MLB Player News

Kahnle worked around one walk to pitch a scoreless ninth inning in Thursday's 8-3 win over Kansas City.

As injuries have hit the White Sox's bullpen, relative unknowns like Kahnle and Anthony Swarzak have filled in capably. With the latest injury felling setup man Nate Jones (elbow), Kahnle is a realistic replacement as the eighth-inning bridge to closer David Robertson. The fire-balling right-hander has allowed one run and struck out 19 over 10 innings.

Axford (shoulder) threw a 20-plus pitch bullpen session Thursday without setbacks, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

That makes two such outings for the veteran, putting him another step closer to a return. Axford will likely throw at least one more bullpen before being deemed healthy enough for his 2017 regular-season debut.

Martin, 22, has a 2.25 ERA and 24:9 K:BB through 20 innings for High-A Down East.

Martin had a minor elbow ailment in 2016, and opposing batters hit .300 against him during his 69.1 innings last season. Still, he fanned over a batter per inning, a trend that has spilled into 2017. If Martin can stay healthy and develop a steady third pitch, he could become a prospect to watch for the Rangers.

Hu was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Thursday, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays were in need of bullpen health after Erasmo Ramirez (personal) was placed on the paternity list, so they decided to bring Hu back up for his second cup of coffee in the big leagues. The 23-year-old fired one scoreless inning in his late-April debut, although he'll likely head back to the minors once Ramirez rejoins the team in a few days.

Loup has managed to tiptoe around a 1.69 WHIP en route to an impressive 0.84 ERA through his first 10 appearances of 2017.

The left-hander has played with fire this season, and his numbers suggest that it's only a matter of time before he gets burned. Loup's 6.8 BB/9 ranks 81st out of 84 qualified relief pitchers in the AL. He's managed to avoid a disaster by posting an unsustainable 94.4 percent strand rate. Now that fellow southpaw J.P. Howell (shoulder) has returned from the disabled list, Loup will no longer serve as the club's primary lefty out of the bullpen.

Pruitt (3-1) gave up five earned runs on seven hits over one inning in Wednesday's 10-6 loss to the Marlins. He also recorded a strikeout and was charged with his first blown save.

Pruitt relieved Blake Snell to start the sixth but gave up seven consecutive hits before recording an out, which quickly erased the 4-2 lead he'd been asked to protect. The frame was slow torture for the rookie, as the first six hits were singles before Giancarlo Stanton capped off the barrage with a two-bagger that plated the fourth and fifth runs of the frame. The disastrous appearance ended an impressive stretch for the 27-year-old right-hander, who'd given up just two earned runs across the 12.2 innings that had encompassed his previous five trips to the mound.

Manaea (shoulder) will throw long toss instead of a bullpen session Thursday after reporting a bit of soreness, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. This may hold back his return from the disabled list.

His absence was initially expected to be brief, but the Athletics will want to be cautious with this development. Manaea's timetable will become clearer in the next few days, while Sonny Gray is now expected to take his turn May 7, when it was originally thought Manaea would be activated.

Chapman didn't allow a baserunner and recorded a strikeout during a scoreless ninth inning to record his sixth save of the season during Wednesday's win over Toronto.

It was business as usual for the lefty. Chapman now sports a 0.87 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 13.9 K/9, and he's allowed just a single run through 10.1 innings over 11 appearances. Considering his long-standing dominance in the ninth inning, it's probably safe to count on more of the same from Chapman going forward.

Fulmer's scheduled start Thursday against the Indians has been postponed due to rain.

Fulmer and the Tigers were scheduled to host Danny Salazar and the Indians with a 1:10 PM ET first pitch, but that game will now be made up at a later date that has yet to be determined. Detroit will head to Oakland for a three-game set that begins Friday, and Fulmer will take the hill for the series opener, bumping each other starter back a day.

Betances (3-1) pitched 1.1 scoreless innings and struck out two batters to collect his third win of the season Wednesday against Toronto.

While Betances isn't in line to receive many save opportunities, he's still an excellent relief option because of his elite ratios (0.93 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 15.8 K/9). Additionally, pitching in high-leverage situations will continue to help him collect checkmarks in the wins column.