MLB Player News

The Twins outrighted Gearrin to their alternate training site Sunday.

Gearrin lost his spot on the Twins' 40-man roster when he was designated for assignment last week, but he'll remain in the organization after going unclaimed off waivers. Before he was DFA'd, Gearrin made one appearance for the Twins, tossing two scoreless frames out of the bullpen.

Nelson was recalled by the Yankees on Tuesday.

Nelson made the first two appearances of his big-league career earlier in the year, allowing six earned runs in 4.2 innings of work. He'll presumably fill a low-leverage relief role during his time with the team.

Puk (shoulder) threw all four of his pitches during a 30-pitch bullpen session at the Athletics' alternate training site in San Jose on Monday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Puk was able to deploy his fastball, curveball, changeup and slider without issues during the session, and he'll now take two days off before repeating the process Thursday. The big southpaw is slated to work out of the bullpen upon his eventual return to the active roster, and the steady, setback-free progress he's made thus far in his rehabilitation seems to have him on track for an early-September activation at the moment.

Chapman tossed one inning in Monday's win over the Red Sox, allowing one run on two hits while striking out two in a non-save situation.

Chapman showed a bit of rust in his first outing of the season -- he gave up a triple and a double to yield one run -- but his fastball was as overpowering as ever, hitting 101 mph (per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com) on the veteran's final pitch. Chapman had no issue keeping the ball in the zone, throwing 14 of 20 pitches for strikes and punching out his final two batters. He won't pitch in back-to-back games this week, Hoch notes separately, but Chapman is solidly in control of New York's closer role, so his next outing could very well be in a save situation.

Taylor threw a perfect sixth inning in Monday's 6-3 loss to the Yankees. He struck out one and threw seven strikes among his nine pitches.

Taylor made his debut after missing the start of the season while dealing with a positive test result for COVID-19. The left-hander will help bolster a bullpen that has struggled to cover for Boston's shaky starting pitching.

Lopez (shoulder) is expected to be back with the White Sox by the end of August, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Lopez recently tossed a simulated game and will continue to test his right shoulder soreness in a throwing program at the alternate camp. He's considered slightly ahead of fellow injured pitcher Carlos Rodon (shoulder), whose return could stretch out into September.

Heller was optioned to New York's alternate training site, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, following Monday's game against the Red Sox, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Heller appeared in two games since his promotion Aug. 8, striking out two over 1.2 scoreless innings of relief work.

Taylor allowed a hit in one inning to earn the save in Monday's 2-1 win over the Rockies.

Taylor had little margin for error, but he made the lead hold after allowing a leadoff infield single to Charlie Blackmon. Three flyouts later, Taylor had his first major-league save. The 25-year-old has pitched to a 1.54 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 12 strikeouts in 11.2 innings this season. Ryan Pressly still has the upper hand for closing duties, but Taylor's work through 10 appearances has made him a solid late-innings option.

Smeltzer (2-0) allowed one walk and one hit while striking out three across 2.2 scoreless innings to earn the win Monday against the Royals.

Smelzter followed Matt Wisler into the game, and began pitching in the third inning. He worked effectively, with the only hit he allowed being a base knock. Smeltzer has worked regularly in a multi-inning role to this point in the season, and since allowing five earned runs in his first appearance, he has surrendered only three earned runs across 9.2 frames.

Alexander will pitch out of the bullpen going forward but could be called upon to pitch in a multi-inning role following the debuts of Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize on Tuesday and Wednesday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Alexander has recorded anywhere between one and 11 outs in his six appearances thus far this season, with only one outing coming as a start. The arrivals of Skubal and Mize push him further down the rotation depth chart, though neither pitcher is ready for a true starter's workload just yet, so Alexander's ability to provide length remains valuable.