MLB Player News

Speas (elbow) returned from Double-A Frisco's 7-day injured list Tuesday and gave up a run on one hit and one walk over one inning in his first appearance with the affiliate since May 22.

An inflamed right elbow kept Speas on the shelf for just over three months. The 2016 second-round pick has worked exclusively as a reliever at Frisco this season, giving up 11 earned runs in 7.1 innings across eight appearances.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore said Sunday that he expects Lovelady to avoid surgery and treat the sprained UCL in his left elbow with rest and rehab, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports Kansas City reports.

Injuries of these sort often involve Tommy John surgery, but Lovelady appears likely to avoid a procedure that would sideline him through the 2022 season. Though Moore didn't say so, Lovelady is still expected to miss the remainder of the 2021 campaign, but the lefty will be sent in for further tests before the Royals provide an updated timeline for his return, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com.

Hearn (4-4) allowed two earned runs on six hits while striking out six across 6.2 innings, earning the win over the Astros on Sunday.

Hearn allowed a solo home run to Yordan Alvarez in the fifth inning. He surrendered two additional extra-base hits later in the inning, leading to a second run for the Astros. However, he allowed just two other baserunners to reach safely outside of that frame. The 26-year-old hasn't gone deeper than five innings before Sunday. On the season, he has a 3.96 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 77 strikeouts in 77.1 innings.

Rodriguez (lat) has yet to resume throwing and isn't expected to have enough time to ramp up as a starter if he returns, per MLB.com.

Rodriguez was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A on Aug. 14 and is considered week-to-week. The right-hander worked primarily as a reliever during his time with the Angels this season but did log two starts in 15 appearances. Manager Joe Maddon said in April that Rodriguez has what it takes to become "a front-line starter," but the rookie appears unlikely to work in that capacity again this season, if he is able to return at all.

Mayza allowed one hit in 1.1 innings to earn the save in Sunday's 2-1 win over Detroit.

Toronto's regular closer, Jordan Romano, covered two innings to earn the win Saturday, opening the door for Mayza to notch his first major-league save. The 29-year-old southpaw was never in any real danger of giving up the one-run lead. He's pitched to a solid 3.64 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 43:9 K:BB across 42 innings this year. He's added a 4-2 record, 13 holds and two blown saves, typically operating in high-leverage situations.

The Tigers optioned Foley to Triple-A Toledo after Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Foley tossed a scoreless sixth inning Sunday, but he issued two walks and needed 23 pitches to retire the side. The Tigers' decision to demote Foley likely has less to do with how he looked Sunday than it does the team's desire to add another fresh arm to the bullpen ahead of Monday's game against the Twins.

The Rangers will call up Alexy from Triple-A Round Rock to start Monday's game against the Rockies in Texas, Chris Halicke of SI.com reports.

Alexy will join Jake Latz and Glenn Otto to become the third new pitcher to enter the Texas rotation in the past week while the Rangers await the returns of Mike Foltynewicz, Dane Dunning, Spencer Howard and Drew Anderson from the COVID-19 injured list. Texas could get at least one of those pitchers back by the end of the upcoming week, but Alexy would have a case to stick around with the big club if he can deliver a quality outing in his MLB debut Monday. Over 65 innings between Round Rock and Double-A Frisco this season, the 23-year-old Alexy has compiled a 1.66 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 76:27 K:BB while holding opposing hitters to a .175 average.

Chargois (4-0) earned the win over the Orioles on Saturday, firing a perfect seventh inning.

Chargois fired 11 of 14 pitches for strikes in a pristine performance. The right-hander now has four straight scoreless appearances and has notched victories in two of his last three trips to the mound, coaxing his ERA and WHIP down to 2.38 and 0.94, respectively.

The Royals placed Lovelady on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a UCL sprain in his left elbow.

The injury comes at a tough time for Lovelady, who has posted 7.1 straight scoreless innings while logging four holds in that span. The Royals haven't revealed the severity of Lovelady's sprain, but since he's dealing with structural damage to his elbow, it's possible that his season could be over, and Tommy John surgery may even be in the cards. Tyler Zuber was called up from Triple-A Omaha to take his place on the roster.

Harvey (lat) experienced some soreness after his last rehab outing with Triple-A Norfolk and won't be activated from the 10-day injured list during the Orioles' upcoming road trip that begins Monday, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Harvey has made three appearances during this rehab assignment with Norfolk, yielding two runs on five hits with two strikeouts in three innings. His most recent outing was Aug. 24, and it's unclear if the soreness he experienced is related to the lat strain he's recovering from or if it's a new issue.