MLB Player News

Covey (3-1) got the win Wednesday, allowing two runs on 10 hits while striking out five over seven innings against the Indians.

Though the 10 hits are a bit alarming, all of them were singles and Covey was mostly able to work around them to avoid any damage until he came back out to start the eighth inning. The 26-year-old has outdueled Chris Sale and Trevor Bauer in consecutive outings, and is working to a 1.00 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 18 innings over his last three starts -- all against first place teams (Milwaukee, Boston and Cleveland). He'll carry a 2.29 ERA into a rematch against the Indians on Monday.

Moore has been removed from the starting rotation and shifted to a bullpen role, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

He'll no longer make his scheduled start over the weekend, though the Rangers have yet to announce his replacement in the rotation. This isn't all too surprising, as Moore struggled mightily through 12 starts this season, compiling an 8.02 ERA and 41:26 K:BB across 55 innings of work. He tossed a scoreless inning of relief in his lone appearance out of the bullpen this season, so maybe he'll fare better in a long-relief role.

Smith underwent successful shoulder surgery Wednesday, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

Smith suffered the injury in mid-May after throwing his glove in the dugout, and he'll be sidelined for the remainder of the season after undergoing the procedure. The right-hander, who has been limited to just 23.2 major-league innings over the past three seasons due to injuries, will now look to get healthy before the start of spring training next year.

Diaz will be unavailable for Wednesday's game against the Angles after pitching four of the past five days, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

In his place, Alex Colome will likely be utilized in the ninth inning should a save opportunity present itself. Look for Diaz to be available for Thursday's series opener against Boston.

Hart was optioned back down to the minors prior to Wednesday's game.

Hart was cast off the active roster in order to make room for Yefry Ramirez, who will be making his major-league debut against the Red Sox. Over six appearances with Baltimore this season, Hart has posted a 1.35 ERA, 2.75 FIP and three strikeouts across 6.2 innings of relief.

Andriese is slated to enter Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays in relief of starter Wilmer Font and pitch the bulk of the innings, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Andriese followed Font in the Rays' loss Friday to the Mariners, covering 2.1 innings and giving up two runs on five hits and a walk. The right-hander has shown some cracks of late with eight runs (five earned) allowed over 11 innings spanning his last five five appearances, but he's been solid overall while transitioning to a full-time long-relief role this season. He enters Wednesday's outing with a 3.58 ERA and 38:7 K:BB across 37.2 innings.

Diaz recorded his 25th save in Tuesday's win over the Angels, firing a scoreless ninth inning in which he recorded two strikeouts.

The workhorse closer took the mound for the fourth time in five days, but he was as sharp as he's been all season. Diaz came just one pitch short of getting all 10 of his offerings into the strike zone as he knifed through the trio of Martin Maldonado, Ian Kinsler and Mike Trout, notably retiring Trout on a swinging strikeout after he'd blasted a pair of home runs earlier in the game. Manager Scott Servais would undoubtedly call on Diaz each and every time the Mariners held a ninth-inning lead if he could, but the presence of the recently acquired Alex Colome will give him flexibility as the season unfolds. Diaz's 36 innings through 36 appearances have him on pace to comfortably exceed the career-high 66 frames he logged across 66 outings in 2017.

Stanek opened Tuesday's "bullpen day" victory over the Blue Jays and fired two perfect innings in which he recorded three strikeouts.

The hard-throwing right-hander mowed through the Blue Jays for two frames on an efficient 27 pitches, 19 of which found the strike zone. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Stanek was clocking 96 mph regularly on his fastball during his brief stint on the mound, a level of velocity that has helped keep his ERA unblemished in June. Factoring in Tuesday's production, the 26-year-old sports a sparkling 10:3 K:BB across 6.2 innings in the current month, and he's already lowered his season ERA from 3.97 to 2.76 with his five straight scoreless efforts.

Chapman struck out a pair in a clean inning of work to earn his 18th save of the season Tuesday against the Nationals.

Chapman needed just 12 pitches to retire the side in order, striking out the first two batters he faced before getting a groundball out to end the game. He's been in exceptional form of late, throwing a scoreless outing with a save in six straight and posting a 9:2 K:BB during that span.

Barria (5-2) got the loss Tuesday, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits and no walks while striking out two over five innings against the Mariners.

All the damage came off the bat of Mitch Haniger, who took Barria deep twice with a solo homer in the first and a two-run blast in the fifth. It was otherwise a solid, if unspectacular, outing for the 21-year-old, as he allowed two or fewer earned runs for the seventh time in eight big-league starts. With a 32:9 K:BB and 2.61 ERA over 41.1 innings, Barria figures to get a chance to stick around in the rotation while Shohei Ohtani (elbow) sits on the disabled list. Next up is a home start Monday against the Diamondbacks.