MLB Player News

The Mets transferred Betances' (shoulder) rehab assignment from Low-A St. Lucie to Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

New York determined that Betances was ready for a stiffer test after he completed three rehab appearances with St. Lucie. He retired just one hitter and surrendered five runs in his second outing June 16, but he bounced back in his most recent appearance Saturday, when he struck out two over a scoreless inning while allowing two hits. Given that Betances has been sidelined since early April with right shoulder inflammation, the Mets may want to see him make multiple appearances for Syracuse before activating him from the 60-day injured list.

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

Johnson owns a respectable 4.74 career ERA in 171 innings at the major-league level. The last of those came in 2019, however, and he's been out of affiliated ball since getting released by the Red Sox last August. His only game action over the last two years has come this season with the Milwaukee Milkmen of the independent American Association, where he struck out eight batters and walked none over five scoreless innings. He's expected to head to Triple-A Salt Lake once he clears health and safety protocols.

Hoffman (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday.

Hoffman has missed nearly a month after exiting a late-May start with a sore shoulder. That could mean he requires multiple rehab outings before being activated from the injured list, though the Reds have yet to specify when they expect him back.

The Cardinals designated Flores for assignment Tuesday.

Flores will cede his spot on the 40-man roster to outfielder Lars Nootbaar, who gets the call to the big leagues after slashing .329/.430/.557 at Triple-A Memphis. The 25-year-old southpaw has also been a regular at Memphis this season, making eight appearances (five starts) while posting a 5.74 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in 31.1 innings. If Flores goes unclaimed off waivers, he should maintain a spot in the Triple-A rotation.

The Reds reinstated Antone (forearm) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Antone was sidelined for just over two weeks with what was apparently a mild case of right forearm inflammation. Though he missed out on a spot in the Reds' Opening Day rotation, Antone had proven to be a valuable multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen prior to landing on the IL. Across his 20 appearances spanning 32 frames, Antone has posted a 1.41 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and 40:11 K:BB while collecting seven holds and three saves.

Smith gave up two hits and hit a batter in a scoreless seventh inning to record his 14th save of the season in a 1-0 win over the Mets during the second game of Monday's doubleheader.

The veteran southpaw made things dicey by plunking James McCann following one-out singles by Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith, but the Atlanta closer escaped the jam. Smith has only blown one save all year, and on paper his 3.94 ERA seems a little unlucky, given his 1.08 WHIP and 40:10 K:BB through 29.2 innings.

Pruitt (elbow) will join Triple-A Sugar Land to continue this rehab assignment, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pruitt's travels took him to Baltimore on Monday, and he threw a bullpen session prior to the Astros' win over the Orioles. Prior to joining the team in Baltimore, he made two rehab appearances with Low-A Fayetteville last week before his scheduled move up the ladder to Sugar Land. The right-hander will get a few more rehab outings with the Skeeters, but he will first need to undergo quarantine for five days upon arrival. Pruitt has received only one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. He's expected to pitch Sunday after clearing the quarantine period.

Shaw (2-2) allowed a hit and struck out two over 1.1 innings to earn the win versus the Cubs on Monday.

Starter Aaron Civale (finger) left the game with two outs in the fifth inning, making him ineligible for the win. Shaw replaced him in the contest, and he picked up his second win of the year. It was a good bounce-back outing for Shaw, who was rocked for four runs on a hit and three walks while failing to record an out Saturday versus Pittsburgh. The veteran reliever has a 3.38 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 37:24 K:BB across 29.1 innings. He's also logged a save and 10 holds, so he's often seen high-leverage work in 2021.

Akin (0-3) took the loss Monday against the Astros, allowing five runs on six hits and four walks across four-plus innings. He struck out five.

Akin's outing got off to a solid start, with the southpaw scattering a pair of hits and a walk across a scoreless first two innings. Things fell apart quickly in the third, however, with two hits and two walks setting up a three-run homer for Yordan Alvarez to put Houston up 5-0. He settled down for a scoreless fourth frame but was chased after allowing a leadoff single in the fifth. Since recording a solid scoreless outing June 4, Akin has allowed an unimpressive 16 earned runs on 19 hits during a three-start losing streak. He'll look to turn things around when he toes the rubber over the weekend against the Blue Jays in Buffalo.

Alzolay (4-6) allowed three runs on three hits and a walk over 4.2 innings Monday, striking out five and taking a loss against Cleveland.

All the damage against Alzolay came on a pair of home runs by Bobby Bradley and Josh Naylor. It was his first start since June 7 after he spent two weeks on the injured list with a blister issue. The 26-year-old saw his ERA climb to 4.19 alongside a 67:17 K:BB through 61.2 innings. Alzolay is slated to face the Dodgers on the road this weekend.