MLB Player News

Payano will start Sunday's game against Oakland, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Payano picked up his first big-league win Tuesday, and he'll get at least one more chance to take the mound while Joe Palumbo deals with right ankle tendinitis. Payano has appeared in two games this season for the Rangers, surrendering just one run while fanning seven over six innings.

Betances (lat) threw from 90 feet Thursday, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.

Betances picked up a throwing program last week, and Thursday's session marked the first time he was able to throw from 90 feet since suffering a setback in his recovery in mid-June. Seeing as the big right-hander has been sidelined all season with a lingering shoulder injury, his rehab will likely last multiple more weeks before the Yankees contemplate activating him from the 60-day injured list.

Solomon is recovering from Tommy John surgery, J.J. Cooper of Baseball America reports.

He suffered the injury in April and will be out until late in the 2020 season, at the earliest. Solomon, a fourth-round pick in 2017, was a promising starting pitching prospect but will be 24 years old when he is back pitching in games and has yet to pitch above High-A.

Pruitt (undisclosed) returned from the injured list at Triple-A Durham, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out one batter in one inning Wednesday.

His first appearance in 11 days was not pretty. Pruitt's ERA at Durham is now back over 6.00, and if he doesn't impress in subsequent outings, Pruitt could end up being a 40-man casualty around the trade deadline.

VerHagen, who was called up from Triple-A Toledo, will start the Tigers' series opener Thursday versus the Mariners, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

VerHagen transitioned to a relief role this spring and underwhelmed in 10 appearances out of the big-league bullpen before being designated for assignment in May. After passing through waivers unclaimed, VerHagen reported to the minors and stretched back out for a starting role, posting some decent results along the way. Across 11 starts with Toledo, VerHagen delivered a 4.42 ERA and 51:13 K:BB in 53 innings, which was enough to earn him another look from the big club. The right-hander will probably need to at least avoid a blowup outing Thursday to guarantee himself additional turns in the Detroit rotation, however.

Swanson will serve as the opener Thursday against the Tigers, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Wade LeBlanc is expected to pitch the majority of innings behind Swanson, who owns a 6.75 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 3:1 K:BB in two appearances (four innings) since the All-Star break.

Pearson walked one and struck out eight over 5.2 no-hit, scoreless innings for Double-A New Hampshire on Wednesday.

Since the beginning of June, Pearson has a 2.01 ERA, 0.58 WHIP and 23:6 K:BB through 22.1 innings for the Fisher Cats, while Wednesday's outing was his longest so far at the level and tied his high for strikeouts since his promotion to Double-A. The Jays' No. 4 fantasy prospect, per our rankings, still has to prove he can hold up as a starter over a full season, but Pearson has demonstrated his upside as a potential major-league ace more than once in 2019.

Duran was promoted to Double-A Pensacola after posting a 3.23 ERA with an 11.0 K/9 at High-A Fort Myers.

After posting a strong 2.00 ERA and 10.3 K/9 last season at Low-A, Duran has continued to impress at the next level. His walk rate ticked up a bit to 3.6 BB/9, but his 100-mph heater still produced a high strikeout rate. A strong finish to the season at Double-A could put him on the radar for a major-league callup next year.

Barria (4-3) picked up the win Wednesday after holding the Dodgers to one run on three hits and two walks while striking out three over five innings.

In his first time facing the Dodgers, Barria stood his ground against a tough lineup on the road, limiting the damage to a solo home run by Justin Turner in the fourth inning. Although the 23-year-old has struggled this season with a shaky 6.63 ERA and 1.55 WHIP, Wednesday's solid outing should give him another look in the rotation. Barria is next scheduled for a favorable matchup against the Tigers on Monday.

Robles earned the save Wednesday after tossing a perfect ninth inning at Dodger Stadium.

Robles was called upon in the ninth inning to protect a narrow 3-2 lead. The right-hander shut down the Dodgers in order to pick up his 16th save of the season. Robles seems to have settled into his ninth-inning role, only giving up two earned runs over his last 21 appearances. Overall this year, the 28-year-old owns a 2.64 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 46:12 K:BB.