MLB Player News

Springs could get a start before the end of the season, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Springs served as the "opener" for Sunday's game, tossing 44 pitches over three scoreless innings before turning the game over to Ariel Jurado. The left-hander has experience as a starter in the minor leagues and has pitched well since his promotion to the majors. With the Rangers desperately in need of starters for 2019, Springs has manager Jeff Banister considering him for a start over the final few weeks. "The decision today was whether or not to send him out for a fourth inning," Banister said. "He has done a lot of good things since he has been here and we have talked about that during this process. We'll have more of those discussions toward the end of the season. Obviously, the young man hasn't done anything to keep him from doing that, but we also have to think about his number of pitches and innings." Jurado's spot in the rotation will come up another three times, which gives the Rangers an opportunity to stretch out Springs before giving him a starter's workload.

Keuchel allowed five earned runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out two across six innings Sunday against the Red Sox. He did not factor into the decision.

Keuchel stumbled a few times in the early innings, but the decisive blow came when J.D. Martinez launched a three-run home run in the fifth inning. Poor starts have been a rarity for Keuchel of late, as he has surrendered more than three earned runs only twice in his last 10 starts. That said, he should put this tough matchup behind him and look to bounce back in his next start, likely to come Saturday against the Diamondbacks.

Heaney (9-9) threw seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out 12 while picking up the win against the White Sox on Sunday.

Heaney displayed excellent command throughout his outing, tossing 70 of 96 pitches for strikes and recording his season high in punchouts. He managed to bounce back from a loss his last time out, when he surrendered four runs over six innings to the Rangers on Tuesday. Heaney owns a 3.98 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with a 161:40 K:BB over 165 frames this season.

Springs took a no-decision despite tossing three shutout innings Sunday, allowing just one hit and striking out two in the 7-3 loss to Oakland.

Springs was fantastic in an "opener" role before Ariel Jurado took over in the fourth inning and promptly gave up five runs. The 25-year-old hasn't allowed a run since Aug. 20 and now owns a strong 1.99 ERA in 22.2 innings on the year.

Clevinger (11-8) took the loss Sunday despite a quality start, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out nine in six innings against the Blue Jays.

Clevinger needed 108 pitches to complete six frames, settling down after a one-out walk in front of allowing Justin Smoak's 24th home run of the season in the first inning. The outing was Clevinger's fifth consecutive quality start, and he is now 4-1 over his last six outings. His next start should come Saturday against Detroit.

Cobb (hand) was announced as Tuesday's probable starter, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Cobb wasn't able to make his original scheduled start Sunday due to a blister on his throwing hand, but the team seems to expect the issue to be resolved quickly. If everything goes as planned, he'll take on Athletics right-hander Mike Fiers in the series opener Tuesday.

Lynn's standing in the Yankees starting rotation may be up in the air now that Sonny Gray is starting Tuesday, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

The Yankees could go with a six-man rotation, which would allow Lynn and Gray to stick, although a couple of off-days over the next two weeks makes it so a six-man rotation isn't absolutely necessary. No further information has been released on this front, though it's worth noting that before Lynn's solid start Saturday, he held a 5.09 ERA since Aug. 1, hardly a good enough number to be a starter on a likely postseason-bound team.

Gray is listed as the Yankees' probable starter for Tuesday's game against the Twins, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Gray was relegated to the bullpen after struggling significantly as a starter earlier this season, but he's been excellent in relief as of late. Over his last 19.2 innings out of the bullpen, the right-hander produced a 1.83 ERA and a 17:7 K:BB. Since Gray has covered four innings or fewer in six of his last seven outings, he'll likely face some sort of pitch limit as he transitions back to a starting role in what will likely be a short-term move. The Yankees haven't announced plans to bump another starter to the bullpen, so it appears Gray will be just making a temporary spot start to give each member of the rotation an additional day of rest.

Montas is slated to be recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The right-hander's return to the big leagues was delayed by a technicality in the collective bargaining agreement. However, he's now set to be added to the big-league roster after 10 days have passed since his most recent demotion to the Sounds. Montas could see action as a reliever and starter during what remains of the regular season.

Lewicki (elbow) was transferred to the 60-day disabled list Sunday.

The right-hander is already expected to miss the entire 2019 campaign after undergoing a second Tommy John surgery, so this move does nothing to change his short-term outlook. The move was simply made to clear a 40-man roster spot for veteran catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding move. Look for Lewicki to return ahead of the 2020 season.