MLB Player News

Stanek notched his third hold of the season in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Angels, striking out the side in a scoreless eighth inning and allowing one walk.

Stanek's strikeout victims notably included Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, and he's now put together three straight scoreless appearances. The 25-year-old right-hander experienced some trouble with his control in his previous outing in the opening game of the series, but managed to issue just one walk in a 24-pitch inning. Stanek has proven to be a valuable and increasingly trusted asset in an injury-hampered bullpen, compiling a 2.25 ERA in four innings across six appearances.

Norris (2-3) allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks over 6.1 innings in Wednesday's win over the Astros. He struck out five.

Norris didn't factor into the decision, but he pitched well enough against a strong lineup to set the Tigers up for the win. After allowing five earned runs in his last start, this was a nice bounce-back effort for the young lefty. He lines up to face the Royals on Monday in his next start, which gives him a decent chance to keep the momentum going.

Almonte's scheduled start against the Yankees on Thursday has been postponed due to rain.

Almonte had been tabbed for his first start of 2017 in place of Nate Karns, who recently landed on the DL with a forearm injury. It's unclear what the Royals plan to do with their rotation for the time being, though it's certainly a possibility that Almonte's spot start will be skipped and the team turns to Ian Kennedy on Friday, as planned. If that turns out to be the case, Almonte wouldn't be in line to start again until Tuesday.

Chapman (shoulder) may begin a throwing program Saturday, ESPN.com reports.

Chapman has been shut down since May 12 with inflammation in his rotator cuff, but he's scheduled to visit a doctor on Friday and will begin moving forward in the rehab process if given medical clearance. Once the lefty begins throwing, he'll likely have to head out on a rehab assignment before resuming the closing duties in the Bronx. While he remains without a firm timeline right now, Chapman's recovery timetable should become a bit clearer when he starts to ramp up participation in baseball activities.

Betances struck out all three batters he faced Wednesday to pick up his fourth save of the season in a 3-0 win over the Royals.

As expected, Betances has been dominant since taking over the closer spot from Aroldis Chapman (shoulder), converting four straight save chances while allowing only one hit with a 7:0 K:BB in 3.2 innings. Chapman will be re-evaluated Monday, which could give fantasy GMs invested in Betances a better idea of how long he'll continue racking up saves.

Colome recorded his 12th save with a clean ninth inning against the Angels on Wednesday.

He needed only 10 pitches (six strikes) to get the job done. Colome's sitting on a tidy 2.14 ERA and 0.86 WHIP, and he's 12-for-14 in save tries. The strikeout rate's dropped noticeably, but he's remained quite effective nonetheless. He's not among the game's top few closers, but Colome's one of the finest arms in the middle of the pack.

Garton was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Garton will give the Rays an extra healthy arm out of the bullpen after Diego Moreno (shoulder) was moved to the 10-day disabled list. The Rays are lacking in capable setup arms in front of closer Alex Colome, but Garton isn't a strong candidate to see much usage in the seventh or eighth inning. Garton had submitted a 0.59 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 15.1 innings with Durham, but owns a 4.75 ERA and 34:12 K:BB in 41.2 career innings in the big leagues.

Pagan was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday.

Pagan was recalled Monday to act as a long reliever for Seattle, but after firing four strong innings in relief Tuesday night, the Mariners will send him back to the minors in exchange for a fresh arm. Pagan's strong performance could warrant another look in the big leagues in the near future, but for the time being, Rob Whalen will take his spot in the majors.

Whalen was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday.

With all the injury woes plaguing the Mariners' pitching staff, Whalen will be summoned from the minors to provide some fresh innings. He seems like a candidate to fill the long-relief role in the bullpen after Emilio Pagan was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move, but as per Bob Dutton of The News Tribune, Whalen is also a candidate to start Saturday's game versus the Red Sox.

Almonte was named the starter for Thursday's game against the Yankees, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

With Nathan Karns (forearm) landing on the disabled list, Almonte will step up to take his turn in the rotation. The 24-year-old has been lights-out with Double-A Northwest Arkansas this season, sporting a 1.86 ERA in six starts and a relief appearance, so he'll look to carry that success into the big leagues. Karns isn't expected to miss too much time, so this very well could be Almonte's lone start in the majors in the near future.