MLB Player News

Tampa Bay selected Anderson's contract from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Tampa Bay acquired Anderson from the Reds for cash considerations earlier Wednesday, and though the expectation was that the veteran right-hander would report to Triple-A Durham, he'll instead move to the big club after closer Pete Fairbanks (forearm) was placed on the injured list in a corresponding move. While Anderson is up with the Rays, he'll likely serve as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen.

Espino underwent a right shoulder anterior capsule repair surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles and is expected to remain out of game action for 12-to-14 months, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

The surgery was performed by renowned shoulder and elbow specialist Dr. Neal ElAttrache. It's another significant setback for Espino, a right-hander who has showcased some of the best stuff among pitching prospects in baseball when healthy, but he's been able to accumulate only 18.1 innings since the start of the 2022 season. Assuming the 12-to-14-month recovery timeline holds, Espino will be out of commission until the summer of 2024.

Kaprielian started Triple-A Las Vegas' win over Sacramento on Tuesday, allowing an earned run on four hits and two walks over 3.1 innings. He struck out four and didn't factor into the decision.

Kaprielian's location wasn't exactly at its sharpest -- he got just 43 of his 72 pitches into the strike zone -- but the outing seemingly served as a solid starting point overall to his attempted reset at the Triple-A level. Kaprielian's earned himself a trip down to the farm after opening the season by pitching to an array of concerning numbers that included a 12.94 ERA, 2.38 WHIP, 7.9 BB/9 and 2.8 HR/9 across six outings (three starts). The right-hander is likely due for an extended stint in Las Vegas that will allow him to build confidence and sharpen up his game before a return to the major-league club is considered.

Minnesota placed Mahle (elbow) on the 15-day injured list Wednesday.

The Twins recalled Louie Varland from Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move, and he'll slot into Mahle's spot in the rotation for the foreseeable future. Mahle was diagnosed last week with a right arm posterior impingement and flexor pronator strain and won't be cleared to resume a throwing program for another four weeks. Even if Mahle experiences no setbacks and is cleared to start throwing again by the end of the month, he'll still likely need another two weeks beyond that to get his arm reconditioned for a starting role.

Minnesota recalled Varland from Triple-A St. Paul ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday versus the White Sox.

The right-hander is sliding into the rotation spot vacated by Tyler Mahle (elbow), who was placed on the 15-day injured list due to a flexor pronator strain. Varland registered a 4.20 ERA and 25:4 K:BB over 15 innings with St. Paul prior to the promotion, and he's worth consideration for those looking for a streaming option for Wednesday.

Lynch (shoulder) covered 2.1 innings and struck out six while allowing two earned runs on four hits and one walk in his first rehab start Tuesday for Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

Lynch has resided on the Royals' 15-day injured list all season with a left shoulder strain, so his appearance Tuesday was his first at any level during the 2023 campaign. Aside from serving up a two-run, two-out home run in the second inning, Lynch was generally sharp while tossing 59 pitches (37 strikes) in the outing. He'll likely need one or two more rehab starts to build his pitch count up to the 75-to-90 range before he's cleared to rejoin the big-league rotation.

Houck didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 7-6 win over the Blue Jays, surrendering six runs on six hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out five.

The right-hander cruised through four innings before suddenly falling apart in the fifth and getting tagged for all six of Toronto's runs, including a three-run shot by Daulton Varsho. Houck made it through one more frame before exiting after 96 pitches (57 strikes), and Boston's bats were able to get him off the hook for his second loss of the year. He'll take a 5.34 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 29:13 K:BB through 32 innings into his next outing, likely to come this weekend in Philadelphia.

The Rays acquired Anderson from the Reds on Wednesday in exchange for cash considerations, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Tampa Bay already has three starting pitchers on the injured list (Shane Baz, Jeffrey Springs and Tyler Glasnow) and another (Josh Fleming) sustained a foot injury Tuesday, so the addition of the 35-year-old Anderson should improve the organization's rotation depth. Anderson will presumably slot into the Triple-A Durham rotation after logging a 4.30 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 19:13 K:BB across 23 innings over his five starts with the Reds' top affiliate in Louisville.

Kikuchi didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 7-6 loss to the Red Sox, coughing up five runs on nine hits over 4.1 innings. He struck out two without walking a batter.

The southpaw got hit hard, as five of the nine hits off him went for extra bases including homers by Christian Arroyo and Masataka Yoshida. Kikuchi is once again having trouble keeping the ball in the park -- after serving up 23 homers in 100.2 innings in 2022 (a 2.06 HR/9), he's already been taken deep eight times in 31.1 innings to begin 2023 (a 2.30 HR/9), and only some good fortune has kept his 4.02 ERA from being closer to his 5.44 FIP. He could be a risky play in his next outing, likely to come this weekend on the road against the surprising Pirates.

Cole didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Guardians, giving up two runs on five hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out eight.

The right-hander fired 69 of 108 pitches for strikes and generated 32 called or swinging strikes en route to his sixth quality start in seven outings this season, with Cole missing the seventh by only one out. He'll take a dazzling 1.35 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 52:14 K:BB through 46.2 innings into his next start, likely to come at home early next week against the A's.