MLB Player News

Criswell was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Saturday.

Criswell's latest stint on the active roster lasted just two days. He tossed three innings of relief Thursday against the Cardinals in his lone appearance, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits without recording a strikeout or walk. Josh Fleming (elbow) returned from the 60-day injured list to take his place on the roster.

Fleming (elbow) was activated off the 60-day injured list Saturday.

Fleming had been sideliend since early June with elbow issues, but he avoided surgery and has been pitching in rehab games for three weeks. He struck out only six batters in 11 innings across his four rehab appearances, but that's par for the course for a player who had an 11.6 percent strikeout rate prior to his injury. He'll likely factor into the mix as a bulk reliever or back-end starter, though that lack of whiffs limits his fantasy appeal, as does his career 4.86 ERA.

Rosenberg allowed four runs on seven hits and five walks while striking out four batters over five innings in a long-relief role against Houston on Friday.

Reid Detmers started for the Angels and gave up seven runs over 2.1 frames, so Rosenberg was asked to preserve the bullpen with a lengthy relief appearance. The left-hander nearly doubled Detmers' pitch count -- Rosenberg threw 89 pitches to Detmers' 48 -- and hung around long enough for Los Angeles to need only one additional reliever in the blowout loss. It was the first major-league appearance of the season for Rosenberg, and given his starter-like workload Friday, he'll likely be held out of action for several days.

Vasquez, who tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Red Sox, has a 2.16 ERA this season.

Vasquez was claimed off waivers from the Phillies on Aug. 4, and the lefty has logged three scoreless outings since then. The back end of Detroit's bullpen is somewhat in flux due to control issues from regular closer Alex Lange, so Vasquez could earn higher-leverage work if he continues to pitch well.

King is listed as the the Yankees' starting pitcher for Saturday's game against Miami, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Like many major-league relievers, King was a starter in the minors and at the beginning of his MLB career, so being the first pitcher on the mound won't be an entirely new experience. He'll likely be more of an opener than a true starter Saturday, though he did record eight outs in his most recent relief appearance Tuesday against the White Sox and has thrown at least two full innings in 14 of his 38 outings this season. Jhony Brito was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday and could handle the bulk role behind King, though the Yankees have yet to lay out their plans.

Sands was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday.

Sands appeared in four games for the Saints after he was demoted July 28, throwing 5.1 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts. He'll work in a long relief role again with the Twins after Brent Headrick was sent to Triple-A after throwing 67 pitches over 3.1 relief innings in Friday's loss to the Phillies.

Zerpa (1-1) earned the win Friday against the Cardinals. He allowed five runs on five hits and one walk while striking out two over four innings.

It's not that Zerpa was effective, but he entered the game in the second inning already up 8-0 giving him a clear path to earn his first win. The left-hander worked as a starter in the minors prior to his call up Aug. 1, but this was his second appearance as a bulk reliever for the big club and fourth overall. Zerpa has now allowed eight runs in 9.1 innings with only three strikeouts. Those stats do not portend to him holding much value moving forward, especially on a Royals' team that has amassed just 38 wins on the season.

Sandlin (5-5) allowed one run on one hit without recording an out to take the loss in Friday's 9-8 defeat at the hands of the Rays.

Sandlin served up a walk-off solo home run to Wander Franco just three pitches into his ninth-inning appearance after the Guardians had rallied to tie the game. With three runs allowed over three innings plus two losses to begin August, it's been a rough stretch for Sandlin. He has a 3.65 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 49:16 K:BB through 44.1 innings this season.

Smith allowed a run on one hit in one inning to earn the save in Friday's 2-1 win over the Giants.

Smith has given up four runs over his last six innings, but he's been able to protect leads all the same with five saves in that span. The southpaw gave up a double and an RBI groundout in Friday's somewhat shaky outing. Smith is up to 22 saves in 24 chances with a 3.14 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 43:10 K:BB through 43 innings this season as the Rangers' closer.

Fairbanks was removed from a save opportunity Friday versus the Guardians after retiring just two of six batters he faced.

Fairbanks couldn't have asked for an easier save chance in coming in to face a weak Guardians lineup nursing a three-run lead. He was all over the place, though, loading the bases on two walks and a hit-by-pitch before recording an out. Fairbanks recorded a pair of strikeouts around a run-scoring wild pitch, but another wild pitch to allow a run followed by a walk finally ended his night. A final run was charged to his ledger when Robert Stephenson let the tying run score on a wild pitch of his own. The blown save officially goes to Stephenson, but most of this was Fairbanks' doing. His ERA has climbed from 1.73 to 2.93 over his last two appearances.