MLB Player News

Hand was claimed off waivers by the Mets on Thursday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Hand was acquired by the Blue Jays in a trade with the Nationals at the deadline but spent barely over a month with the team before being designated for assignment. The veteran lefty owns a mediocre 4.21 ERA on the season, including a 7.27 mark across 11 appearances after moving to Toronto, but he was very effective over the previous five seasons, posting a 2.70 ERA over that stretch. The current version of Hand shouldn't be pitching in high-leverage situations, but there's still potential here for him to serve as one of Edwin Diaz's top deputies if the Mets can get him back on track.

Martin (2-4) was tagged with the loss Wednesday against the Dodgers after allowing one run on two hits and a walk across one-third of an inning. He also struck out one.

Martin entered the game in the bottom of the eighth with two outs and Trea Turner on third, but he couldn't prevent him from scoring following an RBI single from Justin Turner. As if that wasn't enough, he walked Corey Seager and allowed an RBI single to AJ Pollock, giving the Dodgers a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Martin has now allowed runs in three of his last four appearances.

Kelly earned the save Wednesday against Atlanta after tossing a perfect inning. He didn't strike out anyone.

Kelly bounced back from his previous outing, where he allowed two runs across one inning against the Rockies, though it's worth noting that those are the only two runs he has given up over his previous five appearances. The veteran reliever has a 3.27 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 11:5 K:BB across 11 innings since the All-Star break.

Bickford (3-1) earned the win Wednesday against Atlanta after retiring the only batter he faced.

Bickford secured his third win of the season but only needed six pitches to do so, as he retired Austin Riley on a groundout for the final out of the eighth inning. The right-hander has been a steady piece in the Dodgers bullpen since being acquired through waivers in early May. He owns a 2.36 ERA across 45 appearances (42 innings) for Los Angeles on the season.

Leone (3-3) was tagged with the loss in relief Wednesday against Milwaukee after allowing one run on one hit and one walk while fanning one across two-thirds of an inning.

Leone pitched the seventh inning and quickly retired Luis Urias and Rowdy Tellez for the first two outs, but the wheels came off thereafter. He walked Lorenzo Cain and allowed a Jackie Bradley single in the next at-bat and departed with runners on the corners before exiting. Ultimately, Cain would end up scoring, and as a result, Leone was tagged with the loss despite retiring the first two batter he faced. The right-hander has now given up runs in each of his last two appearances but still owns a decent 2.70 ERA across 13.1 innings (16 outings) since the beginning of August.

Hader picked up the save Wednesday against the Giants after striking out the side.

The hard-throwing lefty has been on a tear of late and extended his streak of scoreless appearances to 11 (10.1 innings), as he hasn't given up a run since the beginning of August while striking out 19 in that span. Hader has been one of the most effective relievers in the National League while going 29-for-30 in save chances and posting a career-best 1.48 ERA across 48.2 innings this season.

Miller allowed one hit in a scoreless seventh inning during Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the White Sox. He struck out one batter.

After giving up a leadoff double, Miller struck out Brian Goodwin and then got Leury Garcia to line out sharply into a double play to end the inning. Manager Derek Shelton has already said that Miller will pitch exclusively out of the bullpen, limiting opportunities for counting stats. At this point, the 30-year-old Miller is simply looking to impress evaluators heading into 2022.

Cousins tossed a scoreless eighth inning and picked up his sixth hold of the season in Wednesday's victory over the Giants.

With setup man Devin Williams unavailable Wednesday manager Craig Counsell turned to Cousins, and although he allowed a double and walked a batter, he also prevented either runner from crossing the plate while picking up two strikeouts. Cousins' 17-appearance scoreless streak was snapped in late August, but he has still given up just two earned runs over 24 innings out of the Brewers' bullpen this season.

Boxberger tossed a clean seventh inning and picked up his 21st hold in Wednesday's victory over the Giants.

Boxberger was tasked with facing the top three batters in the Giants' order after the Brewers took the lead in the seventh, and as he has done regularly, he came through with a clean frame. Boxberger has been brilliant for the Brewers, tossing 10 straight scoreless appearances and allowing an earned run only two times -- while posting a 0.74 ERA and 0.95 WHIP -- over his last 25 trips to the mound.

Norris struck out two batters in a clean sixth inning and picked up his first win as a Brewer on Wednesday.

The opposing Giants tied Wednesday's game in the fifth inning, but Norris kept them off the scoreboard in the next frame, and he wound up with the win when the Brewers pushed a run across in the top of the seventh. Norris allowed seven earned runs over five innings in his first five appearances after being acquired by Milwaukee at the trade deadline, but he's given up zero runs -- and just one hit -- in six innings over his last five trips to the mound.