MLB Player News

Santos pitched three scoreless innings Sunday to record the save in the Blue Jays' 8-2 victory over the Tigers.

Roberto Osuna has been unavailable due to neck issues, so the Jays used top backup plan Ryan Tepera on Saturday and assigned Santos to eat innings in the series finale to protect a big lead. Though Santos has a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 frames in the first two games of his MLB career, this line and Sunday's work do not hint at Santos suddenly leapfrogging the closer hierarchy. Osuna's status will be updated heading into Monday action.

McHugh (finger) will miss his scheduled Thursday start against the Angels, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

McHugh will be forced to miss his upcoming start after suffering a detached fingernail during his shortened Friday start against the Athletics. Brad Peacock will take the mound in his place Thursday, but the plan is for McHugh to rejoin the rotation against the White Sox on Sept. 20, assuming his finger is fully healed.

Devenski (8-4) surrendered two hits and two runs in one inning in Houston's 11-4 loss in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader against the Athletics.

Oakland Coliseum has been a house of horrors for Houston, particularly its bullpen. The Astros lost Friday's game on a walkoff hit, then were swept in Saturday's twin bill by a total score of 22-5. Over the first three games of the series, Houston's bullpen has allowed 23 earned runs over 10.1 innings (20.03 ERA). That ineptitude spread to Devenski, arguably Houston's most indispensable reliever.

Junis went 6.1 innings Saturday, allowing two runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out seven, but he wasn't a factor in the decision during the Royals' 5-2 win over the Twins.

Over his last six starts, Junis has dazzled with a 2.48 ERA, 34 strikeouts and only two walks in 36.1 innings. He has quickly become a popular deep-league fantasy play. Sustaining this run could be tough, however, with his next start coming Thursday against the scorching-hot Indians.

Maurer worked around a walk to log a scoreless inning Saturday for his second save with the Royals.

Despite allowing a two-out free pass, the right-hander retied the other three batters, wrapping up his first chance since the Royals demoted Kelvin Herrera and declared a committee closer arrangement. While he'll likely split with lefties Mike Minor (who earned the win Saturday with 1.2 scoreless innings as the only bridge after starter Jake Junis) and Scott Alexander, Maurer appears to be the majority choice and the most logical fantasy pickup, considering he posted 20 saves for San Diego earlier this season and 13 in 2016.

Andriese (5-3) allowed eight runs, six of which were earned, on seven hits and two walks while striking out two over 1.2 innings to take the loss Saturday against the Red Sox.

Andriese was battered by the Red Sox hitters, giving his team no chance to compete in this contest. He's allowed 11 earned runs over his last 6.2 innings covering two September starts, and he's trending downward as the season draws to a close. He'll make his next start Saturday against the Red Sox.

Mengden allowed three runs -- two earned -- on five hits and two walks while striking out four batters over six innings in Saturday's win over Houston in the second game of the teams' doubleheader. He didn't factor into the decision.

This was just the third start of the season for Mengden, and he's now allowed 12 runs over just 14 innings. The 24-year-old righty also posted a 4.17 ERA with Triple-A Nashville, so fantasy expectations should remain in check moving forward. However, Mengden is expected to stick in the rotation, so he could offer value in deeper settings. Mengden lines up to face the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in his next start.

Chapman struck out two in a perfect ninth inning against the Rangers on Saturday en route to his 17th save of the season.

Manager Joe Girardi had left the door open for Chapman to reclaim the closer role, and this would seem to confirm that the job is his once again. Chapman pitched his way out of the ninth in August, but he's been much better lately, allowing just one hit with a 6:0 K:BB in his last three innings. Dellin Betances, meanwhile, has been scored upon in four of his last seven appearances.

According to manager AJ Hinch, McHugh's status for Thursday's projected start is "up in the air" due to a detached fingernail that he suffered during Friday's outing, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

McHugh was forced to exit Friday's game after just three innings and will throw Tuesday to determine whether he's able to make Thursday's start against the Angels. The right-hander should be considered day-to-day moving forward and shouldn't miss more than one start if he's unable to pitch Thursday.

Diaz gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to notch his 32nd save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Angels.

The young fireballer has been anything but consistent in his first full season as the Mariners' closer, but he's now converted 14 straight save opportunities over his last 18 appearances despite a 4.58 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 5.6 BB/9 during that stretch. Diaz's 11.2 K.9 in those 17.2 innings certainly helps, of course, but he'll need to sharpen his control considerably if he hopes to join the ranks of the league's elite closers next season.