MLB Player News

Alexander is scheduled to make his second straight turn through the rotation Thursday against the Rangers, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Alexander was summoned from the bullpen to make a spot start in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader sweep of the Twins. He was limited to 48 pitches and recorded 10 outs during the start, surrendering two runs on four hits while striking out one. The lefty should face slightly fewer restrictions with his workload Thursday, though it would be surprising if he covered more than five innings. Detroit hasn't announced its plans for Alexander beyond Thursday, but he could be in store for an extended stay in the rotation with none of Julio Teheran (shoulder), Matthew Boyd (triceps), Spencer Turnbull (forearm) or Jose Urena (groin) considered especially close to returning from the injured list.

Minter was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.

Minter was charged with the loss and the blown save against the Rays on Sunday after he allowed two runs on two hits and no walks in a third of an inning. He's now given up three runs in one inning across his two appearances after the All-Star break, and he'll attempt to sort things out in the minors going forward.

The Twins will call up Jax from Triple-A St. Paul to start the first game of Monday's doubleheader with the White Sox, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Due to the twin bill, the Twins will temporarily have a need for a sixth starter, so Jax will return from the minors to fill the void. Jax previously made five appearances (one start) for Minnesota earlier this season, posting an 8.66 ERA and 1.70 WHIP across 17.2 innings.

Bickford (0-1) allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit in two-thirds of an inning Sunday, blowing the save in extra innings against the Rockies.

Bickford came on to protect a 5-4 lead in the 10th inning but gave up a Trevor Story sacrifice fly that tied the game before yielding a walk-off homer to Charlie Blackmon. Bickford was handed the extra-innings save opportunity after closer Kenley Jansen was unable to nail down the save in the ninth. The 26-year-old Bickford owns a 3.04 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 25 relief outings this season, with all but one of those appearances coming after he was acquired from the Brewers.

May allowed a walk and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save in Sunday's 7-6 win over Pittsburgh.

Edwin Diaz yielded a walkoff grand slam in Saturday's contest, and May got the nod for a save chance Sunday. May did well to lock down his second save this season, and he's posted a 3.38 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 46:12 K:BB through 34.2 innings. He's also collected seven holds and two blown saves in 37 appearances. With Diaz shaky around the All-Star break, there may be chances for the likes of May or Seth Lugo to receive more ninth-inning duties from manager Luis Rojas going forward.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Loaisiga (illness) has cleared COVID-19 health and safety protocols and is eligible to rejoin the team, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Considering Loaisiga was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Thursday due to a positive test rather than having been identified as a close contact of an infected person, he may need some additional time to get his conditioning in order before being activated. He's the first of three relievers who tested positive coming out of the All-Star break to get the green light to rejoin the team, as Nestor Cortes and Wandy Peralta remain in isolation.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that King (finger) will remain on a "no-throw" program for about 5-to-7 more days, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

After landing on the 10-day injured list July 8 with a right middle finger contusion, King was hoping that he would be ready to go coming out of the All-Star break, but the injured digit has apparently bothered him more than he anticipated. Due to an off day Monday, the Yankees won't require a replacement in the rotation for King until July 24 in Boston. King posted a 4.44 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 27:11 K:BB in 26.1 innings over his six starts since he joined the rotation in early June.

Cabrera, who secured his 13th hold in Saturday's win over the Giants, has back-to-back scoreless efforts following a three-appearance stretch during which he surrendered seven earned runs across 2.2 innings.

The normally reliable left-hander came unglued in that early July stretch, giving up three earned runs apiece on two separate occasions. However, Cabrera was able to right his ship in his last appearance before the All-Star break with a scoreless frame against the Cubs, and he came back Saturday with a scoreless two-thirds of an inning versus the Giants. Cabrera's 13 holds are comfortably a career high and have made him a valuable asset in formats that count that statistic.

Fleming (7-5) took the loss against Atlanta on Saturday, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits and a walk over 4.1 innings. He also struck out two and hit a batter.

The young left-hander had his worst outing as a big-leaguer yet, allowing a pair of home runs in same-handed confrontations with Joc Pederson and Freddie Freeman to account for part of the damage. Atlanta bats were able to square up consistently against Fleming, considering Kevan Smith, opposing starter Max Fried, Ozzie Albies and Guillermo Heredia all laced doubles off him as well. Fleming will look to regroup and bounce back in his next turn, which will likely come Thursday or Friday versus Cleveland.

Scott has allowed three runs on seven hits and six walks across 10.1 innings in his last 10 appearances.

In that span, the left-hander has struck out 13 batters. While Scott continues to have a troubling 6.6 BB/9 for the year, he's done better recently at run prevention. He owns a 2.70 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 52:27 K:BB across 36.2 innings overall while earning 12 holds in 41 appearances.