MLB Player News

Harvey (elbow, shoulder) will resume a throwing program in December, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Harvey experienced elbow soreness in mid-September during the instructional league but fortunately didn't suffer any sort of major injury. At the time of his latest setback, he had been recovering from a shoulder injury that forced him to shut it down for the rest of the 2018 season back in early June. Kubatko added that Harvey's elbow "feels good" at the moment, though it's hard to be completely confident in the 23-year-old due to his injury history.

Kimbrel picked up the save with a scoreless inning in Game 5 on Thursday as the Red Sox clinched the American League pennant against the Astros, permitting just one walk and no hits while striking out two.

Kimbrel entered the game with a three-run lead and allowed a one-out walk to Yuli Gurriel, but he retired the next two batters to nail down the save for the Red Sox. The closer recorded 42 saves with a 2.74 ERA in the regular season and needed just 14 pitches to earn his fifth save in five postseason chances.

Kiekhefer was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville on Monday.

Kiekhefer was dropped from the team's 40-man roster in order to make room for younger players who warrant protection from the upcoming Rule 5 draft. The southpaw made just four appearances for the A's in 2018, allowing four runs across two innings of work. He posted a 3.39 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 7.9 K/9 in 58.1 innings across multiple levels of the minors.

Kimbrel gave up one run on one hit and no walks through 1.1 innings to pick up a save against the Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. He struck out three.

Kimbrel entered the game with two outs in the eighth inning with a two-run lead and promptly forced Andrew McCutchen to fly out to right field. The right-hander gave up a solo home run to Aaron Judge leading off the ninth that made the score 5-4, but Kimbrel proceeded to strike out the next three hitters to nail down the save for the Red Sox. The closer recorded 42 saves with a 2.74 ERA in the regular season and looked just as dominant in his first postseason appearance.

Merryweather (elbow) was traded to the Blue Jays from Cleveland on Friday as the player to be named later in the Josh Donaldson trade.

Merryweather was reported as the PTBNL last month, but he wasn't able to be officially traded since he was on the minor-league disabled list. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery back in March, so he may miss some time at the beginning of next season.

Devenski is not on the Astros' 25-man postseason roster for the ALDS against Cleveland, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Devenski had a forgettable July and only logged 6.2 innings over seven appearances in September after spending a month on the disabled list with a hamstring injury. Nonetheless, it comes as a slight surprise to see Devenski left off the roster due to his potential swing-and-miss stuff.

Burdi (elbow) is scheduled to pitch in an instructional league game Thursday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Burdi is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in July of 2017. The 23-year-old made seven appearances for the AZL White Sox in August, posting a 2.84 ERA with seven strikeouts across 6.1 innings. He's now set to throw a few innings in the instructional league before the Arizona Fall League kicks back up Oct. 9. Burdi is expected to transition to a pitching plan that resembles how he would be used in the big-league bullpen. He could compete for a high-leverage role next spring if his arm is ready.

Manager Aaron Boone said Chapman will serve as the Yankees' closer during Wednesday's AL Wild Card Game against Oakland if the club has a lead to protect heading into the ninth inning, Marc Carig of The Athletic reports.

Though this doesn't come as any sort of surprise, Boone's statement is notable since Chapman has only recorded one save since mid-August due to a knee injury. Dating back to Sept. 20, Chapman has appeared in five games, during which he allowed three runs in 4.1 innings.

Johnson will not make Boston's roster for the ALDS, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Johnson only pitched 12 innings during the month of September, with a majority of those coming as a middle-relief option in the bullpen. Though manager Alex Cora has yet to completely set his roster for Friday's series opener against the Yankees or Athletics, he already told Johnson that he will not be one of the pitchers carried in this round of the postseason.

Hendriks will take the mound as Oakland's opening pitcher for Wednesday's AL Wild Card Game against the Yankees, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

As expected, Hendriks will serve as the "opener" with the club choosing to go the route of a "bullpen game" instead of having a regular starter toe the rubber. Out of the 11 pitchers on the Athletics' roster for this contest, Edwin Jackson is the only typical starter that will be available Wednesday night. Don't expect to see Hendriks remain in the game past the first inning, as he's only recorded more than three outs twice in his last 16 appearances. The right-hander hasn't given up a run in his last 11.1 innings and holds a 0.71 WHIP with nine strikeouts during that span.