MLB Player News

Holmes said Tuesday he's been dealing with back spasms for the past couple days, and he may require a stint on the injured list, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

The right-hander first had the issue crop over the weekend, and he experienced it again when throwing off a mound Tuesday. Holmes is set to rest and receive treatment, which is an indication he may require a stint on the 15-day IL. The 29-year-old's grip on the closer role was already slipping since he has surrendered seven runs and has three blown saves over his past five outings, and it now appears he'll be out for a couple weeks. Aroldis Chapman hasn't been scored upon in his past nine outings and is likely to reclaim ninth-inning duties if Holmes is out.

Hill (3-3) allowed one run on four hits across six innings to earn the win Tuesday against the Guardians. He walked two and struck out three.

Hill turned in his best effort since his MLB debut back on July 4, when he also allowed just one run across six innings. The righty hasn't been a big strikeout pitcher so far, with only 21 of them across 42.2 innings, so he'll have a smaller margin for error than most moving forward. However, Hill should stick in the rotation for the injury-riddled Tigers, who are missing all of Casey Mize, (elbow) Tarik Skubal (elbow), Beau Brieske (biceps), Michael Pineda (triceps) and Eduardo Rodriguez (personal), though Rodriguez could return soon. Hill is lined up to make his next start next week against the Giants.

Soto worked around a hit to pitch a scoreless ninth inning and earn the save in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Guardians. He struck out one.

After allowing six earned runs over his previous four appearances, it looked like Soto was in for another rough outing when he allowed a leadoff double in the ninth. The Guardians advanced the runner with a bunt, but Soto dug in to get a strikeout and groundout to end the game. It was the second save in as many days for the lefty and his 22nd of the season. Soto also has a strong 3.16 ERA and 42 strikeouts across 42.2 innings this year.

The Rangers optioned Rodriguez to Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday.

Two days after joining the big-league roster for the first time this season, Rodriguez has returned to Triple-A without appearing in a game. The righty appears unlikely to carve out a big-league role for himself in 2022.

Munoz (2-4) recorded the win over the Angels on Monday, firing a scoreless eighth inning during which he allowed two hits and recorded a strikeout.

The flamethrowing right-hander pounded 11 of 13 pitches in for strikes and worked around the two singles he gave up to Shohei Ohtani and Jared Walsh by striking out Steven Duggar to end the inning. Munoz was then rewarded with his second victory courtesy of the Mariners' wild rally in the top of the ninth inning, and he now boasts an 0.67 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and jaw-dropping 15.7 K/9 in the 27 frames covering his last 24 appearances.

Baker (4-3) earned the win Monday, striking out two over 1.1 scoreless innings.

Starter Kyle Bradish fell an out short of qualifying for the win, allowing Baker to pick up his first decision since July 4. Since the start of July, he's posted a solid 2.81 ERA with a 1.31 WHIP and 24:8 K:BB across 16 innings. He's kept opponents off the board in 15 of 18 appearances in that span. For the season, Baker owns a 4.10 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 53:20 K:BB with five holds and two blown saves in 48.1 innings. With Felix Bautista holding the closer role and Dillon Tate and Cionel Perez operating as setup men, Baker's middle-relief role hasn't changed much since Jorge Lopez was sent to the Twins at the trade deadline.

Logue is slated to start Thursday's game against the Rangers in Arlington.

He'll be making his second straight turn through the Oakland rotation after the Athletics demoted their previous fifth starter, Adrian Martinez, to Triple-A Las Vegas last week. Logue likely won't have a long leash with the big club, however, especially after he served up six earned runs over 5.1 innings in a loss to Houston his last time out Aug. 13. Another poor showing against the Rangers would likely put Logue at risk of a demotion.

Morgan (4-3) took the loss in the second game of Monday's doubleheader versus the Tigers. He allowed two runs on two hits in one inning.

Morgan has allowed multiple runs in three of his five appearances in August, though Monday was the first time he took a negative result this month. The right-hander was very sharp for the first two months of the season, but he's surrendered 18 runs (17 earned) in his last 15.1 innings since June 21. Overall, he owns a 4.25 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 57:8 K:BB through 48.2 frames while adding 10 holds and four blown saves.

Otto (5-8) earned the win Monday, allowing one run on two hits and six walks over six innings against the Athletics. He struck out one.

Otto remarkably got through six innings of one-run ball despite walking six A's batters Monday. The effort was emblematic of his season as a whole, as he has walked fewer than three batters in just seven out of 17 starts this season. Regardless, the quality start brought Otto's ERA under 5.00 for the season. He next lines up to face Minnesota this weekend.

Burke allowed zero runs on one hit and one walk while striking out three over two innings in Monday's 2-1 win over the Athletics.

Burke entered the game with a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning and threw two scoreless innings to secure his seventh hold of the season. The southpaw has taken to his transition to the bullpen this season, as he owns a 1.29 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. A lot can be chalked up to luck as he owns a high 92.5 percent strand rate and low 7.5 percent HR/FB rate, but he has gotten the job done and could be a source of strong ratios the rest of the season in deeper leagues.