MLB Player News

Merryweather (oblique) made his second rehab appearance Tuesday in the rookie-level Florida Complex League, striking out one of the four batters he faced in a scoreless inning.

Merryweather began a rehab assignment in the FCL last week after being sidelined for the past four months with a left oblique strain, but his next appearance for the affiliate was uncertain after he experienced "general soreness" in his Aug. 18 outing. Evidently, the setback wasn't a significant one, as he was back in action less than a week later. Merryweather will still need additional appearances in the minors to ramp back up after the lengthy stay on the 60-day injured list, so he's unlikely to rejoin the Toronto bullpen until the active roster expands to 28 men Sept. 1.

Romano struck out two in a perfect ninth inning Monday to record his 12th save of the season in a 2-1 win over the White Sox.

The right-hander has been dominant in August, posting a 2.00 ERA and 18:3 K:BB through nine innings while picking up a win and three saves. Toronto's bullpen has been an issue all season, but the closer role at least seems to be in good hands with Romano.

Lovelady allowed a hit and struck out one without allowing a run in two-thirds of an inning to earn a hold in Monday's 7-1 win over Houston.

The southpaw entered with one out in the seventh inning with Kansas City leading 4-1. Lovelady has earned two holds in his last five outings, and he's only allowed three hits while striking out six in that 5.1 inning span. For the year, he has a 3.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 20:5 K:BB while adding a 2-0 record and one save in 18.2 innings. While he probably won't be a regular late-inning option, he's pitched well enough to warrant more high-leverage work lately.

Trivino (5-6) blew the save and took the loss in Monday's 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Mariners, allowing three runs on four hits with two strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning.

After surrendering the lead in a save situation Saturday, Trivino did so once again Monday. Oakland's closer opened the ninth by permitting a homer and two more hits before settling down with two strikeouts, though an ensuing Jake Bauers two-run single prompted his removal. The pair of poor outings raises Trivino's ERA from 1.72 to 2.43, though they come on the heels of 10 innings without an earned run.

Sewald saved Monday's 5-3 victory over the Athletics, striking out one in a clean ninth.

After Seattle scored three in the top of the inning, Sewald entered in the ninth and slammed the door on the middle of Oakland's order. The 31-year-old has had himself quite the week since returning from the paternity list Tuesday, recording a win, three saves and a hold in five innings, and appears to be leading Seattle's closer committee.

Brentz was placed on the 10-day injured list Monday with a left shoulder impingement, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Brentz delivered a scoreless inning and picked up a hold Friday against the Cubs, and he'll now be sidelined by the shoulder issue. It's unclear how long he's expected to be out, though he'll be eligible to be activated Aug. 31 versus Cleveland.

Snead was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Monday.

Snead has spent the past couple weeks in the majors and appeared in five games, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks over six innings. He has a 1.95 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 43:12 K:BB across 32.1 innings at Triple-A this season, and he's a likely candidate to rejoin the Blue Jays when bullpen help is required down the stretch.

Sewald (8-3) recorded the victory in an extra-innings win over the Astros on Sunday, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out the side in a scoreless 10th inning.

The right-hander got himself into immediate trouble by allowing a leadoff single to Jose Altuve that pushed inning-opening pinch-runner Lance McCullers to third. However, after an intentional walk to Michael Brantley loaded the bases, Sewald impressively bore down to strike out Carlos Correa, Jason Castro and Yuli Gurriel, with the last two punchouts featuring swinging third strikes. Sewald has developed into an excellent fantasy reliever, complementing his eight victories with six saves and 10 holds while filling a variety of later-inning roles.

Barnes gave up two runs on four hits while recording only one out to blow his sixth save of the season in Monday's 8-4 extra-innings win over the Rangers.

Entering the game in the ninth inning and entrusted with a 3-1 lead, Barnes didn't allow much hard contact but still found himself facing Andy Ibanez with the bases loaded, only for the young Ranger to smoke a ground-rule double into the right-field bullpen to tie things up. Barnes has seen only two saves chances since Aug. 4 and blown them both, and his 15.20 ERA through eight appearances and 5.1 innings so far this month is a far cry from the 2.30 ERA he carried into August. His job as closer doesn't yet seem to be in jeopardy, but Boston may not be able to afford him too much patience as they fight to hang onto a playoff spot.

Armstrong (1-0) was credited with the victory in a win over the White Sox on Sunday, firing two scoreless innings during which he issued a walk and recorded four strikeouts.

Following a rocky early-season tenure with the Rays, Armstrong has looked like a different pitcher since returning to the big-league club Tuesday. The right-hander has allowed just a single hit -- a solo home run -- across five innings over three appearances while generating an impressive 8:1 K:BB.