MLB Player News

Houston claimed Ortega (back) off waivers from the Twins on Wednesday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Ortega will remain on the 60-day injured list for now as he recovers from the left lumbar strain that he suffered in late August. The 27-year-old reliever owns a career 4.03 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 51:27 K:BB in 58 total innings of work at the major-league level.

Davidson was claimed off waivers by the Orioles on Wednesday.

It would appear the Royals didn't plan to tender Davidson a contract and instead tried to outright him, but the Orioles have scooped him up. The left-hander made 38 appearances (one start) between the Angels and Royals in 2023, collecting a 5.96 ERA and 46:19 K:BB over 51.1 innings. Davidson has plenty of past starting experience, but it's not clear at this point what role Baltimore has envisioned for him.

Oakland claimed Kay off waivers from the Mets on Tuesday.

Kay was pushed off the Mets' 40-man roster last week after struggling to a 6.14 ERA and 11:9 K:BB over 14.2 major-league innings in 2023. The 28-year-old left-hander will look to earn a spot in the Athletics' bullpen next spring.

MLB announced Monday that Abreu's two-game suspension for throwing at the Rangers' Adolis Garcia in last Friday's Game 5 of the ALCS was upheld following an appeal, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. Abreu will serve the suspension for the first two games of the 2024 regular season.

The ruling comes as good news for the Astros, as Abreu won't have to miss Monday's Game 7 and will remain eligible to pitch should Houston earn its way to the World Series. Abreu has been the top setup option in front of closer Ryan Pressly in 2023, finishing the regular season with 24 holds and five saves to go with a 1.75 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 100:31 K:BB across 72 innings.

Abreu (suspension) is appealing his two-game suspension, and he's eligible to pitch in Sunday's contest with the Rangers.

Abreu will have his appeal hearing Monday, so he will technically be available to pitch if needed in Game 6 of the ALCS. The right-hander was suspended for two games after he hit Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia in Game 5.

Abreu was suspended two games and fined an undisclosed amount of money for throwing at Adolis Garcia in Game 5 of the ALCS, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Abreu's suspension will begin immediately, which will keep him out for the remainder of the ALCS. However, Abreu will likely appeal the decision, which would allow the 26-year-old reliever to continue pitching until his hearing. Abreu has been a crucial part of Houston's bullpen during its postseason run, surrendering just one run over 6.1 innings while racking up 11 strikeouts.

The Twins sent De Leon (elbow) outright to Triple-A St. Paul on Friday.

De Leon posted a 4.67 ERA and 1.21 WHIP through 17.1 innings in the majors before undergoing Tommy John surgery in July. De Leon is expected to miss most, if not all, of next season.

Stanek earned the win in Thursday's 10-3 victory over the Rangers in Game 3 of the ALCS, throwing two-thirds of an inning.

Stanek required minimal effort to secure a win, throwing a single pitch to induce a double play to end the inning. The team would then go on to stack up four runs to break the tie in the following inning, leaving Stanek with the decision. Stanek is now up to three wins for his career in the postseason, during which he has pitched to a robust 2.00 ERA and 0.72 WHIP with 20 strikeouts across 18 innings.

Zimmermann underwent core muscle surgery Thursday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

He is expected to be ready for the start of spring training. Zimmermann, 28, spent the majority of the 2023 season with the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk, posting a 4.42 ERA across 21 starts. He held a 4.73 ERA in seven major-league relief appearances.

Diaz cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Angels are doing some 40-man roster housecleaning and Diaz is one of the guys to lose his spot. He will remain in the organization.