MLB Player News

The Royals acquired Mills and minor-league right-hander William Fleming from the Mariners on Monday in exchange for first baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana and cash considerations.

Mills will take Santana's spot on the 40-man roster, but he won't be added to the Royals' 26-man active roster, as top prospect Vinnie Pasquantino will instead get a call-up from Triple-A Omaha to fill the opening at first base. Though he had made eight relief appearances for Seattle, Mills has spent the majority of the season at Triple-A Tacoma. In 19.2 innings with the affiliate, the right-handed reliever submitted a 1.83 ERA and 0.99 WHIP.

Chapman (Achilles) struck out one over a perfect inning Sunday for Double-A Somerset in his second minor-league rehab appearance.

Chapman needed only 11 pitches to retire the side, with his fastball hovering in the 93-to-94 mile-per-hour range and topping out at 98, according to Greg Johnson of The Trentonian. After a pair of clean innings at Somerset over the weekend, Chapman looks like he'll be ready to rejoin the Yankees for their three-game home series with the Athletics that begins Monday. Since Chapman pitched Sunday and the Yankees may not want to make him available on back-to-back days just yet, the club could wait until Tuesday to activate him from the 15-day injured list. Manager Aaron Boone's previous comments have suggested that Chapman will recapture primary closing duties for the Yankees once reinstated, though Clay Holmes could also receive more usage in higher-leverage situations than he had prior to Chapman landing on the shelf.

Duran picked up the save Sunday against the Rockies, allowing no runs and no hits while striking out two and walking none over one inning.

Duran threw 13 of 18 pitches for strikes Sunday, earning his fifth save of the season. It was his first save since May 24, though he has picked up five holds in the meantime. The righty has been lights out in June, allowing two runs across 10.2 innings for a 1.69 ERA. Duran now has a 2.18 ERA for the season and may have earned some more save opportunities after another stellar performance.

Texas manager Chris Woodward said Sunday that Howard could eventually slot into the major-league rotation, but not immediately, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

After the Rangers optioned Taylor Hearn to Triple-A Round Rock, where he'll transition from starter to a multi-inning bullpen role, Texas seeks a solution for the back end of the rotation. The club can get back with four starters until July 5. Howard has been the best of breed at Round Rock, hitting his stride over the last five starts with a 3.24 ERA, 28 strikeouts and 11 walks in 25 innings. He's yet to throw more than five innings, but Howard could be serviceable by early July.

Hearn will work out of the bullpen at Triple-A Round Rock and is expected to return to the majors as a multi-inning reliever, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports. "When we bring him back, and he'll be back, the biggest thing is to put him in a multi-inning reliever role," Texas manager Chris Woodward said. "We just want to see the power and velocity come back."

Woodward announced prior to three-game series with Washington over the weekend that Hearn would no longer start. The left-hander, who has a 6.25 ERA over 13 starts, then threw four scoreless innings Saturday as a reliever before being optioned to Round Rock. He should be back with Texas post All-Star break. Hearn's removal from the rotation opens an opportunity, but there's no obvious choice in the minors. Both A.J. Alexy (7.03 ERA) and Cole Winn (5.43) have not shown much for the Express over the first few months. Spencer Howard, who opened the season in the majors before being optioned when MLB rosters were trimmed at the end of April, has pitched well of late.

Trivino picked up the save Sunday against Kansas City, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out one and walking none over one inning.

Just a day after earning a two-out save, Trivino was able to pick up another one Sunday. The righty entered with a two-run cushion, but did allow two runners to get into scoring position before inducing a pop up and a strike out to get out of the jam. This was Trivino's fourth save of the season. The outing lowered his ERA to 7.17.

Otto (4-3) gave up six earned runs on six hits and three walks over two innings to take the loss in a 6-4 defeat to the Nationals on Sunday. He struck out one.

Otto was ineffective in his first start since returning from the COVID-19-related injured list. He walked three batters, and the Nationals took advantage of his control problems with a barrage of hits. Otto hadn't given up more than two runs in his four previous appearances, so the 26-year-old rookie has shown the ability to play at the big-league level. He is tentatively scheduled to make his next start against the powerful Mets offense on Saturday.

Paredes was recalled by the Astros on Sunday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Paredes hasn't pitched in the majors since June of 2021 but was effective at Triple-A Sugar Land to begin the 2022 season, posting a 0.93 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 29 innings over 25 relief appearances. Although he walked 16 batters in 29 innings, he'll attempt to prove himself in the Astros' bullpen after Brandon Bielak was sent down Sunday.

Brieske allowed five runs on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 3.2 innings in a no-decision versus the Diamondbacks on Sunday.

Brieske had trouble in the third inning with a solo home run from Carson Kelly and a Christian Walker sacrifice fly. The struggles continued into the fourth, as Arizona scraped together three more runs, all of which went onto Brieske's line after reliever Alex Lange allowed two inherited runners to score. The Tigers' offense bounced back to get the rookie starter off the hook, but that was the only silver lining from another ugly start. Brieske has allowed at least four runs in three of his last six outings, and he now owns a 4.55 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 43:20 K:BB through 63.1 innings in 12 starts. With two off days next week, he should have an extra day to regroup before a projected home start against the Royals.

Ortega allowed a hit and struck out two in two innings to earn the save in Sunday's 2-1 win over the Mariners.

This was Ortega's first big-league save, and his first at any level since he logged five with Double-A Rocket City last year. The 25-year-old has also struggled to keep runs off the board, as this was only the second time in his last seven appearances he's quieted an opposing offense. Ortega has a 3.60 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 27:13 K:BB and five holds through 30 innings in 22 appearances this season, but he shouldn't be expected to see many save chances long-term. He got the opportunity Sunday because Raisel Iglesias and Ryan Tepera, the top-two closing options, were ejected during a brawl earlier in the contest, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.