The San Diego Padres placed reliever Luis Garcia on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a left oblique strain.

The move is retroactive to Thursday for the 36-year-old right-hander, who is 1-3 with a 4.66 ERA in 21 games.

Garcia is 20-27 with a 4.07 ERA in 445 career games (four starts) with five teams since making his debut in 2013.

The Padres recalled right-hander Domingo Tapia from Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding transaction.

Tapia, 31, is 0-1 with one save and a 3.18 ERA in 10 appearances this season out of the San Diego bullpen.

–Field Level Media

The Baltimore Orioles optioned top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez to Triple-A Norfolk amid his struggles at the big-league level.

In a corresponding move Saturday, the team recalled left-hander Keegan Akin from Norfolk.

Rodriguez, 23, is 2-2 with a 7.35 ERA in 10 starts. The right-hander has thrown 45 1/3 innings with 56 strikeouts and 21 walks for a 2.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has given up 13 home runs.

In April, Rodriguez allowed 11 earned runs in 24 1/3 innings for a 4.07 ERA. In the month of May, he has an 11.14 ERA, giving up 27 runs (26 earned) in 21 innings over five starts.

On Friday, the Texas Rangers tagged him with nine runs (eight earned) in 3 1/3 innings on six hits — three of them home runs — and three walks. He struck out six in the 12-2 loss.

Akin, 28, is 1-1 with a 5.91 ERA in 13 relief appearances for the Orioles this season.

In 2022, Akin had a 3-3 record with a 3.20 ERA and two saves in 45 appearances (one start).

–Field Level Media

Pitcher David Hess, whose career was previously interrupted by a cancer diagnosis, announced the disease has returned.

“The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind for us with this cancer journey that seems to never want to end,” he posted to social media on Friday. “We found out that inside my tumor was (a) very rare and very aggressive type of cancer called angiosarcoma. Along with that discovery, lung nodules have popped up that we aren’t sure what to make of yet.”

Hess, 29, said he will have surgery Tuesday to biopsy the nodules and also undergo upcoming surgery to remove the tumor. He also will have chemotherapy.

“I will fight like hell and do whatever is needed for a cancer free prognosis at some point,” he wrote.

Life update: pic.twitter.com/Ui0mLyw3BI

— David Hess (@hess_express28) May 26, 2023

An online fundraiser was set up Friday to help Hess and his wife, Devin, with medical expenses. The biggest contribution so far has come from Chicago White Sox reliver Liam Hendriks and his wife, Kristi. Hendriks was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma last December and is close to returning to the team.

Hess was diagnosed with a germ cell tumor, a rare form of cancer, in his chest following the 2021 season. After treatment for the cantaloupe-sized tumor, he was cleared to return to baseball in early 2022.

Hess has a career record of 6-22 with a 6.25 ERA in 62 games (34 starts) with the Baltiumore Orioles (2018-20), Miami Marlins (2021) and Tampa Bay Rays (2021).

He spent the 2022 season in the Rays’ minor league system, tallying a 2-1 record with a 13.06 ERA in 10 1/3 innings over eight relief appearances.

–Field Level Media

A bill introduced late Friday in the Nevada Legislature could give the Oakland Athletics a big push in their quest to relocate to Las Vegas.

The stadium funding bill calls for the creation of a sports and entertainment district at the site on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, where the Tropicana Las Vegas casino resort sits, including a potential 30,000-seat, $1.5 billion retractable-roof stadium.

The plan does not directly raise taxes. In the proposed bill, Clark County would contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs of the project, while the majority of the public funding would come from $180 million in transferable tax credits from Nevada and $120 million in county bonds.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo had previously announced the agreement for a taxpayer contribution to the proposed ballpark.

“This agreement follows months of negotiations between the state, the county and the A’s, and I believe it gives us a tremendous opportunity to continue building on the professional sports infrastructure of southern Nevada,” Lombardo said in a statement Wednesday. “Las Vegas is clearly a sports town, and Major League Baseball should be a part of it.”

The legislature would need to approve the bill, and Lombardo sign it, for the ballpark to move ahead. The bill can move forward with a simple majority vote in the Senate and the Assembly. Lawmakers adjourn June 5 but could call a special session before then to vote on the bill.

The A’s have been stymied in their attempts to get a new stadium in the Bay Area and instead turned to the site of the Tropicana hotel and casino.

Per a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the landmark Tropicana would be torn down, and the stadium would occupy nine acres of the 35-acre site. A resort could be built on the excess land later.

The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that a quick approval could lead to the A’s leaving Oakland after the 2023 season, despite the lease there not expiring until the end of 2024.

They would share the ballpark of their Triple-A team, the Las Vegas Aviators, while their stadium is under construction. A 2027 stadium opening is being targeted.

The A’s have played in Oakland since 1968, the season they moved from Kansas City.

“We’re very appreciative of the support from the State of Nevada and Clark County’s leadership,” A’s president Dave Kaval said in a statement. “We want to thank Governor Lombardo, the Legislative leadership, the Treasurer, and Clark County Commissioners and staff on the collaborative process. We look forward to advancing this legislation in a responsible way.”

–Field Level Media