MLB Player News

Alexander gave up one run on three hits and one walk while striking out one through seven innings in a no-decision against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

Alexander didn't generate a ton of whiffs, but he forced plenty of soft contact and kept the Blue Jays from the basepaths for most of this outing. He retired the final 14 batters he faced and delivered his first quality start. While the 25-year-old had a 5.72 ERA in Triple-A, Alexander has likely earned an extended opportunity with the big-league club after this performance.

Beeks will start Monday against the Red Sox, Josh Tolentino of The Athletic reports.

Beeks typically follows an opener, but the way Tolentino phrased this tweet suggests that we could see Beeks work as a traditional starter against his former team. It would be preferable in most formats to have Beeks work after an opener, because he rarely logs five innings, so he is unlikely to get a win when working as a traditional starter. He will likely pitch as a starter or primary pitcher next weekend in Toronto as well, so it could be viewed as a two-start week.

Johnson (infection) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket on Sunday.

He turned in a 1-2-3 inning with a couple strikeouts out of the bullpen for the PawSox. Johnson could rejoin the big-league bullpen in late July or early August.

Peters was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake prior to his start Sunday against the Mariners, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The 26-year-old southpaw has a 6.47 ERA in 57 innings at Triple-A and has given up four earned runs in 8.2 innings in the majors. He threw five innings in his most recent start, so he will be able to log a starter's workload, but he is still a pretty risky streaming option, given his lack of notable success against upper-level hitting.

Poche, who earned his sixth hold in an extra-innings loss to the White Sox on Saturday, had allowed nine earned runs over his three prior appearances and owns a 12.38 ERA across eight innings over eight relief outings in July.

The 25-year-old left-hander got his major-league career off to a relatively solid start after being called up from Triple-A Durham on June 8, posting a 1-1 record, recording four holds, and generating a 3.65 ERA across the 12.1 innings covering his 12 appearances the remainder of that month. Poche also allowed just an earned run over his first four trips to the mound in July before melting down over the aforementioned three-appearance stretch immediately preceding his outing against the White Sox. Manager Kevin Cash has nevertheless showed patience with his young reliever, and perhaps Saturday's brief (one-third of an inning) but scoreless turn plants the seed for a righting of the ship.

Kolarek (3-3) was charged with the loss in Saturday's extra-innings defeat at the hands of the White Sox, allowing an earned run on two hits and a walk over an inning while also recording a strikeout.

Kolarek's third loss of the season all came as a result of a walk he issued to Yoan Moncada to open up the 11th inning. That would be the last batter he faced, but the single Chaz Roe subsequently surrendered to Jose Abreu plated Moncada with what would ultimately prove to be the winning run. Kolarek has now been charged with an earned run apiece in two of his last three appearances, but he still sports a solid 3.38 ERA and also has a win and a hold across 5.1 innings (seven appearances) thus far in July.

Pagan was charged with his sixth blown save of the season in an extra-innings loss to the White Sox on Saturday, allowing an earned run on a solo home run and recording a strikeout over two-thirds of an inning.

Entrusted with a 1-0 lead and just two outs away from a save when he entered in the top of the ninth, Pagan surrendered a game-tying solo homer to James McCann after striking out Jose Abreu to start his outing. It was the third blown save opportunity for Pagan in July, with all having come in the last seven appearances. The 28-year-old still sports an impressive 2.06 ERA and 0.86 WHIP, but his recent stumbles could lead to ninth-inning chances tilting more in Diego Castillo's favor until Jose Alvarado (oblique) is ready for a return.

Treinen (3-3) earned the victory over the Twins on Saturday, allowing a hit and issuing two walks over two-thirds of a scoreless inning.

It wasn't exactly the smoothest performance -- not many are these days for Treinen -- but it was enough to earn the scuffling reliever his third win of the campaign. Treinen has been displaced, at least for the time being, from the closer role, and Saturday's outing marked the fourth straight appearance he's allowed at least one baserunner. Treinen's elevated 4.46 ERA and 1.61 WHIP, both the second highest of his career, underscore his current struggles, and he may remain primarily limited to setup work during the balance of the season.

Johnson (infection) is building up arm strength, and manager Alex Cora said the left-hander could throw a session Sunday or Monday, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

Johnson has been on the shelf since June 29 with an intestinal issue and needs to add stamina to his arm. "He's good arm-wise," Cora said. "He just needs the repetitions. We're not very worried about building him up, it's just a matter of building him up, that's about it. He should be with us as soon as we feel he's comfortable as far as the innings and we're extending him long enough that he should help us." Johnson is without a firm timetable, but he could face a shorter rehab assignment if the Red Sox transition him to the bullpen. Since he landed on the injured list, Boston added starter Andrew Cashner, so Johnson is no longer needed for multiple innings every fifth day.

Alexander was recalled from Triple-A Toledo ahead of his start Sunday against the Blue Jays.

The 25-year-old lefty has a 5.72 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 94 strikeouts in 85 innings at Triple-A. Alexander gave up two runs in five innings in his only MLB start from earlier this season. The expectation is that Alexander will stick in the rotation going forward.