MLB Player News

Palumbo will be recalled from Double-A Frisco to start Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Athletics, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Saturday's spot start will mark Palumbo's big-league debut. The prospect has yet to pitch above Double-A Frisco, though he owns a solid 3.38 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 65:24 K:BB in 50.2 innings with the RoughRiders this season. The southpaw is expected to return to the minors after the outing, though manager Chris Woodward noted that a strong performance could open the door for Palumbo to rejoin the rotation later in summer, per Levi Weaver of The Athletic.

Mengden was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday.

Mengden was sent back to the minors after struggling in a bulk-relief role Wednesday against the Angels, allowing six runs on six hits and a walk over 2.1 innings. The A's have yet to announce who will take his place in the rotation. Ryan Dull was summoned from the minors in a corresponding move.

Mengden didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 10-9 loss to the Angels after giving up six runs on six hits and a walk over 2.1 innings. He didn't strike out a batter in the 65-pitch outing.

For the second time this season, Mengden worked as a bulk reliever rather than a traditional starter, but the arrangement didn't pay off for the Athletics. The six runs allowed represented a season high for Mengden, who had carried a 3.05 ERA into the contest. On a more positive note, Mengden at least scaled back the free passes after walking 15.1 percent of the batters he faced in his prior four outings. Mengden tentatively lines up to make his next turn as a starter/bulk reliever Monday in Tampa Bay, if Oakland opts not to drop him from the rotation.

Hand secured his 18th save of the season and struck out a batter during a perfect ninth inning in Wednesday's 9-7 win over the Twins.

Hand has lived up to draft-day expectations and then some in his first full season as the Tribe's closer. The lefty has yet to blow a save while sporting ratios (1.05 ERA, 0.78 WHIP) that have outshone the sterling ones he posted between the past two seasons (2.44 ERA, 1.02 WHIP). An abnormally high strand rate (92.2 percent) and unusually low BABIP (.240) have certainly helped Hand maintain the low ERA, but a 1.91 FIP (3.05 xFIP) don't suggest that significant regression is coming for the southpaw.

Adams will serve as the Mariners' opening pitcher for Thursday's game against the Astros, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Seattle will experiment with an opener for the first time this season, with Adams pitching ahead of bulk reliever Tommy Milone in the series finale. Adams hasn't covered more than two innings or tossed more than 33 pitches in any of his relief outings this season, so those likely represent the upper bounds of his workload Thursday.

Weber will receive the starting nod for Thursday's game against the Royals, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

As anticipated, Weber will stick in the rotation for at least one more turn despite being lit up for seven runs in four innings in his previous outing May 29 against the Indians. Weber is expected to move back into a long-relief role or head back to Triple-A Pawtucket once Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) is ready to return from the 10-day injured list, likely around mid-June.

Beeks is expected to serve as the Rays' bulk reliever behind opener Ryne Stanek in Thursday's game against the Tigers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

As per usual, Beeks won't technically start in what will mark his 15th appearance of the season, but he'll nonetheless pitch the majority of the innings once Stanek exits, likely after pitching 1-to-2 frames. Beeks finished May with a 3-0 record, 2.81 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 23:8 K:BB in 25.2 innings.

Shawaryn may pitch in Thursday's game against the Royals, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports.

Manager Alex Cora tabbed Ryan Weber to start Thursday in what could amount to a bullpen game. "Most likely Weber but we'll see," Cora said. "A combination of [Weber] and Shawaryn. I don't want to say opener thing. We trust these guys, but most likely both of them are going to be part of it. We'll map it out." If Weber can't get deep into the game, expect to see Shawaryn make his MLB debut. He was called up last Friday and has yet to appear in a game. Because he was a starter in the minors, Shawaryn can give the Red Sox length if needed. The right-hander has posted a 3.72 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and a .230 batting average against over 10 starts for Triple-A Pawtucket before his promotion.

Leclerc struck out two over two scoreless innings in Wednesday's 2-1 extra-innings win over the Orioles.

Leclerc continues to pitch well since being removed from the closer's job. He's allowed three runs while striking out 28 over the last 15.1 innings. His performance Wednesday is remarkable as it followed a blown save by fill-in closer Shawn Kelley -- his second BS in his last five outings. There was a sense that Kelley's stint as a closer was temporary until Leclerc got himself right, and that stint may have run its course after Wednesday's game.

Colome (2-1) was tagged with the loss, giving up a walk and a walkoff home run without retiring a batter, in a non-save situation Wednesday against the Nationals.

Colome walked the first batter he faced on four pitches before Trea Turner turned on a four-seamer. The White Sox had tied the game in the eighth inning before turning it over to Colome in a tied game to begin the ninth. Chicago's closer is a perfect 12-for-12 in save situations.