MLB Player News

Howard (lat) has been sent to Triple-A Round Rock to begin a rehab assignment.

Howard has been out all season with a right lat strain but has been throwing the ball well of late at the Rangers' spring training complex, per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. It's not clear whether the Rangers plan to use him as a starter or reliever once he's activated.

Yacabonis (quad) was designated for assignment by the Mets on Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Yacabonis had been on the injured list since May 9 while recovering from a left quad strain. Now he has lost his 40-man roster spot and heads into DFA limbo with an ugly 9.00 ERA in nine major-league innings for the year.

Barlow was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, retroactive to May 29, with kidney stones, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Barlow will be out for at least the next two weeks. He has allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk in 3.1 innings of relief this season at the MLB level.

Bristo was recalled from Triple-A Toledo by the Tigers on Tuesday, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Bristo was a waiver claim from the Rays in early May. He went three scoreless innings in his major-league debut in April and will represent bullpen depth for the Tigers.

Los Angeles recalled Vesia from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Vesia posted an ugly 7.84 ERA and 2.81 WHIP across 10.1 innings of relief earlier this season with the Dodgers, but he hadn't allowed an earned run over his last nine appearances at the Triple-A level. The 27-year-old left-hander will try to climb back into a prominent setup role as he returns to the big-league bullpen mix.

Erceg (1-0) got the win over Atlanta on Monday, firing three perfect innings during which he recorded four strikeouts.

The rookie got his nine outs on a relatively efficient 47 pitches and extended his scoreless streak to four appearances in the process. Monday's outing was Erceg's longest by far during his brief big-league career, one in which Martin Gallegos of MLB.com notes the right-hander flashed a fastball averaging 97.6 mph that he complemented with a biting slider and power sinker. Erceg's body of work thus far -- especially against a talented Atlanta lineup -- has undoubtedly helped him quickly earn manager Mark Kotsay's trust, with the Athletics skipper deviating from his plan to use Erceg for only one inning Monday after seeing how effective he was in that initial frame.

Hendriks (illness) allowed two earned runs on three hits and one walk while pitching the eighth inning of Monday's 6-4 loss to the Angels.

After being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in January and requiring multiple months of chemotherapy, Hendriks was cleared to return from the 15-day injured list Monday for his 2023 season debut. Since Hendriks wasn't particularly sharp over his six rehab appearances prior to being activated -- he gave up six earned runs in five innings -- White Sox manager Pedro Grifol elected to ease the veteran closer back into the mix in a non-save situation Monday. Hendriks entered the contest with the White Sox trailing 4-3 and received a rousing ovation from the home crowd, but he wasn't able to execute during his time on the mound. He needed 27 pitches just to record three outs and threw just 16 strikes. Though the White Sox likely envision Hendriks eventually reclaiming full-time closing duties, Kendall Graveman and Joe Kelly could both still be in the mix for save chances in the short term while Hendriks attempts to regain form following a lengthy layoff from game action.

Joyce struck out two and worked around a base hit in a scoreless seventh inning en route to collecting a hold in Monday's 6-4 win over the White Sox.

The 22-year-old right-hander brought the heat in his MLB debut -- 11 of his 12 pitches cleared 100 miles per hour, with his first four-seamer of the night charting at 102.2 mph. According to J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News, Angels manager Phil Nevin said over the weekend that Chris Devenski and Jacob Webb will likely serve as the primary setup options for closer Carlos Estevez while Matt Moore (oblique) is on the shelf, but Joyce could quickly carve out a high-leverage role in his own right if he continues to overpower hitters like he did Monday.

Fulmer signed a minor-league contract with the Angels on Monday.

Fulmer was with the Mariners in spring training before being released shortly after Opening Day. He hasn't pitched anywhere since then but is now likely to report to Triple-A Salt Lake with his new organization to provide some relief depth.

Jameson allowed five hits and one walk while striking out six over 3.2 relief innings to earn a hold in Monday's 7-5 win over Colorado.

Starter Ryne Nelson put the Diamondbacks in an early 4-0 hole, but Arizona's bats and Jameson's multi-inning relief effort bailed him out. Jameson made his first appearance since being recalled from Triple-A Reno and figures to work as a multi-inning reliever, who can spot start if need be. He started three games for Arizona earlier this season but was optioned to the minors following a disastrous one-inning outing against the Padres. The right-hander had lost the ability to command his slider and became too predictable, leaning too heavily on his fastball, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. He rediscovered the slider in the minors, and it was the pitch he used the most often Monday (28 times among 59 pitches).