MLB Player News

Barnes was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Monday, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet 590 The Fan reports.

Barnes will rejoin the big club to offer a fresh arm out of the bullpen after the team used five relievers during Sunday's loss. The right-hander owns a 4.50 ERA across 32 innings with the Blue Jays this season.

Mengden was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Monday, Julian McWilliams of The Athletic Bay Area reports.

Mengden will swap places with Sunday's spot starter, Chris Bassitt, who was sent to Nashville in a corresponding move. The right-hander figures to offer length out of the bullpen during the team's upcoming series against the Astros which starts Monday, though he could also be an option to start in place of the injured Sean Manaea (shoulder) on Friday if he goes unused in relief. Mengden, who was sent to the minors after a three-week stint on the disabled list with a sprained foot -- despite his serviceable 4.47 ERA across 16 starts with the A's -- compiled a 2.98 ERA across nine starts (45.1 innings) with the Sounds before being summoned back to the big club.

Beeks is likely to serve as the long man in Wednesday's scheduled "bullpen day" once probable opener Diego Castillo exits, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The young lefty has enjoyed a solid month after a rough Rays debut July 28, an outing in which he allowed eight earned runs on 10 hits over 3.1 innings to the Orioles. Beeks has bounced back to the tune of a 2.96 ERA and 22 strikeouts over 24.1 August frames while being utilized exclusively as a long reliever.

Lopez (0-4) allowed five runs on five hits and three walks across four innings Sunday to take the loss against Cleveland. He struck out four.

Lopez coasted through the first three innings but was knocked around for five runs on four hits, two walks and a wild pitch in the fourth. He escaped the inning but was lifted prior to the fifth, with his pitch count already sitting at 79. Lopez was coming off a tough-luck loss to the Rays in his previous outing, but overall he's posted an ugly 7.91 ERA through three starts with his new club. He's tentatively scheduled to start this weekend against the Orioles, but his place in the rotation could be in jeopardy if he fails to attain a better result.

Robertson picked up the save against the Orioles on Sunday, firing a scoreless ninth inning to preserve the Yankees' 5-3 victory. He struck out two and walked one.

Robertson is on a closer committee with Aroldis Chapman (knee) on the disabled list and he got the nod in this contest, responding with a clean effort that resulted in his fourth save of the season. He should be good for the occasional save while Chapman is out, but he's sharing the role with Zach Britton and Dellin Betances, so it's hard to say how consistently he'll be the one called on for ninth-inning duties.

Barnes allowed two runs on one hit and two walks while striking out two over an inning in Sunday's 9-1 loss to the Rays.

Barnes has had good moments this season and is striking out a career-high 14.1 batters per nine innings while cutting back on home runs, but is in a rough stretch right now. The right-hander has allowed runs in five of his last eight outings, posting a 6.75 ERA during that run. His struggles point out that Boston doesn't have a go-to setup guy. Manager Alex Cora has several arms he'll use in high-leverage spots, but we find him managing the hot hand for that duty. It would not be surprising if Boston adds a reliever before the waiver-trade deadline.

Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth inning of Sunday's 9-1 loss to the Rays.

Kimbrel needed the work desperately as he hadn't pitched since Aug. 18. The Red Sox are currently sliding, having lost six of their last eight games, so there haven't been many save opportunities. The silver lining is that the closer has performed much better recently. After an ugly six-game stretch from late July to early August, in which he blew two saves and had an 8.53 ERA, Kimbrel has pitched four consecutive scoreless outings.

Stanek will serve as the Rays' opening pitcher in Tuesday's game against the Braves, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Stanek is slated for his 22nd "start" of the season, but it's expected that he'll only throw between one and two innings before giving way to the bullpen. According to Topkin, Yonny Chirinos lines up as the Rays' primary pitcher once Stanek exits and should cover the bulk of the innings in relief.

Robertson (shoulder) gave up two runs (both unearned) in his last appearance Friday against the Orioles.

The right-hander had been dealing with some shoulder soreness, though the Yankees deemed him healthy enough to make an appearance Friday. Though the home run was unfortunate for the team, the fact that Robertson didn't allow an earned run meant that his ERA dropped to 3.05 on the season. Now that he's healthy, he's expected to be part of a closer committee with Zach Britton and Dellin Betances while Aroldis Chapman (knee) is sidelined.

Robles (shoulder) was reinstated from the 10-day disabled list Sunday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic Los Angeles reports.

Robles wound up missing the minimum 10 days of action after incurring a right shoulder impingement earlier in the month. He figures to fill a middle-relief role now that he's back in action. To make room for him on the active roster, Deck McGuire was optioned to Triple-A.