MLB Player News

Whalen cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

The 24-year-old tossed four scoreless relief innings for the Mariners this year. He spent the bulk of his season with Tacoma, making 20 starts and posting a 5.16 ERA. He'll remain at that level but will be one step further from returning to the big leagues.

Kelly struck out two and walked one during an inning of relief against the Braves on Tuesday.

Outside of a solo home run in Monday's series opener in Atlanta, Kelly hasn't allowed an earned run since Aug. 15, which encompasses 10.2 innings of work. On the year, he's logged a 3.75 ERA and 1.23 WHIP with a 9.0 K/9, though his 4.2 BB/9 raises some cause for concern.

Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said that Fulmer (shin) experienced no complications Tuesday and is on track to make his next scheduled start Sunday against the Cardinals, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The Tigers have an off day Thursday and recently expanded their pitching depth with a slew of September callups, affording them plenty of coverage in the event Fulmer requires additional time off after being struck by a line drive during his start Monday against the White Sox. It appears the team won't have to adjust its rotation plans, however, as Fulmer is expected to throw his normal pre-start bullpen session Thursday or Friday before making his next turn over the weekend. Since returning from the disabled list Aug. 24 after a five-week absence due to an oblique strain, Fulmer has posted a 5.14 ERA and 1.14 WHIP across three starts.

Hector Velazquez, and not Pomeranz, will start Wednesday against the Braves, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports.

Manager Alex Cora was considering giving the start to Pomeranz, but said he likes the way the left-hander is throwing out of the bullpen. Pomeranz could be used as a multi-inning reliever Wednesday depending on how long Velazquez goes.

Pressly pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out the side in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Twins.

Pressly ran his scoreless innings streak to 10.1 over 11 appearances. He's given up just four hits, struck out 16 and hasn't walked a batter during that streak. The right-hander has been dominant since the Astros acquired him from the Twins in July and should be considered for setup work if Hector Rondon's hand injury lingers.

Mengden pitched 4.2 innings without allowing a run while striking out three and allowing one hit in Tuesday's loss to the Yankees. He didn't factor into the decision.

Mengden didn't get the start in this one, as Liam Hendriks served as the opener, but he saw the bulk of the action Tuesday. He retired the first 10 batters he faced and only allowed a single hit -- a single -- against the final batter he faced with two outs in the sixth. It's unclear what Oakland's strategy will be with its starting rotation going forward, but Mengden could be in line to start sometime next week against the Orioles.

May (3-1) allowed four runs on five hits in a one-inning start against the Astros on Tuesday, recording no walks and no strikeouts while taking the loss.

Making his first start of the year, May gave up a couple RBI base hits before surrendering a two-run homer to Yuli Gurriel. The right-hander wasn't expected to go long in the bullpen game, but a better showing was anticipated from a guy who had allowed just three runs in 14.1 innings of relief work. May saw his ERA balloon from 1.88 to 4.11 in the outing, but he still has a decent 1.17 WHIP to go along with a 22:3 K:BB in 15.1 innings.

Merryweather (elbow) is the player to be named later the Blue Jays are set to receive from the Indians in the Josh Donaldson trade, Jon Heyman of FancredSports.com reports.

Merryweather can't officially be named as he is on the minor-league disabled list after undergoing Tommy John in March, but he is the agreed-upon player between the two clubs. The 26-year-old had a 6.58 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 76:25 K:BB in 16 starts at Triple-A Columbus in 2017.

Leclerc struck out two in a scoreless inning of work to earn his ninth save of the season Tuesday against the Angels.

Leclerc made quick work of his opponents, retiring the side in order while throwing nine of 12 pitches for strikes. He's now earned saves in eight of his last nine appearances while allowing just three baserunners and no earned runs during that span. Another strong outing gives Leclerc an outstanding 1.74 ERA for the season to go along with a 0.85 WHIP and an excellent 13.6 K/9.

Borucki (3-4) was took the loss against the Rays on Tuesday, allowing two runs on three hits across six innings. He struck out five and walked two.

Borucki pitched well but one inherited runner was allowed to score by the bullpen, while the Blue Jays offense was dead silent with only three hits. The 24-year-old has a 4.39 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 45:23 K:BB over 69.2 innings this season.