MLB Player News

Rodney was charged with the blown save Monday, allowing one run on three hits in an inning against the Brewers.

That's now back-to-back blown saves for Rodney after 15 straight successful conversions from late April to late June. That stretch built up a lot of goodwill and there has been nothing to suggest a role change is being considered after two shaky outings, but if Rodney can't right the ship, the Twins could eventually turn to Trevor Hildenberger in the ninth. Addison Reed was recently removed from the primary setup role.

Junis (5-10) gave up eight earned runs on eight hits -- including two homers -- over 5.1 innings in a loss to the Indians on Monday. He struck out two and walked one.

With two more long balls allowed, Junis is now up to 24 homers given up on the season, four more than any other pitcher in baseball (Bartolo Colon and Cole Hamels have both allowed 20). Junis' ERA has ballooned from 3.61 to 5.13 since the start of June, and he's now taken the loss in seven consecutive appearances. The 25-year-old lines up to face the Red Sox at home this weekend.

Yarbrough will start Tuesday's game against the Marlins, MLB.com reports.

It's only the fifth start of the season for Yarbrough, but with the lefty covering at least five innings in nine of his appearances this season, the Rays view him as a de facto rotation member even though he frequently enters games behind an "opener." Whether he has been used right away in games or out of the bullpen, Yarbrough has been dependable over the last two months, posting a 3.62 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 8.3 K/9 since the beginning of May. He'll likely be a worthy option Tuesday in both season-long and daily formats while he takes on a Marlins squad that ranks 26th in baseball with a team wRC+ of 84.

Kimbrel logged his 25th save of the season, striking out one and walking one over 1.1 scoreless innings in Monday's 4-3 win over the Nationals.

Kimbrel converted his 16th consecutive save opportunity Monday, but it wasn't easy. The Nationals made him work for it, with five batters running his pitch count up to 33.

Littell was optioned to Triple-A Rochester following Monday's loss to Milwaukee, Dan Hayes of The Athletic Minnesota reports.

Littell was tagged with the loss, as he allowed a run on one hit and two walks while recording just one out. He issued a walkoff walk to Brad Miller in the bottom of the 10th inning. Littell is expected to rejoin the Red Wings' rotation after a short stint in the big leagues.

Borucki allowed two runs on six hits while striking out eight across seven innings as he didn't factor into the decision Monday against Detroit.

Borucki surrendered a run in the first and sixth inning, and he was lifted after the seventh with a one-run deficit. He's made two decent starts this season (four runs allowed with 11 strikeouts through 13 innings) but doesn't have a win to show for it. With both Aaron Sanchez (finger) and Jaime Garcia (shoulder) still on the disabled list, it appears likely that Borucki will be given another start, which figures to come Sunday against the Yankees.

Loaisiga was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following Monday's outing against the Braves, Marc Carig of The Athletic New York reports. He allowed three runs on five hits while striking out three across four innings, as he didn't factor into the decision.

Loaisiga put together a short outing, giving up a run in the third, followed by two more in the fourth before being lifted with a one-run deficit. The Yankees would get him off the hook in the fifth inning after a Didi Gregorius sacrifice fly plated Gleyber Torres. Through four starts in the big leagues this season, he's failed to work six full innings, although he owns a 3.00 ERA and 1.28 WHIP with 21 strikeouts in 18 innings. Manager Aaron Boone stated Loaisiga will likely return to the majors to start one of the doubleheader games slated for July 9, Erik Boland of Newsday. reports.

Jimenez (4-1) blew the save but still picked up the win in Monday's game against the Blue Jays. He allowed a run on a hit and three walks in an inning of work.

Jimenez was shaky in his first outing as the team's closer with Shane Greene (shoulder) placed on the disabled list earlier in the day. The 23-year-old had been much stingier issuing walks this season after posting a 4.3 BB/9 in 2017, but control was an issue in this one, as he walked more than two batters in an appearance for the first time this year. Jimenez should still hold onto the closer's gig for however long Greene is out, but if he wants to potentially wrestle the job away for good, he'll have to pitch better than this during his audition.

Hendriks cleared waivers Monday and was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville, Julian McWilliams of The Athletic Bay Area reports.

Hendriks went unclaimed after throwing 11 disappointing innings with a 7.36 ERA. He'll return to the Athletics in an organizational depth role, but now that he's off the 40-man roster he's one step further from returning to the big leagues.

Betances retired both of the batters he faced and notched a strikeout in the Yankees' 11-1 win over the Red Sox on Sunday.

After uncharacteristically allowing four home runs over his first 15 appearances of the season to inflate his ERA to 5.63, Betances has re-emerged as a dominant relief ace ever since. In his subsequent 19.2 innings, the hard-throwing righty has let in just one run on two hits while striking out 33 and collecting 11 holds. Betances' 15.9 K/9 trails only the Brewers' Josh Hader (17.5 K/9) among relievers who have covered at least 20 innings this season.