MLB Player News

Honeywell (elbow) was cleared to play catch Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Honeywell had been shut down since mid-April due to nerve irritation. He'll throw from 60-to-75 feet for a few days before being re-evaluated Monday.

Taylor was called up for the first time by the Red Sox on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old lefty owns a 2.91 ERA in 21.2 innings for Triple-A Pawtucket this season, striking out 32.2 percent of opposing batters while walking 10.0 percent. Travis Lakins was optioned in a corresponding move.

Lakins was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket on Wednesday.

Lakins spent less than a week on the big-league roster. He got into three games, allowing four runs in 4.1 innings of work. Colten Brewer and Josh Taylor were recalled from Pawtucket in corresponding moves for Lakins and Mitch Moreland (back), who was placed on the injured list.

Mengden will work as a bulk reliever Wednesday against the Angels, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Mengden was originally scheduled to start, but the A's opted to go with an opener in Liam Hendriks before allowing Mengden to come in and cover the bulk of the innings. In three appearances for the big club this season (all starts), Mengden owns a 3.31 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 13:11 K:BB in 16.1 innings.

Hendriks will serve as the opener Wednesday against the Angels.

Hendriks has worked as an opener once this season, firing a scoreless inning while allowing one hit and striking out one in that appearance. He'll likely pitch one or two innings Wednesday before giving way to Daniel Mengden, who figures to cover the bulk of the innings.

Weber will start Wednesday's game against the Indians.

The Red Sox have mostly leaned on Hector Velazquez as their fifth starter since Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) has been sidelined, but Weber received a look in the rotation last week against the Blue Jays and performed well enough to earn at least one more turn. In that outing in Toronto, Weber worked six innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks while striking out four. He'll get another favorable draw Wednesday versus a Cleveland offense that ranks 26th out of 30 teams against right-handed pitching with a 79 wRC+.

The Rangers will deploy Leclerc (calf) as their opening pitcher for Wednesday's game against the Mariners, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Leclerc experienced cramping in his calves in addition to a tight shoulder in his last appearance, but neither issue will impact his availability for the series finale. The Rangers will go back to the well with using Leclerc as an opener after he dazzled in his first look in that role back on May 17, when he struck out two in a perfect inning against the Cardinals. Expect Leclerc to cover one or two frames again Wednesday before giving way to Drew Smyly, who will serve as the Rangers' primary pitcher.

Pagan, who earned his third hold with two scoreless innings in which he allowed just one hit and recorded three strikeouts in a win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday, now has 15 consecutive scoreless appearances.

The offseason acquisition has been one of manager Kevin Cash's top bullpen assets, working multiple frames when necessary and even recording three saves over four chances. Pagan now boasts an elite 0.47 ERA and 0.74 WHIP across 19.0 total innings this season and should continue seeing a relatively heavy workload given his near-perfect showing thus far.

Yarbrough (4-1) fired 3.2 scoreless innings as the bulk reliever in a win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday, issuing a walk and recording a strikeout.

The southpaw was efficient while bouncing back from a trio of rough outings. Yarbrough had allowed a combined 12 earned runs across his previous three appearances, but he settled in over 53 pitches versus the Blue Jays and finished with his second scoreless effort of the season. Yarbrough's role as frequent bulk reliever and occasional spot starter should continue affording him a fair share of opportunities to be involved in the decision, keeping him viable in a number of different fantasy formats.

Brasier was tagged with a blown save after allowing three runs on two hits and a walk without retiring a batter in Tuesday's 7-5 loss to the Indians.

Brasier was the lowlight in a bullpen meltdown that turned a Boston victory into a loss as Cleveland plated five runs in the ninth inning. The positive news for Brasier owners is that he was brought in for a save opportunity to start the ninth inning with Boston leading 5-2, which means he still has the trust of manager Alex Cora. However, the inning went south in a hurry. He gave up a leadoff home run to Roberto Perez, then was touched for a two-run job off the bat of Greg Allen, the Indians' No. 8 hitter who was hitting just .106. Brasier's meltdown comes after a string of positive performances that signaled he was back on track after a shaky beginning to the month of May.