances. His spot on the roster and in the bullpen will be absorbed by Jhancarlos Lara.

Rodriguez-Cruz will be promoted from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Rodriguez-Cruz earned the late-season promotion after posting a 2.42 ERA and 173:57 K:BB over 145 innings between High-A Hudson Valley and Somerset. Acquired from the Red Sox last offseason in the Carlos Narvaez trade, Rodriguez-Cruz leads all minor leaguers with his 173 strikeouts.

Buehler will follow Taijuan Walker in a tandem start Friday in Arizona, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Aaron Nola will take the ball Saturday and Ranger Suarez will go Sunday for the Phillies. The rotation realignment not only sets up Cristopher Sanchez for the first game of the postseason, it also allows the club to get a look at Buehler in a different role, with the idea that he might be used in long relief in the playoffs. Buehler was solid in his Phillies debut last week against the Royals, striking out three over five innings of one-run ball. He'll have a better chance of picking up a win Friday as the second leg of a piggyback start.

Walker will be piggybacked by Walker Buehler on Friday in Arizona, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Walker will get the ball first in the tandem start. The Phillies initially operated with a six-man rotation when Buehler was added to the mix, but they're realigning things in order to set up Cristopher Sanchez for the first game of the postseason. Walker has struggled lately, collecting a 7.20 ERA and 14:9 K:BB over 25 innings covering his last five starts.

Torkelson went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Guardians.

Torkelson was the only Detroit player with multiple hits in the contest and he scored the team's lone run. The first baseman has been in a nice groove lately, as he's batting .375 over his last eight games. Overall, Torkelson is slashing .242/.335/.460, and he's mashed 29 home runs to go along with 74 RBI and 80 runs scored in what's been a bounceback campaign after a down 2024.

Melton (3-2) allowed two runs on two hits across 1.2 innings of relief to take the loss Thursday against the Guardians. He walked one and struck out one.

Melton relieved starter Tarik Skubal, who left after six innings with the game tied 1-1, and promptly allowed two runs to take the loss. This was the rookie's first loss in a relief appearance, as his other loss came in his MLB debut back on July 23, when he allowed six runs in five innings as a starter. As a reliever, Melton now has a 2.66 ERA across 23.2 innings in 11 outings, and he's struck out 17 batters. He should maintain a key role in Detroit's bullpen given his ability to provide length.

Lowe went 1-for-3 in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Atheltics.

Lowe has hit the skids after a productive start to his Red Sox tenure. He sported a .974 OPS with two home runs and eight RBI over his first 12 games in a Boston uniform, but Lowe has languished since then with a .576 OPS and just two RBI in the subsequent 13 contests.

Story went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and an additional run scored in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Athletics.

Story continued to show a productive September bat, logging a fourth consecutive multi-hit effort and upping his OPS to 1.023 for the month. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the normally sure-handed defender committed two errors that contributed to two unearned runs. The home run gave him 25 for the season to go along with 93 RBI and 31 steals.