MLB Player News

Pressly was traded to Houston from Minnesota in exchange for Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino on Friday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports

Pressly will head to Houston with the hope of bolstering an already stellar bullpen. The 29-year-old right-hander sports a 3.40 ERA and 1.36 WHIP with 69 strikeouts over 47.2 innings this season, as he figures to be deployed in mid-to-high leverage situations with the Astros as they look to make another deep postseason run.

Barnes (knee) will begin a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reports.

Barnes will take the mound in a live game for the first time in over a month after being placed on the 10-day DL due to left knee tendinitis in late June. The right-hander will likely require multiple appearances with Buffalo before being activated.

Duran was traded from the Diamondbacks to the Twins on Thursday along with Gabriel Maciel and Ernie De La Trinidad in exchange for Eduardo Escobar, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.

While Duran is a long way from the majors, he has an electric arm, plus an ideal 6-foot-5, 175-pound frame for a 20-year-old hurler and developing secondary pitches in his slider and changeup. Duran's command needs some work for him to make it as a starter, but he has plenty of time to get that ironed out. He had a 4.73 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 71:28 K:BB in 64.2 innings (15 starts) for Low-A Kane County.

Kittredge was called up from Triple-A Durham on Friday, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Kittredge will take the roster spot of Jonny Venters, who was traded to Atlanta on Thursday for international bonus pool money. Over 16 appearances with the Rays this year, Kittredge has "opened" three games and logged a 7.77 ERA and 1.82 WHIP with a pedestrian 15:10 K:BB across 22 innings. Look for him to be deployed in low-leverage situations, though he could be called upon to start a game or two should the Rays deem it necessary.

Jurado will be recalled from Double-A Frisco in order to join the Rangers' rotation and start Saturday's game against Houston, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

It appears as though Jurado will temporarily take the place of Cole Hamels in the rotation after he was dealt to the Cubs on Thursday. President of baseball operations and general manager Jon Daniels said the Rangers will "reassess the situation" after the trade deadline, so Jurado may only receive a brief opportunity with the big-league club. Over 16 starts with Frisco this year, he's logged a 3.28 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 3.9 K/9.

Johnson allowed four hits and three walks while striking out five across 5.2 scoreless innings Thursday against the Twins. He did not factor into the decision.

Johnson recorded his longest start since his season debut April 2. He did not allow the Twins to record an extra-base hit, continuing his season-long ability to limit the long ball. While he has had success in short outings as a starter, it has already been announced that he will be bumped from the starting rotation with the acquisition of Nathan Eovaldi.

Rodney allowed one hit and walked two batters while striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning to record his 22nd save of the season Thursday against the Red Sox.

As he is apt to do, Rodney made things interesting by loading the bases with two outs prior to striking out Jackie Bradley Jr. to end the game. Despite a shaky 1.35 WHIP, Rodney is 22-for-27 in save chances this season, good enough for the sixth highest mark in the American League.

Treinen worked around a hit Thursday to secure the save, striking out one batter in the 7-6 win over Texas.

Treinen's ERA is down to a minuscule 1.02 in 53 innings this season. He's now 27-for-31 in save chances and has punched out 69 batters in 2018. He's blown two saves in July, but those are the only two outings where he allowed runs during this month.

Pruitt didn't allow a baserunner and struck out three across 1.1 innings to earn his second save of the season Thursday against the Orioles.

Pruitt was called on to record the last four outs of the game and he came through, not allowing the tying run to reach base and striking out three of the four batters he faced. Sergio Romo has excelled in the closer role for the Rays, but entered the game in the seventh inning, presumably because the middle of the Orioles' order was due up. If Romo remains on the roster through the trade deadline, Pruitt is unlikely to receive more than a small handful of save chances.

Yarbrough (9-5) allowed two earned runs on six hits and two walks while failing to record a strikeout across 4.1 innings to earn the win Thursday against the Orioles.

Yarbrough entered the game with runners on first and second in the second inning and ultimately stranded the bases loaded. He worked four full innings after, with a two-run shot by Jonathan Schoop accounting for his only earned runs of the game. That marked the first home run Yarbrough has allowed in an appearance since June 28, and he now has a solid 3.67 ERA across 98 innings this season.