MLB Player News

Triple-A Las Vegas placed Smith on its 7-day injured list Aug. 12 with an unspecified injury.

After the Athletics demoted him to Triple-A on July 25, Smith turned in seven scoreless appearances out of the Las Vegas bullpen before he was blown up for five earned runs on three hits and one walk while recording just one out in an Aug. 11 appearance versus Sacramento. He landed on the IL a day later and is without a clear timeline for a return.

Manaea (4-4) took the loss Monday against the Phillies. He allowed three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three over 2.2 innings.

Manaea was slated for a bulk role behind Scott Alexander on Monday, though he'd only last 2.2 innings after surrendering three runs on a pair of homers. The 31-year-old Manaea had been pitching well coming into the day, allowing just one run over his last 15 innings. Overall, his ERA is up to 5.06 with a 1.28 WHIP and 102:33 K:BB across 83.2 innings this season.

The Athletics acquired Newcomb from the Giants on Monday in exchange for Trenton Brooks.

Newcomb posted a 3.16 ERA and 40:20 K:BB over 31.1 innings this season at Triple-A Sacramento. Now a full-time reliever, the left-handed Newcomb will report to Triple-A Las Vegas for the time being but could get another shot at the big-league level with the Athletics eventually.

Hatch did not factor into the decision Monday, allowing two hits and one walk over three scoreless innings against St. Louis. He struck out one.

Hatch served as Pittsburgh's opener Monday, after he had exclusively pitched out of the bullpen this year for both the Blue Jays and Pirates. The 28-year-old righty fired three scoreless frames and handed the ball off to Bailey Falter, who operated as the team's bulk reliever. In four appearances since Hatch was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh on Aug. 6, he has posted a 1.93 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP with two holds across 9.1 innings.

Smith (1-5) blew a save and took the loss against the Diamondbacks on Monday, allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and one walk over two-thirds of an inning.

There may be some noise around the fact that Texas manager Bruce Bochy elected to go to Aroldis Chapman rather than Smith with the Rangers up 1-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, though Chapman was unable to seal the deal. When the Rangers took a two-run lead in the top of the 11th, Smith got his save opportunity after all, but he also blew it, allowing back-to-back two-out doubles to allow three runs to cross the plate. It's been a rough stretch of late for the veteran reliever, as he's posted a 15.19 ERA, 2.25 WHIP and two blown saves over his past seven outings. Chapman, by contrast, has allowed just one run while registering a 19:3 K:BB over 10 innings through 10 appearances in August, so Monday's developments may be more than just a one-game thing, though there's been no official word of Smith moving out of the closer role.

Chapman blew a save against the Diamondbacks on Monday, allowing one run on one hit and one walk while striking out two batters over two innings.

With Texas ahead 1-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth, it was Chapman who got the call from the bullpen to close things out. He couldn't do so, allowing a game-tying solo home run to Ketel Marte with one out. Chapman did settle down from there to finish that frame and the 10th without allowing any more runs, and he looked to be in line for the win when Texas scored twice in the top of the 11th. However, Will Smith -- who has been working as the Rangers' primary closer of late -- coughed up three two-out runs to blow a save opportunity of his own. Smith has blown two of five save chances over his past seven outings while posting a 15.19 ERA and 2.25 WHIP, so Chapman could be in line for more ninth-inning opportunities, though there hasn't yet been any word of a changing of the guard between the duo.

Weathers (1-8) took the loss against San Diego on Monday, allowing five runs on five hits and five walks while striking out four batters over 3.1 innings.

Weathers made his second start since the Padres traded him to Miami on Aug. 1, but neither outing has gone well. The southpaw has had trouble finding the strike zone in each outing, walking four batters against Texas on Aug. 5 and five versus San Diego on Monday. The walks were particularly harmful in the second inning, as Weathers loaded the bases on three straight one-out free passes before serving up a grand slam to Ha-Seong Kim. Weathers has surrendered 11 runs over seven frames while taking a pair of losses in two starts since joining Miami, making it hard to see him continuing in the rotation with the team still battling for a wild-card spot.

The Red Sox optioned Murphy to Triple-A Worcester following Monday's 9-4 loss to the Astros, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Murphy allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out four over four innings of long relief Monday. He's now given up 11 runs over his last four appearances (10.1 innings) and will head to the minors. The Red Sox will reinstate Tanner Houck (face) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his start Tuesday to fill Murphy's spot on the 26-man active roster.

Assad did not factor into the decision Monday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over 5.1 innings against the Tigers. He struck out four.

Assad has been pitching well since filling in for Marcus Stroman (ribs) in Chicago's rotation, working to a 2.45 ERA in his last three starts (18.1 innings). Overall, the 26-year-old Assad is 2-2 with a 3.13 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 53:30 K:BB across 72 innings this season. He's currently lined up to make his next start on the road against the Pirates.

Brieske (0-1) allowed two runs on three hits across an inning of work to take the loss Monday against the Cubs.

Brieske had been fairly sharp before Monday, as he entered the contest with a tidy 2.12 ERA over 17 innings of work. The righty had also only allowed one run this month, but the Cubs got to him in the ninth inning, pushing his ERA to 3.00 for the season. Brieske should stick in a high-leverage relief role for the Tigers despite the hiccup.