MLB Player News

The Twins optioned Woods Richardson to Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.

Woods Richardson wasn't scheduled to pitch again in 2022 after making his MLB debut Sunday in Detroit, where he struck out three while allowing three runs (two earned) in five innings en route to being handed a loss. The Twins will swap him off the 28-man active roster for right-hander Cole Sands, who will give the team a fresh arm out of the bullpen in Wednesday's season finale against the White Sox.

Fleming was recalled from Triple-A Durham ahead of Wednesday's start against the Red Sox, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Fleming will start Wednesday's regular-season finale since the Rays are already guaranteed to play the Guardians in the wild-card round this weekend. He's logged a 6.23 ERA and 1.91 WHIP in 30.1 innings over nine appearances (two starts) in the big leagues this season, but it's possible that he'll be allowed to pitch through adversity if needed Wednesday in order to preserve the Rays' bullpen ahead of the postseason.

Poche (oblique) was placed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Poche sustained a right oblique strain Tuesday against the Red Sox and will miss the remainder of the season. Josh Fleming was recalled to take Poche's place on the active roster ahead of Wednesday's regular-season finale.

Moore struck out two in a perfect ninth inning to record his fourth save of the season in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Yankees.

Jose Leclerc hasn't pitched since Sept. 29, but he remained in the bullpen while Moore got the call to secure a split of the twin bill for the Rangers. The veteran lefty has been outstanding in a relief role this year, and since the beginning of September he's posted a 2.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB through 13 innings. Moore is also a free agent in the offseason, and the 33-year-old could land a big contract to fill a high-leverage role for another team given his 2022 numbers.

Loaisiga gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning to record his second save of the season in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Rangers.

The Yankees' closer picture remains cloudy heading into the postseason -- Scott Effross got the save Monday, while Lou Trivino picked up the team's last save before that Sept. 27. Loaisiga has been pitching well enough to put himself in the late-inning mix, posting a 1.72 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over 15.2 innings since the beginning of September, but he's more likely to handle a setup role in the playoffs.

The Yankees returned Weissert to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday.

Weissert had been up with the Yankees as their 29th man for Tuesday's doubleheader with the Rangers. He picked up his second career hold while striking out a batter in a scoreless frame in the Yankees' 5-4 win in Game 1. The 27-year-old righty will finish his rookie season with a 5.56 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 11:5 K:BB across 11.1 innings out of the New York bullpen.

Richards will serve as the Blue Jays' opening pitcher in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Orioles, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Richards will be picking up his fourth "start" of the season, but because he hasn't recorded more than seven outs in any of his 61 appearances with the Blue Jays, he's unlikely to face any hitter more than one time. Once Richards exits the contest, the Blue Jays will have one of Casey Lawrence, Mitch White and Yusei Kikuchi available as a potential bulk-relief option. The Blue Jays will then likely save two of those pitchers to cover the majority of the innings in Game 2.

The Blue Jays recalled Lawrence from Triple-A Buffalo and appointed him as their 29th man for Wednesday's doubleheader with the Orioles.

Reliever Trevor Richards is scheduled to serve as the Blue Jays' opening pitcher for Game 1, but Lawrence is expected to enter the contest behind him and will likely serve as a bulk reliever for Toronto. Lawrence has made each of his five appearances with Toronto this season out of the bullpen, but he had been a member of the Buffalo rotation prior to his call-up. He closed the Triple-A season by covering at least five innings in six of his final seven outings while generating a 3.90 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 24:2 K:BB across 32.1 frames.

The Orioles recalled Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk and designated him as their 29th man for Wednesday's doubleheader with the Blue Jays, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Vespi will give the Orioles some extra coverage out of the bullpen as the team wraps up its season with a twin bill. In 24 relief appearances with Baltimore on the season, the 26-year-old rookie owns a 4.21 ERA and 1.36 WHIP across 25.2 innings.

Poche suffered a strained right oblique during Tuesday's loss to the Red Sox and will miss the rest of the season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Poche retired only one of the five batters he faced and allowed four runs before he exited Tuesday's contest, and he'll now miss the rest of the year with the oblique injury. The left-hander had seven saves and 23 holds with a 3.99 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 64:22 K:BB over 58.2 innings during 2022.