MLB Player News

Mayza was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, Mike Wilner of BlueJaysTalk reports.

In a correspond move, John Axford was reinstated from the bereavement list. Mayza has appeared in two games for the Blue Jays this year, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out a a pair over 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. The 26-year-old figures to split time between Buffalo and Toronto this season, so expect to see him back in the big leagues in the near future.

Pruitt was sent down to Triple-A Durham on Friday, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Pruitt hasn't pitched since making a long relief appearance against Philadelphia on April 14. The right-hander has provided passable numbers for the Rays over the course of 14.2 innings out of the bullpen, posting a 4.91 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, but the team needed room on the active roster for Matt Duffy, who was activated from the 10-day disabled list (hamstring) in a corresponding move. Expect to see Pruitt back in the majors later on this season.

Coulombe was called up from Triple-A Nashville on Friday.

Coulombe will return to the big-league club after being sent down to Nashville a week ago. The southpaw has posted a 5.79 ERA over 9.1 innings of relief for Oakland this season, but tossed a clean two innings during his lone appearance in Triple-A on Wednesday. Expect him to serve out of low-leverage situations moving forward.

VerHagen was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma of Friday after passing through waivers unclaimed.

VerHagen was recently designated for assignment by the Tigers on Monday. Over nine appearances with the big-league club this season, he's posted a 6.30 ERA and 1.30 WHIP with an 11:7 K:BB. The right-hander will continue to serve as organizational bullpen depth.

Gonsalves was promoted to Triple-A Rochester on Friday, Brandon Warne of The Athletic Minnesota reports.

Gonsalves opened the season for Double-A Chattanooga despite finishing last season with Rochester. He dominated over his first four starts for Chattanooga this season and now has a 2.48 ERA at that level over 182 career innings. That bodes well for him faring better at Triple-A this time around, after he recorded a 5.56 ERA in a brief stay at that level last year. If his strong start continues with Rochester, he could push for a spot in the Twins' rotation later this season.

Barnes worked around a pair of walks over 1.1 innings to record his fifth hold of the season in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Blue Jays.

He should pick up some extra duty over the next week while Joe Kelly serves a suspension that will keep him out until May 2. Barnes has been effective against both sides of the plate, limiting all batters to a .184 BABIP, but the right-hander can get into trouble with free passes. Barnes has walked eight over his first 9.1 innings to start the season. He's also struck out 13, however, allowing him to remain relatively effective in the seventh and eighth innings.

Kelly, who began serving a six-game suspension Thursday, has held left-handed batters to one hit over 20 at-bats.

The right-handed Kelly has become manager Alex Cora's sneaky weapon against lefties, but the manager will not have Kelly back until May 2. Without him, Cora will look to a traditional left-hander, Brian Johnson, in key relief situations instead.

Betances (1-1) picked up the win after striking out the side in a scoreless inning Thursday against the Twins.

Betances looked like his old self Thursday, as the big righty needed just 13 pitches -- 11 of which were strikes -- to sit down the heart of the Twins' order (Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer and Miguel Sano). It marked just the second time in 10 appearances this season he kept the bases clear. Hopefully Betances is moving past the early-season struggles, and tough luck, that is responsible for his 5.40 ERA.

Rodney (1-2) blew his third save of the season and took the loss Thursday against the Yankees, allowing a three-run walkoff homer to Gary Sanchez in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The inning started with a throwing error from Miguel Sano, which allowed Didi Gregorius to reach base. Giancarlo Stanton promptly followed with an infield single before Sanchez ended things with one swing of the bat. Rodney has now blown three straight save chances -- all coming in his past four appearances -- after converting his first two opportunities of the season. He owns an unsightly 6.75 ERA and 2.10 WHIP, but the veteran reliever has logged just 6.2 innings, and his 8:2 K:BB over that stretch is otherwise strong. There hasn't been any mention of removing Rodney from the ninth inning at this point, but the team could ultimately opt to turn to Addison Reed if Rodney's struggles continue.

Junis (3-2) took the loss against the White Sox on Thursday, giving up six earned runs on six hits over 5.2 innings while striking out five and walking two in a 6-3 loss for Kansas City.

Junis had been pretty much lights out with a 2.03 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP in his 26.2 innings prior to this start, but he came back down to earth with this dud showing. He's still got a great 0.87 WHIP even factoring in this rough outing, but Junis had a 4.30 ERA and 1.28 WHIP over 98.1 innings last season, so don't be surprised if his ratios start to gravitate back toward those numbers as the season progresses.