MLB Player News

Barnett allowed three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six batters over five innings in a no-decision against Boston on Thursday.

After working in bulk relief in his previous appearance, Barnett made his first start of the season Thursday. He got through four scoreless frames before fading in the fifth, when the Red Sox tagged him for three runs on three hits. That ended up being his final frame, and he threw 73 total pitches, his highest mark in a big-league game so far this season. Barnett may not be ready for a completely full workload yet, and he could return to the bullpen when J.T. Ginn (finger) is activated from the IL, which could happen early next week.

Chapman earned a save against the Athletics on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out two batters with no walks over one inning.

Chapman entered in the bottom of the ninth inning with Boston clinging to a one-run lead. He gave up a one-out double to put the tying run in scoring position but then struck out Colby Thomas and Nick Kurtz to slam the door shut. Chapman ran his scoreless streak to 10 appearances and notched his 26th save of the season, tied for fourth most in the majors. He could challenge his career-best mark of 38 saves.

Gray (13-2) earned the win over the Athletics on Thursday, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five batters over seven innings.

Gray wasn't at his sharpest, and he fell behind 3-0 after four innings. However, the veteran hurler hung tough and gave up just one more run the rest of the way. Gray was still trailing when he threw his final pitch, but Boston put up a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to propel the right-hander to his 13th victory -- tied with Cristopher Sanchez for the most in the league. Gray has stumbled a bit of late by allowing nine earned runs across 12 innings over his past two starts, but he's been so good this year that fantasy managers shouldn't be overly concerned about the mediocre two-start stretch. He's projected for a home matchup against the White Sox his next time out.

The Twins acquired Minter from the Mets on Thursday in exchange for Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

One of the top left-handed relievers available, Minter will help shore up the back end of the Minnesota bullpen. Minter missed the first 54 games of the season recovering from 2025 lat surgery but hasn't missed a beat since debuting in late May. The lefty owns a 2.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 20:2 K:BB across 23 innings this season.

Mead has a nondisplaced left wrist fracture and will be reimaged in four weeks, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Mead was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday after suffering the injury when he was hit by a pitch Monday night against the Athletics. The 25-year-old is anticipated to be sidelined for roughly 6-to-8 weeks, with Thursday's news giving him a chance to hit the front end of that timeline.

Weathers did not factor into Thursday's decision against the White Sox, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out four across seven scoreless innings.

Weathers generated only eight whiffs while throwing 106 pitches, but he also logged 11 groundouts while keeping Chicago off the board. It was his first quality start since June 24 and the third time this season that he shut out his opponent while tossing at least seven frames. Weathers will take a 3.99 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 115 innings into his next start, which is tentatively slated for next week at home against the Cardinals.

Burke did not factor into Thursday's decision against the Yankees, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out 10 across six scoreless innings.

It was another dominant effort for Burke, who generated 18 whiffs on 91 pitches (58 strikes) while punching out 10 batters for a second consecutive outing. He's registered a quality start in five straight appearances and has a 3.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 140:37 K:BB across 124.1 innings this year while ranking fifth in the American League in strikeouts. Burke is lined up to take on the Red Sox at Fenway Park next week.

Interim Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said Thursday that Anthony (finger) has started swinging a bat again, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Anthony began hitting off a tee this week, and he's built up to 30 swings at a time at the moment. The outfielder has been sidelined since early May while nursing a torn tendon in his right ring finger, and Tracy outlined that "there's no clear next steps yet" in Anthony's recovery. The team is expected to take their time with the 22-year-old, and he will likely remain at his current level of activity for a "little while" according to Tracy. A return to action with the Red Sox in mid-to-late August might be the best-case scenario at this point for Anthony.

Kurtz (forearm) will start at first base and bat leadoff Thursday against the Red Sox.

Kurtz made an early exit from Wednesday's contest after taking a pitch off his forearm, but he's been cleared to return to the starting nine after MRI results came back clean Thursday. The 23-year-old slugger owns an .890 OPS through 426 plate appearances on the season, but he's gone just 1-for-12 with a three-run homer and seven strikeouts since returning from the injured list Saturday.

Crawford is not in the lineup Thursday against the Dodgers.

Crawford is beginning the game from the bench for the second consecutive night Thursday. He didn't start in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Dodgers, though he did come off the bench as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning. Weston Wilson is starting at the hot corner while Colt Emerson mans shortstop Thursday.