MLB Player News

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.

Lynch will start Friday's game against the Cubs, and the Royals intend to give the left-hander a longer look in the rotation, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

With a 1.96 ERA and 0.93 WHIP over 46 relief appearances, Lynch has arguably been the Royals' top bullpen option this season. However, Kansas City's rotation depth has been thinned with Cole Ragans, Stephen Kolek and Luinder Avila all recently undergoing season-ending elbow surgeries, so Lynch will get the chance to build back up as a starter, a role he hasn't handled full-time since 2023. Considering that he hasn't covered more than two innings in any of his 2026 appearances, he'll be operating on a limited pitch count Friday and will need time to get fully stretched out. Lynch didn't find much success while working as a starter to begin his MLB career, logging a 5.18 ERA and 1.52 ERA over 51 starts and 252 innings from 2021-23.

Gomez picked up a save against the Royals on Thursday, issuing one walk and striking out two batters over one scoreless inning.

Gomez was summoned in the ninth inning with Minnesota clinging to a one-run lead. He walked the first batter he faced but then picked off pinch runner Tyler Tolbert at first base. With less pressure on him, Gomez then struck out Michael Massey and Isaac Collins to improve to 15-for-15 on save chances this season. Fantasy managers who roster Gomez are likely ecstatic about him being deployed for the save opportunity, as Minnesota's trade-deadline acquisition of Jeff Hoffman cast some doubt about whether Gomez would remain in the closer role. Hoffman hade his first appearance for the Twins on Wednesday, working a perfect eighth inning in a 2-1 loss, and he could still be a threat to Gomez's hold on the ninth-inning job.