MLB Player News

Hand struck out two in a perfect ninth inning to earn the save over Seattle on Monday.

Hand's strong outing was promising after he allowed three baserunners and took a loss in his last appearance. The 29-year-old southpaw has an 11:3 K:BB and 2.35 ERA in 7.2 innings in 2019. The rest of Cleveland's bullpen has been shaky at best, making Hand's closing job even more secure.

Barria has been named the starter for Tuesday's game against Texas, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Barria was promoted to the big leagues Monday to replace Tyler Skaggs (ankle), who is headed to the injured list. If Skaggs is forced to miss more than one start, Barria would be slated to pitch again Sunday, thus granting him two starts in the same week.

Curtiss was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday.

Curtiss has thrown 15 major-league innings over the last two seasons, all with the Twins, struggling to a 7.20 ERA. He's allowed four runs in 3.2 innings with a 3:6 K:BB for Salt Lake this season. Taylor Ward was optioned to Salt Lake in a corresponding move.

Barria was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday.

Barria is up to replace Tyler Skaggs, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left ankle sprain in a corresponding move. Skaggs doesn't expect to miss more than one start, so Barria's stay could be brief, but he's likely to get the ball in Skagg's spot Thursday against Seattle.

Borucki (elbow) was transferred to the 60-day injured list on Monday.

The move clears space on the 40-man roster for Eric Sogard, whose contract was purchased in a corresponding transaction. Borucki had been trending towards a late April return but hit a snag in his rehab. He received a cortisone shot and won't throw for two more weeks. He'll be eligible to return in late May.

Kolarek (1-0) fired a scoreless inning in which he allowed no hits or walks while recording a strikeout in a win over the Blue Jays on Sunday.

Kolarek kept his ERA unblemished during his ninth appearance of the campaign. The 30-year-old southpaw has already racked up five holds, and Sunday brought his first win of the season. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times also reports that Kolarek has now stranded seven inherited runners to open the campaign, after striking out pinch-hitter Teoscar Hernandez with the bases loaded upon entering the game in the fifth inning Sunday.

Swanson is slated to enter the Seattle rotation for his first MLB start Wednesday against the Indians, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Swanson made his big-league debut last week as a reliever before being sent to Triple-A Tacoma after his lone appearance, but he rejoined the Mariners two days later when Wade LeBlanc (oblique) was placed on the injured list. With LeBlanc set to miss at least the next 4-to-6 weeks, Swanson should have an extended opportunity to prove his worth as a starter, though the Mariners likely won't hesitate to pull the plug on him if he struggles in his initial opportunities. The right-hander at least gets a soft landing spot to kick things off with a home start versus a Cleveland offense that ranks 28th in wRC+ (60) and 29th in strikeout percentage (27.4%).

Puk (elbow) has thrown to hitters on multiple occasions recently, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Puk continues to target a mid-summer return, which would put him back on the mound approximately 15 months removed from Tommy John surgery. The towering southpaw appeared to be on the fast track to the majors at the time of his injury, but he will head to Triple-A Las Vegas for additional seasoning and acclimation once he's deemed ready for activation. Puk sports a relatively modest 36-appearance resume at the minor-league level, with his most recent action coming at Double-A Midland in 2017.

Pearson allowed one hit over five scoreless innings while striking out nine for High-A Dunedin on Sunday.

The Jays' top pitching prospect is simply overmatching Florida State League hitters, posting a 0.75 ERA and 17:1 K:BB through his first three outings (12 IP). Pearson's already 22, so while he has limited pro innings so far due to injury, he could get a quick promotion to Double-A if he keeps delivering video game numbers. He's highly unlikely to climb the ladder all the way to the majors this year no matter how he pitches, but Pearson could put himself in the club's 2020 rotation plans with a big campaign.

Brasier entered Sunday's game in the eighth inning with Boston leading 1-0 and worked around a walk and a hit in scoreless inning.

Brasier has closed out three games this season, but Matt Barnes was positioned to get the save in this one. The Red Sox scored three times in the bottom of the eighth, so no save was credited, but it does did shed some light on manager Alex Cora's planned usage. Starter David Price was allowed to pitch out of a minor jam in the seventh inning and got Boston into the eighth with the lead. That meant Cora did not have to burn Barnes early to squelch a budding threat, and the manager had Brasier enter to set up the potential save for Barnes. Both relievers are expected to get save chances going forward, with game circumstances dictating which one will be positioned for the save.