MLB Player News

Johnson signed a minor-league contract with the Angels on Monday.

Johnson owns a respectable 4.74 career ERA in 171 innings at the major-league level. The last of those came in 2019, however, and he's been out of affiliated ball since getting released by the Red Sox last August. His only game action over the last two years has come this season with the Milwaukee Milkmen of the independent American Association, where he struck out eight batters and walked none over five scoreless innings. He's expected to head to Triple-A Salt Lake once he clears health and safety protocols.

Pruitt (elbow) will join Triple-A Sugar Land to continue this rehab assignment, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pruitt's travels took him to Baltimore on Monday, and he threw a bullpen session prior to the Astros' win over the Orioles. Prior to joining the team in Baltimore, he made two rehab appearances with Low-A Fayetteville last week before his scheduled move up the ladder to Sugar Land. The right-hander will get a few more rehab outings with the Skeeters, but he will first need to undergo quarantine for five days upon arrival. Pruitt has received only one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. He's expected to pitch Sunday after clearing the quarantine period.

Shaw (2-2) allowed a hit and struck out two over 1.1 innings to earn the win versus the Cubs on Monday.

Starter Aaron Civale (finger) left the game with two outs in the fifth inning, making him ineligible for the win. Shaw replaced him in the contest, and he picked up his second win of the year. It was a good bounce-back outing for Shaw, who was rocked for four runs on a hit and three walks while failing to record an out Saturday versus Pittsburgh. The veteran reliever has a 3.38 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 37:24 K:BB across 29.1 innings. He's also logged a save and 10 holds, so he's often seen high-leverage work in 2021.

Akin (0-3) took the loss Monday against the Astros, allowing five runs on six hits and four walks across four-plus innings. He struck out five.

Akin's outing got off to a solid start, with the southpaw scattering a pair of hits and a walk across a scoreless first two innings. Things fell apart quickly in the third, however, with two hits and two walks setting up a three-run homer for Yordan Alvarez to put Houston up 5-0. He settled down for a scoreless fourth frame but was chased after allowing a leadoff single in the fifth. Since recording a solid scoreless outing June 4, Akin has allowed an unimpressive 16 earned runs on 19 hits during a three-start losing streak. He'll look to turn things around when he toes the rubber over the weekend against the Blue Jays in Buffalo.

Hearn will be the starting pitcher for Tuesday's game against Oakland, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Jordan Lyles was initially lined up to start the second game of the four-game set, but Texas will turn to Hearn instead. Hearn hasn't pitched more than two innings since April 12, and according to Weaver, the club is hoping to get at most three innings out of the left-hander Tuesday. Assuming Lyles is healthy, he would figure to be a strong candidate to follow Hearn and provide length out of the bullpen.

Duran (elbow) has been shut down for the time being and will be further evaluated in the coming days, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Duran was placed on the 7-day IL on Sunday with a strained right elbow and he's now set to go through further imaging to see if there is anything more serious going on with the injury. The highly touted prospect will not throw for at least the next few days, and depending on the results of the additional imaging, possibly much longer.

Lakins was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Monday.

The right-hander was sent to Triple-A on June 13 but will rejoin the Orioles on Monday with Cesar Valdez (back) landing on the injured list. Lakins has a 6.75 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 19:14 K:BB over 20 innings this season.

Valdez was placed on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain Monday.

Valdez gave up two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one in one inning during Sunday's loss to the Orioles, and it's possible that his injury contributed to his struggles. Whether he's forced to spend more than the minimum of 10 days on the injured list remains to be seen, but right-hander Travis Lakins was recalled in a corresponding move.

Abreu (leg) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land this week, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Abreu sustained a leg injury while shagging flyballs during batting practice in late May, and he's been on the injured list since May 30. He could require multiple rehab appearances since he's missed just over three weeks, but he appears to be trending toward a return.

Misiewicz owns a 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 13.5 K/9 and one hold across the eight innings covering his eight June appearances.

The southpaw has allowed a total of three earned runs over two outings during that span, but he's otherwise proven reliable while consistently whittling down his ERA. Misiewicz also continues to prove very versatile, as he's worked a pair of two-inning appearances during that span in addition to much shorter assignments.