MLB Player News

Texas manager Bruce Bochy said Bradford showed better command in Sunday's start, his second in the majors, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports. "He had the changeup going, and I thought his breaking ball was better too," the manager said.

Bradford bounced back from a rough introduction to the majors May 15 and arguably could have had a better result Sunday. He allowed two runs in the first inning, which included pop-up single by Cedric Mullins that had an expected batting average of .030. Bradford showed mettle in putting that inning behind him and retired the 13 of the final 15 batters.

The Rangers selected Anderson's contract from Triple-A Round Rock on Monday.

Anderson will join the Rangers after he posted a 3.80 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with 38 strikeouts over 21.1 innings in 11 appearances -- including one start -- with Round Rock this season. The right-hander will be added to the big-league bullpen, replacing Cody Bradford on the major-league roster after Bradford was optioned to Triple-A. Ricky Vanasco was designated for assignment Monday to open up a spot for Anderson on the 40-man roster.

Pivetta allowed two hits and struck out three over three scoreless relief innings in Sunday's 4-2 loss to Arizona.

The Diamondbacks tattooed starter Tanner Houck and were in position to run away, but Pivetta gave the Red Sox a chance to come back with his best relief appearance since moving to the bullpen. In three outings as a reliever, Pivetta has a 3.24 ERA with nine strikeouts and zero walks over 8.1 innings.

Guardians manager Terry Francona said over the weekend that Morris (lat) will be built up to three innings during his rehab assignment before the organization decides whether he'll serve as a starter or reliever upon returning from the 60-day injured list, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Morris, who is working back from a right lat strain, covered 1.2 scoreless innings in his second rehab outing with Double-A Akron on Sunday, so he'll presumably make at least one more appearance in the minors before the Guardians solidify their plan for him moving forward. Though the 26-year-old right-hander has been working as a starter up to this point in his development, the Guardians are already flush with rotation depth and will get Aaron Civale (oblique) and Triston McKenzie (shoulder) back from the IL within the next week or two. With that in mind, the bullpen likely represents the clearer path for Morris to pitch with the big club at this time, though it's possible the Guardians choose to option him to Triple-A Columbus at the conclusion of his rehab assignment to have him continue to make regular starts and stay ready in case injuries hit the big-league rotation down the road.

Romano struck out the side and allowed one hit to secure his 12th save of the year in a 3-0 win over the Twins on Sunday.

Romano struck out Alex Kirilloff, Willi Castro and Kyle Farmer while needing just 16 pitches to put the Twins away. It was just the second time this season he's racked up three strikeouts in an inning, and he's now picked up two saves over the past three days. The 30-year-old sits at a 3.00 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 27:6 K:BB over 21 innings. The Blue Jays are off Monday, so Romano should be available Tuesday when they open things up against the Brewers.

Barlow (2-3) pitched a hitless ninth while walking one and striking out a batter to pick up the win over the Nationals on Sunday.

Barlow set down the Nationals on 17 pitches with the game tied up 2-2 in the ninth and wound up with his second win after the Royals walked it off. The 30-year-old has allowed a run just once over his last 13 outings but has just two saves and both his wins this month. Barlow has now pitched on consecutive days and likely should have the day off Monday against the Cardinals. He now owns a 3.86 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 29:11 K:BB over 21 innings.

Pagan left Sunday's loss to Toronto with a minor muscle strain in the hip/groin area, manager Rocco Baldelli told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Pagan's injury was initially thought to be an arm injury, but this sounds like a less worrisome issue. He may be able to avoid a trip to the injured list.

Coulombe (2-1) retired the only batter he faced to earn the win Sunday over the Rangers.

Coulombe got Nathaniel Lowe to fly out to end the top of the eighth inning before the Orioles pulled ahead a half-inning later. This was Coulombe's sixth straight scoreless outing, a span in which he's covered 5.2 innings with an 8:1 K:BB. The southpaw seems to have bounced back from his rough patch in early May. He's now at a 2.37 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 27:4 K:BB through 19 innings while adding eight holds and two blown saves. He remains in the setup mix as part of the bridge to closer Felix Bautista.

Sewald issued one walk and recorded two strikeouts in Sunday's win over the Pirates. He was charged with a blown save.

Sewald entered the eighth inning of Sunday's contest and allowed an inherited run to score on a wild pitch. It was his first blown save of the season after converting his first 11 opportunities. He's struck out seven batters in 3.2 scoreless innings over his last four appearances, lowering his season ERA to 3.09 with a 32:6 K:BB through 23.1 frames.

Hendriks (illness) is expected to be reinstated from the injured list ahead of Monday's game against the Angels, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Hendriks was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in January and spent several months undergoing chemotherapy, but he had his last round of chemotherapy in early April and announced that he was cancer-free April 20. The 34-year-old has spent the last several weeks on a rehab assignment in which he allowed six runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out five in five innings over six appearances. Hendriks threw several live batting practice sessions in recent days and has been cleared to return from the injured list when the White Sox return home Monday. It's unclear whether the team will immediately slot him into the closer's role, but he's been one of the most dominant ninth-inning options in recent seasons and will likely be entrusted in high-leverage situations following his inspirational recovery.