MLB Player News

Strahm took his second loss of the season after giving up the winning run in the 12th inning of Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Astros. He surrendered one hit and three walks while recording two outs.

The Royals were counting on Strahm, their top pitching prospect, to serve as a key setup man to closer Kelvin Herrera this season, but the 25-year-old couldn't have gotten off to a worse start to the campaign. He's now allowed more runs (seven) than he's recorded outs (four), with a lack of command responsible for most of his struggles. If he fails to straighten things out soon, Strahm could soon be demoted to Triple-A Omaha.

Jimenez was recalled from Triple-A on Monday.

With the Tigers' bullpen struggling to begin the year, Detroit will call up the highly regarded prospect, who is considered the team's closer of the future. The 22-year-old has made two appearances at Triple-A, allowing two hits and two walks with three strikeouts over two innings. Jimenez will take the spot of Bruce Rondon, who was optioned to Toledo on Monday.

Barnes allowed one hit and struck out three over two innings to pick up the win in Sunday's 7-5 victory over Detroit.

Barnes came on in the seventh inning with a man on and did his job without allowing a run; after Boston took the lead in the top of the eighth, he worked around a double in the bottom of the frame to record a second scoreless inning. Manager John Farrell's bullpen is afflicted by illness and injury right now, so Barnes has temporarily become the top setup man in Boston.

Robertson struck out two batters over a scoreless inning in a non-save situation in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Royals.

The White Sox have yet to need its closer to save a win, so Robertson's jog from the bullpen Sunday was his first of the season. He's been a pretty reliable closer the last three seasons but is most likely going to be traded at some point during the season. That could result in a change in role.

Devenski (1-0) allowed one run on three hits and didn't walk a batter while striking out seven over four innings in Sunday's 5-4 extra-inning win over the Royals.

Devenski is proving to be a valuable and slightly unorthodox weapon for manager A.J. Hinch. The right-hander has made two appearances this season, both coming in extra-inning games in which he pitched four innings and struck out seven. Throwing multiple innings isn't new to Devenski, who averaged nearly two innings per relief appearance in 2016 and tossed three innings in 10 of them.

Betances was credited with the win Sunday against the Orioles, pitching one inning and striking out two.

After taking the loss and a blown save the day before, Betances looked to be back on track Sunday, as he retired all three batters he faced. Barring an injury, he'll be stuck behind Aroldis Chapman on the pecking order for saves all season. However, Betances is still one of the elite arms among all relief pitchers, and his high strikeout rate and the opportunity to rack up holds should still allow for the 28-year-old to carry plenty of fantasy value despite the lack of saves.

Manaea (0-1) racked up 10 strikeouts and gave up six runs (five earned) on three hits, two walks, a wild pitch and a pair of hit batsmen over 5.1 innings in Sunday's 8-1 loss to the Rangers.

It was the ultimate mixed bag for Manaea, who threw 86 pitches but also compiled a whopping 22 swinging strikes and recorded six straight strikeouts in the third and fourth innings on his way to a career-high whiff total. However, he surrendered a three-run home run to Joey Gallo in the second and then left the bases loaded for Frankie Montas upon exiting in the sixth. Manaea was charged with two more runs after Montas promptly issued a bases-loaded walk to Robinson Chirinos and an RBI single to Gallo. The 25-year-old Manaea has struggled with his efficiency over his first two outings, throwing 178 pitches over a combined 11.1 innings. He'll try to bounce back in a home start against the Astros next Saturday afternoon.

Diaz allowed three runs on three hits while walking two and striking out one in two-thirds of an inning for the blown save and loss against the Angels on Sunday.

It was a full bullpen meltdown for Seattle in this one, as it allowed the Angels to score seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for the comeback win and sweep of the three-game series. Diaz has electric stuff and should have a long leash as Seattle's ninth-inning guy, so don't read too much into his first blown save of 2017.

Norris (0-0) allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks across 6.1 innings en route to a no-decision Sunday against the Red Sox. He struck out two.

Norris allowed no shortage of baserunners but was aided by a caught stealing, a double play and some crucial defensive plays to help mitigate the damage. He had a lead entering the seventh inning but proceeded to allow the tying run before he was pulled with one out in the frame. While there is room for improvement, Norris was still able to deliver a quality start against one of the league's top offenses in his season debut and will look to build on this performance Friday against the Indians.

Kimbrel allowed one run on a hit and two walks but was able to strike out the side en route to his second save of the season Sunday against the Tigers.

Kimbrel walked the first two men he faced and yielded a run on Victor Martinez's single, but he was able to buckle down and fanned the final two hitters to escape the jam. He had allowed just one baserunner in his previous two appearances and should move past this hiccup rather quickly as he continues what should be another strong campaign.