MLB Player News

Manager Chris Woodward acknowledged that it's time to consider alternatives to Leclerc as closer, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Woodward has been supportive of Leclerc through his early-season stumbles, but his thinking changed following Tuesday's blown save. "We are going to discuss it," Woodward said. "I don't want to say that just yet. Obviously with a young guy, you don't want to kill the kid's confidence. I would love to keep giving him the ball, but I have to be mindful of where his mental state is. He wants the ball, but he doesn't want to feel he's letting his teammates down. It's a tough situation for him." One of the alternatives is Shawn Kelley, who has a 1.50 ERA this season and 16 career saves. Chris Martin, who served as a closer for a year in Japan, is another.

Robles walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday to record his second save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Ty Buttrey tossed a scoreless eighth inning in front of him, but it remains to be seen whether that will be the usual arrangement for the Angels' high-leverage duo moving forward. Robles, who had only three career saves coming into the year, now sports a 3.21 ERA and 17:5 K:BB through 14 innings.

Beeks is the likely candidate to work the bulk of innings behind opener Ryne Stanek in the first game of a doubleheader against the Royals on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Beeks filled the same role behind Stanek last Tuesday against the Royals at Tropicana Field and was impressive, striking out seven over 4.2 innings. The southpaw has logged eight total appearances this season, generating a 3.32 ERA and 20:8 K:BB across 19 frames.

Leclerc allowed three runs on four hits with two strikeouts in a blown save against the Pirates on Tuesday.

The Rangers held the dormant Pirates offense to no runs through eight innings, but Leclerc ruined the shutout and win. The first three Pirates hitters Leclerc faced reached with hits. He seemed to steady himself with two straight strikeouts, moving within an out of escaping his own mess, but then Josh Bell doubled in two runs to tie the game. Bell ran into an out on the play to end the frame; otherwise, it would have been interesting to see if Leclerc remained in the game after blowing the lead. Rangers manager Chris Woodward has remained supportive of Leclerc in the closer role, but he's now just 5-for-7 in save opportunities with an 8.44 ERA and 2.16 WHIP. He's struck out 14 in 10.2 innings, but Leclerc also has nine walks.

Stanek, whose scheduled appearance as an opener against the Royals was rained out Tuesday, will instead open the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Stanek will simply have to wait about 18 hours to take the hill and serve in the same capacity he was slated to in Tuesday night's postponed contest. The right-hander has worked as an opener in seven of his 12 appearances this season.

Hand didn't allow a baserunner and struck out one in the ninth inning to record the save Tuesday against the Marlins.

Hand came on in the ninth inning to protect a three-run lead and had little trouble doing so en route to his ninth save of the season. He has now turned in seven consecutive scoreless appearances and has allowed only baserunner across his last four innings pitched. Among the league leaders in saves, Hand has solidified his standing as one of the most reliable closers early on.

Pruitt will be called up from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday to serve as the 26th man in the doubleheader against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Pruitt was optioned to Durham on Sunday, but is allowed the quick return to the majors due to Tuesday's postponement. The 29-year-old allowed two runs on three hits over 1.2 innings during his lone major-league appearance this season.

Moore (knee) was moved to the 60-day injured list Tuesday.

Moore has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2019 season after undergoing knee surgery, so the Tigers will open up a spot on the 40-man roster by transferring him to the 60-day injured list. Harold Castro was added to the 40-man in a corresponding move.

Curtiss was designated for assignment Tuesday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Curtiss was booted off the 40-man roster to make room for Griffin Canning, who's set to make his major-league debut Tuesday night. Curtiss will hit the waiver wire after making one appearance for the Angels in 2019, allowing a run on two hits and three walks while fanning one over 2.1 frames.

Following the postponement of Tuesday's game, Junis will start one of Wednesday's games against the Rays, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Junis was scheduled to pitch Tuesday, but rain derailed that plan. As a result, he'll receive one extra day of rest before toeing the rubber.