MLB Player News

The White Sox placed Murphy on the 15-day injured list Friday with a left flexor strain.

The left-hander worked 1.1 innings of relief in Thursday's extra-innings loss to the Red Sox and allowed one unearned run without allowing a hit. He owns a 4.20 ERA and 29:15 K:BB across 30 innings this season. Chicago recalled David Sandlin from Triple-A Charlotte to take Murphy's place on the 26-man roster.

The Padres have decided to put Pivetta's (forearm) rehab progression on pause "for a couple extra days" after he was removed from his appearance with Single-A Lake Elsinore on Tuesday midway through the first inning, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Pivetta tossed just 14 pitches during the rehab appearance, his first game action since he was placed on the injured list April 14 due to a right flexor strain. The veteran hurler reportedly felt "tightness" in his elbow Tuesday, prompting his early exit, though Pivetta did throw 20-to-30 additional pitches in the bullpen following his departure. The Padres have expressed optimism that Pivetta isn't dealing with a major setback, but he didn't throw his scheduled bullpen session Thursday and won't make his next scheduled rehab appearance. Manager Craig Stammen suggested Thursday that Pivetta may not be shut down for long, noting that the right-hander will be reassessed later in the week before potentially being cleared to start throwing again.

The Angels claimed Watson off waivers from the Red Sox on Friday.

The Red Sox designated Watson for assignment earlier in the week after he posted a 4.53 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 43:19 K:BB across 55.2 innings out of the bullpen for the Red Sox this season. The Rule 5 pick handled himself reasonably well in his first taste of big-league action and will work out of the Angels bullpen over the final two months of the campaign.

Brubaker will get the start in Friday's bullpen game against the Tigers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The former starter has been used exclusively in relief this season by the Giants, though he has logged three-plus innings in five of his 34 appearances. Brubaker will be pitching on two days' rest after yielding one run in one inning of work in Tuesday's loss to the Rangers, so his pitch count is likely to be very limited.

The Red Sox signed Brebbia to a minor-league contract Thursday, Tom Caron of NESN reports.

Brebbia allowed five runs over 4.1 innings in three appearances for the Rockies earlier this season but has spent most of the year at the Triple-A level, posting a 4.14 ERA and 45:11 K:BB over 37 innings. He will provide some experienced relief depth at Triple-A Worcester.

Petty will start for the Reds in Friday's bullpen game against the Nationals, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Petty has not started a game since early June and shouldn't be expected to cover more than three innings Friday. The right-hander has collected a 4.50 ERA and 14:8 K:BB over 30 innings covering 15 appearances (two starts) for the Reds this season.

Varland was charged with his first blown save of the season in Thursday's extra-innings loss to the Cubs, giving up two runs on two hits in the ninth inning without walking or striking out a batter.

The right-hander was called in to finish out a combined shutout, but instead Varland served up a homer to Alex Bregman to tie the game at 2-2, before Chicago finally won it in the 11th inning. Varland has had a bumpy beginning to August, allowing three earned runs in 2.2 innings over three appearances, but on the season he still sports a 1.38 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 74:16 K:BB through 58.2 frames while converting 24 of 25 save chances.

The Athletics outrighted Bowden to Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday.

He cleared waivers after being scrubbed from the A's 40-man roster. Bowden has the option to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment, but it's unclear what he plans to do. The 31-year-old allowed four runs in one inning during his lone appearance for the Athletics.

The Angels optioned Farris to Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday.

Farris earned his first win of the season Thursday in Baltimore with a scoreless inning of relief, but he's been jettisoned to the minors a day later. He'll be replaced on the roster by George Klassen, who is slated to be called up from Triple-A to start Friday's game in Miami.

Spence was placed on the 7-day injured list Monday at Triple-A Omaha due to an unspecified injury.

The 28-year-old righty's move to the IL represents yet another hit to the Royals' starting pitching depth, as the organization has already lost Cole Ragans, Stephen Kolek, Luinder Avila, Ryan Bergert and Alec Marsh to season-ending surgeries. Spence has been part of the Royals' 40-man roster all year, logging a 5.35 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over 16 starts with Omaha and yielding 22 earned runs in 9.1 innings over three appearances at the big-league level.