MLB Player News

The Blue Jays optioned Baker to Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday.

Baker joined Toronto when the roster expanded from 26 to 28 men Sept. 1, but he'll head back to the minors less than a week later after the Blue Jays needed to open up a spot for reliever Julian Merryweather (oblique), who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list. During his first stint in the big leagues, Baker made one appearance out of the bullpen, striking out a batter in a scoreless inning.

The Blue Jays reinstated Merryweather (oblique) from the 60-day injured list Wednesday.

He'll rejoin the Toronto bullpen for the first time since mid-April, after he required just under five months to recover from a severe left oblique strain. Before being shut down with the injury, the hard-throwing Merryweather appeared to emerge as the Blue Jays' preferred option for saves, but his lengthy absence means he'll likely have to prove himself in lower-leverage spots before he regains the trust of manager Charlie Montoyo in the late innings. Jordan Romano still looks like the best bet for saves out of the Toronto bullpen.

Puk (0-3) was tagged with the loss in relief Tuesday against the White Sox after allowing three runs on five hits across one-third of an inning, striking out one.

Puk entered the game in the fifth inning but struggled, facilitating a three-run deficit the A's weren't able to overcome. Puk has now given up multiple runs while pitching less than a full inning in two of his last three appearances, underscoring why he now sports a bloated 6.08 ERA across 13.1 innings (12 appearances) this year.

Lambert (1-1) earned the win Tuesday against Oakland after tossing five innings of one-run ball, allowing three hits and two walks while fanning two.

Lambert has been inconsistent over his four appearances (three starts), which makes it difficult to predict whether he'll remain in the rotation the remainder of the regular season. However, Tuesday's turn was his longest big-league outing of the season, offering some reason for optimism. Lambert owns a 6.23 ERA through four appearances at the MLB level this year, but he's given up just one earned run in each of his last two outings.

Hendriks picked up the save Tuesday against the Athletics after tossing a scoreless inning, striking out one.

Hendriks has nailed each of his last seven save chances and has racked up 33 saves on the year -- he paces the American League in that category and ranks second in all of baseball behind Mark Melancon, who has 36. Hendriks has also hurled five straight scoreless outings and owns an elite 0.82 ERA over his last nine appearances.

Herget (2-1) earned the win Tuesday against the Padres after tossing two scoreless innings in relief, giving up one hit and fanning two.

Herget came into the game in the sixth inning and was in complete control, allowing only one baserunner and completing two frames with just 24 pitches (14 strikes). He's given up just one earned run across three appearances (4.1 innings) since joining the Angels in late August.

Naughton didn't factor into the decision Tuesday against the Padres after tossing five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five.

The five strikeouts were a season-high mark for the left-hander, who took a step forward in his second career MLB start after lasting just 3.2 frames in his first. Naughton has made five appearances for the Angels and owns an impressive 2.57 ERA across 14 innings, though his 9:7 K:BB could use some improvement.

Baumann (1-0) picked up the win in Tuesday's 7-3 victory over the Royals, allowing one unearned run on two hits and a walk over 3.2 relief innings. He struck out one.

The right-hander wasn't dominant in a bulk-relief role during his big-league debut, but Baumann was effective and got rewarded with the win after he took over for Alexander Wells to begin the fifth inning with the O's already ahead. Baumann tossed only 46 pitches (31 strikes), and the team indicated when he was promoted that he wouldn't be used as a starter, but if the 2017 third-round pick keeps generating positive results, that plan could change.

Wells didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 7-3 win over the Royals, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out two.

The O's scored six runs through the first three innings, but Wells wasn't efficient enough to capitalize, getting the hook after 80 pitches (48 strikes). The southpaw has a 7.15 ERA, 1.90 WHIP and 17:11 K:BB through his first 22.2 big-league innings, and with Baltimore having more promising rotation options to sort through in September, Wells isn't likely to hold down a regular starting spot.

Kowar (0-3) took the loss Tuesday, coughing up six runs on five hits and three walks over six innings as the Royals fell 7-3 to the Orioles. He struck out seven.

The strikeouts were a silver lining on an otherwise stormy performance, as Kowar got taken deep by DJ Stewart in the first inning and Austin Hays in the third to account for most of the damage off him. The 24-year-old has lasted six innings in each of his last two starts, but his 9.53 ERA, 1.94 WHIP and 15:12 K:BB through his first 17 big-league innings makes Kowar impossible to trust in fantasy lineups.