MLB Player News

VerHagen is expected to work as a "piggyback" reliever behind starter Daniel Norris in Thursday's game against the Indians, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Norris has delivered solid results while working exactly three innings in each of his last three starts, so he'll presumably be in store for another early departure in his next turn before giving way to VerHagen. Detroit deployed VerHagen in a traditional starting role his last time out in Minnesota over the weekend, with the right-hander covering six innings while fanning a career-high 11 batters. That performance may result in VerHagen earning additional starts in the final month of the season, but he'll shift to the bullpen for at least this week after Monday's off day allowed Detroit to streamline the rotation.

Norris is slated to make what will likely be an abbreviated start Thursday against the Indians, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Since Norris hadn't found much success in a traditional starting role this season, the Tigers have taken the "piggyback" approach to his last three turns through the rotation. Norris has been pulled after three innings in each of those turns, posting a 4.00 ERA and 1.22 WHIP during that stretch. Another three-inning outing presumably awaits Norris this week, with Drew VerHagen slated to work in long relief once the southpaw exits.

Chapman picked up the save against the Mariners on Monday, posting a pair of strikeouts without allowing a baserunner in a scoreless ninth inning to close out the Yankees' 5-4 victory.

It was smooth sailing for the big lefty in this one, as he needed just 10 pitches to dispatch of the Mariners in order to pick up his 36th save of the season. Chapman has been lights-out in August, as he has yet to allow a run and has posted a 16:3 K:BB in 10 appearances for the month. The dominant stretch leaves him with a 2.26 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 77:23 K:BB over 51.2 innings on the season.

Betances (lat) will pitch to hitters Wednesday and could begin a rehab assignment soon thereafter, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Betances recovered well from his recent simulated game and will toss another Wednesday. A minor-league rehab assignment may be on the horizon if he makes it through that session without experiencing any setbacks. The Yankees are hopeful that Betances can return in mid-September to bolster the bullpen as the team gears up for the playoffs.

Montero has posted a 1.08 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 19:5 K:BB across 16.2 innings in his 10 appearances with the Rangers since being promoted from Triple-A Nashville.

A once-promising starting pitching prospect in the Mets organization, Montero made the transition to the bullpen after missing the entire 2018 season following Tommy John surgery. After dominating at the minor-league level earlier this season, Montero was rewarded with a callup and hasn't seen his performance suffer while testing himself against tougher competition. Texas initially used him in lower-leverage situations, but he's started to gain traction in the middle and late innings recently, notching holds in two of his last four outings.

Chavez (elbow) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Monday.

Chavez has already been ruled out for the remainder of the season with an elbow injury; he'll be reexamined this week to determine if surgery is necessary to address the bone spur in his right elbow. In the first year of his two-year, $8 million contract with Texas, the veteran hurler posted a 4.85 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 72:22 K:BB across 78 innings. Yohander Mendez (elbow) was activated from the IL and optioned to the minors in a corresponding move.

Gonsalves (elbow) was resinated from the injured list and sent to Double-A Pensacola on Monday, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.

Gonsalves has battled elbow issues for most of the season, making just a single appearance before beginning his rehab assignment at the rookie-league level in mid-August. He spent the bulk of last season at the Triple-A level and could head there soon before potentially pushing for a big-league bullpen spot for the last few weeks of the season.

Lopez struck out two in a perfect 10th inning en route to securing a save Sunday in the Royals' 9-8 win over the Indians.

The right-hander's previous two appearances had come as a starter, but he shifted back to the bullpen with the Royals anticipating Danny Duffy's (hamstring) return from the 10-day injured list during the upcoming week. Lopez came through with a spotless showing in a high-leverage spot, but his usage in the save situation was likely a byproduct of the Royals exhausting their preferred late-inning options earlier in the contest. Lopez will likely work primarily in the middle innings or in mop-up scenarios moving forward.

Adams (lat) fired a scoreless seventh inning in Triple-A Tacoma's loss to Las Vegas on Sunday, recording one strikeout.

This was Adams' second and final scheduled rehab appearance with the Rainiers before his assignment gets moved over to Double-A Arkansas. The right-hander breezed through both of his Triple-A outings, firing a pair of scoreless frames while recording three strikeouts. Adams is expected to rejoin the Mariners when rosters expand Sept. 1.

Bass allowed a run on a hit and a walk while striking out three over 1.1 innings Friday against Toronto.

Bass failed to produce a scoreless outing for his club, though the Mariners would emerge with a 7-4 victory in the series opener. The 31-year-old right-hander was given an opportunity to close Aug. 17 against the Blue Jays, but after surrendering a run, he was charged with a blown save. Meanwhile, Matt Magill appears to have stepped into the closer's role for Seattle, racking up three saves in his last four chances, all coming within the last eight days. Though Bass may be called on in high-leverage situations moving forward, Magill is clearly the Mariners' top choice in the ninth inning.