MLB Player News

The Pirates selected Feigl's contract from Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday.

After more than a decade or toiling in the minors and the independent ranks upon going undrafted out of Mount St. Mary's University in 2012, Feigl has finally reached the big leagues at 33 years old. The lefty reliever will join the Pittsburgh bullpen as a replacement for right-hander Hunter Stratton, who was placed on the 60-day injured list after suffering a rupture of his left patella tendon in Saturday's loss to the Reds. Feigl compiled a 3.83 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 62:13 K:BB over 51.2 innings across his 33 appearances with Indianapolis this season.

The Pirates placed Stratton (knee) on the 60-day injured list Sunday.

Pittsburgh quickly moved Stratton off its 40-man roster after the reliever ruptured his left patella tendon during his appearance in Saturday's 10-2 loss to the Reds. Given the timing of his move to the 60-day IL, Stratton will miss the rest of the season, but the Pirates haven't indicated whether or not he'll require surgery. Pittsburgh selected lefty reliever Brady Feigl's contract from Triple-A Indianapolis to replace Stratton on the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster.

Phillips blew a save opportunity against Tampa Bay on Saturday, allowing one run on one hit while striking out three batters over one inning.

Phillips entered in the ninth inning with the Dodgers up by one run and served up a game-tying solo shot to the first batter he faced (Junior Caminero). Though Phillips bounced back to strike out the next three hitters, it was nonetheless a missed opportunity for the All-Star reliever as he seeks to reestablish himself as the Dodgers' primary closer. The right-hander lost his ninth-inning role after a rough stretch from late June to late July during which he posted an 11.42 ERA and blew two saves over 11 appearances spanning 8.2 innings. Phillips has rebounded in August, as he entered Saturday with 8.1 scoreless frames and a 13:1 K:BB through 10 outings, and he notched his first save in nearly a month Aug. 19 versus Seattle. It's unclear how much Saturday's blown save will impact his opportunities for saves moving forward, but it's likely that Los Angeles will continue to distribute such chances to a variety of relievers, including Michael Kopech and Daniel Hudson in addition to Phillips.

The Yankees selected Bickford's contract from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.

He'll join the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster as a replacement in the bullpen for right-hander Michael Tonkin, who was designated for assignment. Bickford had previously made five relief appearances for New York earlier this season and was hit hard over five innings, yielding eight earned runs on eight hits and one walk.

The Yankees designated Tonkin for assignment Sunday.

For the fourth time this season, Tonkin has now been removed from an organization's 40-man roster, after the Mets (twice) and Twins previously designated him for assignment. The Yankees claimed Tonkin off waivers from the Mets in April, and he had generally pitched well during his time in The Bronx, logging a 3.37 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 57:21 K:BB in 56 innings. However, with the Yankees in need of a fresh relief arm for Sunday's series finale with the Rockies, Tonkin ended up being the odd man out to make room on the roster for Phil Bickford, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Given his strong body of work out of the New York bullpen, Tonkin stands a good chance of being claimed off waivers by another team.

Cleavinger picked up the save in Saturday's extra-inning win over the Dodgers, surrendering one unearned run over one inning while not allowing any hits or walks.

Cleavinger got the call with a two-run lead in the bottom of the 10th and retired Shohei Ohtani in the first at-bat via a flyout, though Miguel Rojas was able to advance to third after tagging up. The left-handed reliever would then see Rojas come home on a sacrifice fly from Mookie Betts before getting Freddie Freeman to ground out for the final out of the contest. It marked Cleavinger's fourth save of the campaign and his first since May 18 against Toronto. He still appears to be third in line for save opportunities with Pete Fairbanks on the 15-day injured list due to a lat strain, behind Manuel Rodriguez, who got the win Saturday, and Edwin Uceta.

The Rays will recall Lopez from Triple-A Durham to start Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

He'll be joining the big club as a replacement in the rotation for Shane Baz (illness), who was scratched a day in advance of his scheduled start Sunday while he battles the flu. The Rays haven't indicated yet that Baz's illness is serious enough to force him to the injured list, so Lopez could be headed back to Durham following Sunday's outing. Lopez previously made a start for the Rays in 2023, but all three of his appearances for Tampa Bay in 2024 have come out of the bullpen. He holds a 4.08 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 84:33 K:BB across 70.2 innings over his 17 outings (15 starts) with Durham this season.

Johnson recorded a save Saturday, pitching a perfect ninth inning against the Nationals.

Johnson entered the contest with a two-run lead in the top of the ninth and managed to retire the side on just four pitches to secure his second save of the campaign. The right-hander was able to take advantage of a rare save opportunity after Raisel Iglesias hurled three innings over Atlanta's previous two games and likely was in need of some rest. Johnson has not allowed any runs in each of his last four appearances, allowing two hits over that stretch while posting a 2:2 K:BB.

Boston manager Alex Cora was non-committal Saturday when asked if one rehab outing would be enough for Slaten (elbow) before returning from the 15-day injured list, MLB.com reports.

Slaten threw 17 pitches (eight strikes) for Double-A Portland on Friday, giving up a run on one hit and one walk while striking out one over one-third of an inning. Cora said Slaten was fine in terms of health but noted that the right-hander was out of rhythm. The Red Sox will evaluate him this weekend and decide if Slaten needs another rehab outing prior to being activated.

Hendriks (elbow) will make a third rehab appearance Sunday at Double-A Portland, MLB.com reports.

Hendriks opened his rehab assignment a week ago at Triple-A Worcester with an impressive 1-2-3 outing on 12 pitches (10 strikes) , then had less successful results four days later at Portland (one-third of an inning, one walk, one hit). The report estimates Hendriks could make between six to eight relief appearances while on assignment before being activated.