MLB Player News

Barnes pitched two perfect innings Sunday, striking out two batters and earning his first hold in a 1-0 win over Arizona.

Barnes has been used in a non-save situation in each of his last two outings, with Ryan Brasier picking up a save in both of those appearances. It appears that the 28-year-old will work mostly in high-leverage situations as opposed to being the team's main closer. Still, it's early in the year, and Barnes and Brasier are worth owning until the picture is a bit clearer.

Brasier tossed a scoreless ninth inning, allowing a hit while striking out one batter and earning the save in Sunday's 1-0 victory against the Diamondbacks.

Matt Barnes took the seventh- and eighth-inning duties Sunday while Brasier was relied on to shut things down. It's looking more like Barnes will be used in high-leverage situations rather than strictly closing games. This would give Brasier more opportunities in the ninth inning, and he should be worth a speculative add in all formats.

Stanek served as the opener in a loss to the Giants on Saturday, firing two perfect innings and recording two strikeouts.

Stanek kept his 2019 ERA unblemished with Saturday's impressive outing, one in which he fired 22 of 32 pitches for strikes. The hard-throwing right-hander has allowed just a single hit across six innings over four appearances, and he's demonstrated pinpoint control while generating a 7:1 K:BB during that span. Stanek figures to continue seeing his fair share of opener opportunities on "bullpen days," but he's a solid setup option in the late innings as well.

Moore and the Tigers are still determining whether surgery or rest and rehab is the better method for treating the sprained right knee he sustained in his start Saturday against the Royals, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

With three strikeouts over three scoreless frames, Moore was well on his way to his second straight excellent outing to open the season before exiting with the knee injury. The Tigers announced just two hours after Moore's departure that he would shift to the 10-day injured list, with the team anticipating that he would miss at least a couple of weeks. A firmer timeline for Moore's return should become available once it's decided how he'll treat the injury, but any surgical procedure would almost certainly increase the length of his absence. Daniel Norris will get the first crack at replacing the southpaw in the rotation.

The Tigers activated VerHagen (forearm) from the 10-day injured list Sunday.

He'll assume the active roster spot of Matt Moore, who was placed on the 10-day injured list after spraining his right knee in a start Saturday against the Royals. Daniel Norris is slated to move from a relief role into the rotation in Moore's stead, with the addition of VerHagen allowing the Tigers to maintain an eight-man bullpen.

Chapman earned his second save of the season and posted two strikeouts with just one hit allowed in a 6-4 victory over the Orioles on Saturday.

His numbers are still a little elevated from allowing two runs in a tied game against the Tigers last week, but other than that, Chapman has been lights out. He has seven strikeouts in five innings and is 2-for-2 in save chances, but he is also 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in five appearances.

Yarbrough (1-1) allowed four runs on four hits in three innings against the Giants on Saturday. He struck out two and took the loss.

Yarbrough started the fifth frame after Ryne Stanek and Jalen Beeks held the Giants to two runs over the first four innings. His offense spotted him a 3-2 lead, but he was tagged for four runs on four hits in his first inning of work, highlighted by a Brandon Belt homer.

Lopez gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks over six innings in a 7-4 loss to the Tigers on Saturday. He struck out three and did not factor into the decision.

Lopez bounced back from a subpar season debut and was in line for the victory after a three-run seventh inning from the Royals, only to see the bullpen allow five runs in the bottom of the frame. The 26-year-old lines up to start against the hot-hitting Mariners next Thursday.

Betances (shoulder) will face hitters Monday, James Wagner of The New York Times reports.

Betances has been on the injured list with an inflamed right shoulder since the start of the regular season. He's expected to return soon, assuming Monday's session goes well.

Norris will move into the rotation while Matt Moore (knee) is on the injured list, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

The extent of Moore's knee sprain is not yet clear, so it remains to be seen whether Norris is line for one start or several. So far this season, he's made two long-relief appearances, allowing three runs in 5.1 innings.