MLB Player News

Morton (14-6) earned the win Sunday, giving up one earned run on four hits and three walks with eight strikeouts over 5.1 innings in the Rays' 8-2 victory over the Indians.

Morton guided the Rays to a huge series sweep against the Indians after he got shelled by the Astros in his previous outing. He let up an RBI double in the second inning and was in a bit of a jam but was able to escape and finish the rest of his outing cleanly. He needed 108 pitches to get through just 5.1 innings, which isn't spectacular, but the bullpen got the job done for the remainder of the game. Morton now sports a 3.06 ERA and a 209:50 K:BB ratio through 170.1 innings. He looks ahead to his next start at home against Toronto on Friday.

Springs (biceps) was reinstated from the 60-day injured list ahead of Sunday's 11-3 loss to the Mariners. He tossed 1.1 scoreless innings in relief, giving up one hit and a walk while striking out two.

While he was solid in his return from the IL, Springs submitted a lowly 6.23 ERA and 1.85 WHIP in 26 innings before being shut down in June with left biceps tendinitis. He'll need to string together a few quality relief appearances in a row before regaining meaningful setup work.

Severino (lat) gave up two runs on three hits while striking out two over one inning in his rehab start Sunday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

While making his 2019 debut in affiliated ball, Severino unsurprisingly looked a little rusty. He needed 33 pitches just to record three outs and struggled to command his offerings, ceding a home run and a double as part of the three hits he allowed. On a more positive note, Conor Foley of The Scranton Times-Tribune relays that Severino induced six swinging strikes in his inning of work and sported a fastball that sat around 94-to-96 miles per hour. The Yankees haven't mapped out the next steps for Severino, but since the team intends to bring him back as a reliever, he may only need a couple more outings at Triple-A before being reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Kikuchi (6-9) gave up three runs on six hits and no walks while striking out one through five innings to record the win over the Rangers on Sunday.

Kikuchi allowed three runs in his first three innings, but he rebounded to finish with two scoreless frames to end his outing. The left-hander has been in a rough stretch since the All-Star break, posting a 6.37 ERA coming into this start. Kikuchi has a 5.36 ERA with 105 strikeouts through 28 starts this season. He's scheduled to make his next start Saturday against the Astros at Minute Maid Park.

The Athletics recalled Blackburn from Triple-A Las Vegas ahead of Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Yankees.

Aside from a spot start with the big club in June, Blackburn has pitched exclusively at Triple-A this season, submitting a 4.34 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 132.2 innings. The 25-year-old right-hander will provide the Athletics with some extra length out of the bullpen but isn't expected to garner a look in the rotation at any point in September.

Boston transferred Sale (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Sunday.

The Red Sox already ruled Sale out for the remainder of the regular season after he required a platelet-rich plasma injection for his elbow Aug. 19, so the lefty's move to the 60-day IL is merely a formality. Boston selected Jhoulys Chacin's (lat) contract from Triple-A Pawtucket in a corresponding transaction.

The Indians reinstated Carrasco (illness) from the 60-day injured list Sunday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

As expected, Carrasco will be reinstated to the active roster for the first time since early June after being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. After responding well to treatment, Carrasco was cleared for a rehab assignment in August and was stellar over four relief appearances, tossing five scoreless frames and striking out eight. He didn't have enough time to build up for a starter's workload, but Carrasco should emerge as a useful late-inning weapon out of the Cleveland bullpen for the rest of the regular season and playoffs.

The Tigers selected Garcia's contract from Triple-A Toledo ahead of Sunday's game against the Twins.

Before missing nearly 18 months after requiring Tommy John surgery in 2017, Garcia had been one of the Tigers' more impressive power arms in the upper levels of the minors. Now healthy again, Garcia emerged as a strong arm at the back end of the Toledo bullpen, posting a 2.97 ERA and 33:14 K:BB in 33.1 innings. He could quickly gain traction in a late-inning role out of a Detroit bullpen that's otherwise lacking in impact arms.

Toronto designated Ramirez for assignment Sunday.

The 30-year-old righty reliever was bumped off the 40-man roster to make room for another bullpen arm in Ryan Tepera (elbow), who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Over 22 appearances between the Indians and Blue Jays this season, Ramirez has posted a 5.40 ERA and 1.64 WHIP across 25 innings.

The Twins placed Gibson on the 10-day injured list Sunday after he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

Minnesota hasn't revealed a timeline for Gibson's return to baseball activities while he tends to the inflammatory bowel condition. With Gibson at least unavailable for his upcoming start Wednesday in Boston, the Twins will likely to turn to one of a pair of September callups, Devin Smeltzer or Lewis Thorpe, to take the hill or opt to fill the right-hander's spot in the rotation with a bullpen game.