MLB Player News

Hand (arm) "looked himself" in a bullpen session Wednesday according to manager Terry Francona, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Hand's status remains something of a mystery, as a tired arm has kept him from game action for 10 days. This session is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, though it's not yet clear when he's expected to pitch again.

Junis was shut down for the season Wednesday for workload reasons, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

Junis threw 175.1 innings this season, slightly less than his 177.0 frames in 2018. His ERA took a step back from 4.37 to 5.24, though his regression in terms of FIP was significantly less -- 4.64 to 4.83. Eric Skoglund will take his place in the rotation for the final two turns.

Mayza (elbow) was placed on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.

Mayza will miss the rest of this season and all of the next while recovering from Tommy John surgery, a procedure he underwent Wednesday. The transaction clears a spot on the 40-man roster for the Blue Jays to claim Ryan Dull off waivers.

Betances (Achilles) was placed on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.

The move is purely procedural, as Betances had already been ruled out for the season with a torn left Achilles. Shoulder, lat, and Achilles issues held him to just two-thirds of an inning all season, his final one before free agency. The transaction clears a spot on the 40-man roster for the Yankees to activate Giancarlo Stanton (knee) from the 60-day injured list.

Puk (2-0) was credited with the win in a victory over the Royals on Tuesday, allowing a hit and recording two strikeouts over two innings.

Puk completed his second set of back-to-back multi-inning outings at the big-league level in impressive fashion, getting his six outs on a relatively efficient 30 pitches. The towering left-hander now has a four-appearance scoreless streak as well and coaxed his ERA down to 1.93 ERA with Tuesday's scoreless effort.

Fairbanks (1-3) was charged with the loss in a defeat at the hands of the Dodgers on Tuesday, allowing five runs (three earned) on three hits and a walk over one-third of an inning.

The reliever made life difficult on himself right from the jump by allowing Max Muncy to reach on Fairbanks' own throwing error to lead off the seventh, and he subsequently proceeded to surrender back-to-back doubles that wiped out the 2-2 tie he'd been asked to preserve. Fairbanks yielded one more run himself before getting the hook and was charged with two more after he'd exited, making it the right-hander's worst outing of the season in terms of the hit to his ERA. That figure climbed almost two full runs to 8.44 as a result of the meltdown, and Fairbanks has now allowed seven runs overall in two of his last three trips to the mound.

VerHagen is expected to work multiple innings in relief Thursday against the Indians as a piggyback for Daniel Norris, who is listed as the Tigers' scheduled starter for the series finale.

Norris has covered exactly three innings in each of his last six starts and has posted a 2.50 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over that span, so his workload seems fairly predictable at this point. VerHagen has followed Norris in the last four of those starts and has found similar success, compiling a 2.16 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 13:4 K:BB in 16.2 innings. The Tigers will likely count on VerHagen for around 4-to-5 innings behind Norris on Thursday, leaving the right-hander as the pitcher most likely to factor into any decision.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said Tuesday that Alexander will remain in the Tigers' rotation for the rest of the season, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports. "Tyler's earned this," Gardenhire said. "That's why he stays around."

The 25-year-old received the permanent appointment to the rotation after limiting the Orioles to only one run on four hits in six innings Monday en route to securing his first big-league win. Detroit cleared a spot for Alexander as its new fifth starter by shuttling the struggling Edwin Jackson to the bullpen. Alexander tentatively lines up for his next start Saturday against the White Sox and a final turn next week in a rematch with Chicago on the road.

Pressly (knee) threw 20 pitches against hitters and took part in fielding practice prior to Tuesday's game against the Rangers, David Barron of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Astros will do their due diligence Wednesday and follow up with Pressly, whose next step could be a return to game action. The right-hander is recovering from Aug. 23 surgery on his right knee.

Hendriks picked up the save against Kansas City on Tuesday, pitching a perfect ninth inning and striking out two batters.

Hendriks suffered a rare rough outing against the Royals on Monday, but he rebounded to make quick work of Kansas City on Tuesday, needing only nine pitches to retire the side in order. Hendriks induced six swinging strikes -- and hurled eight strikes altogether -- among those nine pitches, demonstrating just how dominating his repertoire can be when he is on his game. The 30-year-old has converted 23 of 29 save chances this season while posting a 1.66 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 118:21 K:BB over 81.1 innings.