MLB Player News

Logue was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday, Melissa Lockard of The Athletic reports.

Logue was acquired from the Blue Jays in mid-March and has now been called up to the majors for the first time. It could be a short stay with the big club for the 25-year-old since A.J. Puk (undisclosed) and Kirby Snead (undisclosed) may return from the restricted list after this weekend.

Snead (undisclosed) was placed on the restricted list ahead of Friday's series opener in Toronto, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The Athletics didn't provide a reason for Snead's placement on the restricted list, but it appears likely that the move was made since he's unable to travel to Canada due to being unvaccinated. Zach Logue and Ryan Castellani were called up to provide bullpen depth against the Blue Jays.

Puk (undisclosed) was placed on the restricted list ahead of Friday's series opener at Toronto, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Teams can use the restricted list for players who are unvaccinated and unable to travel to Canada, and it appears Puk falls into that category. Zach Logue and Ryan Castellani have been added to the big-league roster for bullpen depth for this weekend.

Chapman walked all three batters he faced in the ninth inning of Thursday's game against the Blue Jays.

With the Yankees up 3-0 heading into the ninth inning, Chapman was summoned to finish off the contest. However, the veteran closer was unable to find the strike zone, throwing just four of 16 pitches for strikes and walking all three hitters who came to the plate. Manager Aaron Boone then turned to Michael King, who recorded the first save of his career by stranding the bases loaded. Chapman was thus spared an even uglier stat line, though his fantasy managers will no doubt bemoan the missed opportunity to pick up a save. The fireballer entered the contest having registered a 5:0 K:BB and allowing no hits over three scoreless innings on the season, and given his long history of success, there's little chance that the team will lose confidence in him as a result of Thursday's messy outing. He should remain among the most secure fantasy closers, but given his history of high walk rates, occasional outings like Thursday's are to be expected.

Rodriguez was designated for assignment by the Twins on Friday.

Rodriguez joined the major-league club Wednesday and allowed three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out two in four relief innings against the Dodgers. Although the right-hander was able to preserve some of the team's other bullpen arms with his lengthy outing Wednesday, he'll now lose his spot on the 40-man roster after Kyle Garlick's contract was selected by Minnesota.

Burke allowed one hit and struck out five over two scoreless relief innings in Thursday's 10-5 win over the Angels.

Burke made his second appearance of the season, both coming in blowouts, but he's been effective. The left-hander, who was a starter before the Rangers shifted him to the bullpen in 2022, has allowed two hits, walked one and struck out 10 over four innings with a 0.00 ERA. It's a limited sample and pitching middle innings is not like working in high-leverage spots, but the Rangers are in need of someone to take hold of the closer role so Burke could move into a more prominent position in the bullpen if he keeps getting results.

Martin allowed one run on two hits and a walk over one inning in Thursday's 10-5 win over the Angels.

Martin finished up the blowout win and probably wasn't being too fine with his pitches, but the left-hander has not had a clean inning yet in 2022. He's allowed runs in all three outings thus far, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out one over 2.1 innings.

King (1-0) allowed zero hits and one walk over 1.1 scoreless relief innings to pick up the win over the Angels on Thursday.

Starter Dane Dunning was pulled after eight outs and 86 pitches, but the Rangers were coasting at the time with an 8-2 lead. Dunning's inefficiency created a chance for King to collect his first win of 2022. King, who worked as a multi-inning reliever in 2021, vultured seven wins out of the bullpen last season, when Texas starters often needed relief. The rotation is off to a similar start this season (6.85 ERA while averaging four innings per start), so guys like King could be needed often in the middle innings. Mix in a potent offense (fourth in runs scored so far) and the recipe is there for more relief wins.

Brentz (0-2) took the loss Thursday versus the Tigers, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning.

Brentz has made a mess of his last two outings, and he's taken the loss in both. He allowed RBI singles to Victor Reyes and Austin Meadows in the seventh inning of this contest, and the Royals' offense wasn't able to get him off the hook. Brentz has now allowed four runs, four hits and four walks with four strikeouts through 2.1 innings. The 27-year-old was effective in a high-leverage role last year, but he could move to the middle innings if he doesn't get back on track soon.

Pilkington was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday.

Pilkington secured a spot on the Guardians' Opening Day roster this year, but he didn't make his major-league debut in any of the team's first six games of the regular season. The southpaw made 22 appearances (21 starts) at the Double-A level last year and posted a 3.13 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 100.2 innings, and he should now get a chance to face Triple-A competition for the first time. The Guardians haven't yet announced a corresponding move, but it's possible Josh Naylor (lower leg) will be able to return from the 10-day injured list.