MLB Player News

Alexander was credited with his first hold in Saturday's win over the Astros, firing a scoreless two-thirds of an inning.

Alexander got the final two outs of the eighth, inheriting a one-on, one-out situation from Lucas Erceg and retiring the dangerous duo of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez on groundouts. The veteran southpaw allowed a solo home run over two-thirds of an inning in his delayed season debut against the Rockies on Tuesday, but he's subsequently fired 1.2 scoreless, hitless frames in his next pair of appearances.

Cooper (shoulder) will bat third as the Red Sox's designated hitter Sunday against the Brewers, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

The 33-year-old has recently been battling a shoulder issue, and he's in the starting lineup Sunday for the first time in a week. Cooper has struggled in 16 games since joining the Red Sox with a .205/.271/.295 slash line in 48 plate appearances.

The Royals placed Massey on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a low back ligament sprain.

The transaction is retroactive to Saturday, so he'll be eligible to rejoin the 26-man active roster beginning June 4. Kansas City called up infielder Nick Loftin from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move, but Adam Frazier will pick up his second straight start at the keystone Sunday and should serve as the Royals' primary second baseman while Massey is on the mend from the injury.

Speier (0-2) was charged with the loss against the Nationals on Saturday, allowing two earned runs on two hits over one-third of an inning.

Entrusted with preserving a 1-1 tie when he entered in the seventh, Speier induced an inning-opening groundout from Luis Garcia before surrendering back-to-back singles to Jesse Winker and Keibert Ruiz, as well as a steal to the former. Trent Thornton took over at that point and subsequently allowed both inherited runners to score, leading to Speier eventually being charged with the loss. The 29-year-old Speier has now turned in three straight outings where he's allowed two earned runs while recording just one out, and he's conceded 10 runs overall across four innings in May. The veteran southpaw was a reliable bullpen fixture over the previous three seasons for the Royals and Mariners, but his current struggles may be exhausting the slack his previous body of work has earned him.

Buxton is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers.

Buxton looks to be getting a breather for the series finale after he had started in each of the past five games while going 5-for-20 with two home runs and one walk. Willi Castro will cover center field in Buxton's stead.

The Rangers designated Anderson for assignment Sunday.

He'll cede his spot on the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster to right-hander Gerson Garabito, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Round Rock ahead of his scheduled start Sunday against the Twins. After being called up from Round Rock on May 15, Anderson proceeded to make a pair of relief appearances for the Rangers, giving up two earned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out three over 3.1 innings.

The Rangers selected Garabito's contract from Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday. He'll start Sunday's series finale versus the Twins in Minnesota.

Texas designated right-hander Shaun Anderson for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster for the 28-year-old Garabito, who will be making his MLB debut Sunday. The Rangers are expected to treat Sunday's contest as a bullpen day, but Garabito should be capable of providing the team with plenty of length to begin the game after he had been operating as a starter for Round Rock. Over seven appearances (five starts) for the Triple-A club this season, Garabito compiled a 2.05 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 37:10 K:BB in 30.2 innings. Garabito may not be in line for a lengthy stay with the Rangers, as the team could soon get back Nathan Eovaldi (groin) and/or Jon Gray (groin) back from the injured list, and off days Monday and Thursday could allow Texas to get by with a shortened rotation in the meantime.

Kiermaier is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.

Kiermaier has an .861 OPS in 36 at-bats since he returned from a hip injury in early May, and he'll sit Sunday after starting the previous four games. Daulton Varsho will shift to center field while Davis Schneider moves to left.

Blanco (suspension) was reinstated to the Astros' 26-man active roster Sunday and will start Houston's series finale versus the Athletics in Oakland.

As had been reported days earlier, Blanco will immediately slot back into the Houston rotation now that he's completed his 10-game ban after he was deemed to have used a foreign substance during his most recent start May 14, also versus Oakland. Assuming Blanco was able to stay fully ramped up while he was serving his suspension, he shouldn't face many restrictions when he takes the hill Sunday. Blanco has been a revelation for the Astros this season, compiling a 4-0 record, 2.09 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 45:21 K:BB in 47.1 innings across eight starts.

Turner is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.

Turner's offensive production has fallen sharply in May with a .105/.164/.123 slash line through 16 games, and he'll sit Sunday for the second time in Toronto's past four contests. Daniel Vogelbach will bat fifth as the designated hitter in the series finale at Detroit.