MLB Player News

Putnam (elbow) underwent surgery to remove a bone fragment in his right elbow Thursday, Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald reports.

Putnam began progressing through his rehab from elbow soreness early in July but after not feeling like he was returning to 100 percent, the White Sox decided it was best for him to have surgery to fix the problem entirely. It's worth noting that there was no ligament damage detected which bodes well for his recovery time. Now that the surgery is complete, the reliever figures to be shut down for the next few days before beginning rehab next week.

Merritt was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Friday.

Merritt was recently promoted to the Indians on Thursday, but will be headed back down to Columbus after tossing a clean inning during Thursday's contest against the Twins. The 24-year-old could be back with Cleveland in the near future, but for now the left-hander will return to Triple-A where he has a 7-7 record with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP this season.

Boxberger pitched a scoreless eighth inning to pick up the win in Thursday's 3-2 victory over the Royals, giving up two hits and a walk. He also struck out two.

For the third straight appearance since coming off his latest DL stint, Boxberger pitched a scoreless inning in which he gave up two hits. He needed 22 pitches to work through the eighth Thursday but managed to get out of trouble by whiffing Salvador Perez and Alex Gordon after giving up back-to-back singles to Alcides Escobar and Cheslor Cuthbert. Manager Kevin Cash's deployment of Boxberger as the set-up man for Alex Colome is further confirmation that the former has been supplanted as the closer for the foreseeable future.

Kimbrel entered Thursday night's game in a non-save situation and retired all four batters faced, including striking out the side in the 10th inning, to pick up the win in Boston's 3-2 victory over Seattle.

Kimbrel has been abysmal when the game's not on the line, posing a 6.28 ERA over 14.1 innings in non-save situations, but he's never looked so dominant as he was Thursday. His tour-de-force performance in the 10th inning included swinging strikeouts of Nelson Cruz (98 mph fastball), Adam Lind (97 mph) and Kyle Seager (97 mph).

Johnson allowed one run on three hits and three walks while striking out six over six innings for Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday.

In two straight quality starts, Johnson has worked 12 innings and given up just one earned run on seven hits and three walks while striking out 11. If the left-hander continues in this vein, Johnson will become an option should the Red Sox need a starter down the stretch.

Pomeranz issued six walks to go with four hits over six innings Thursday against Seattle, but struck out six and limited the damage to two runs.

The game ended up going to extra innings, so Pomeranz didn't factor into the decision. After making his first All-Star team with the Padres and then getting traded, he's mostly struggled through his first four outings with the Red Sox. Pomeranz's whiff ability has remained on display -- 21 in 20.1 innings -- but he's given up a homer in all four of his post-trade starts. The 27-year-old lefty is in uncharted territory now, as he's pitched 122.1 innings, his highest total since 2012. He's done a great job staying healthy to this point, but it's questionable how much gas Pomeranz has left in the tank after throwing just 88 innings last year, 115.1 the year before, and 112.2 the year before that.

Robertson worked around a leadoff single in a scoreless inning against the Tigers on Thursday to earn his 26th save of the season.

Justin Upton reached to start the frame, but Robertson then induced a double play and got Jarrod Saltalamacchia to pop out to nail down the win for the White Sox. Robertson seems to have settled down after back-to-back blown save opportunities last month (including a three-homer disaster back on July 24), although he's managed just three strikeouts in his last five appearances.

Colome worked around a pair of hits and struck out two en route to his 26th save of the season Thursday against the Royals.

Colome hadn't given up a hit in his previous four outings (all of which ended in saves) until Thursday's afternoon affair. His 26th save in 27 chances pushed him into a tied with White Sox closer David Robertson for third in the AL. Although he got the win by pitching a scoreless eighth, Brad Boxberger didn't put any pressure on Colome by allowing two hits and walk in his inning of work.

Santiago (10-5) pitched five innings in his Twins debut, allowing four runs, five hits and two walks while striking out four in Thursday's loss to the Indians.

Santiago, who was acquired from the Angels on Monday, has always been plagued by controls issues and a high tendency to give up home runs. He put those faults on display for his new team when he was hurt by a pair of untimely walks and two homers. The left-hander has managed to become one of just 12 AL pitchers with double-digit wins, but he's been a bit fortunate considering he leads the AL in walks (59) and homers allowed (22). Due to his control problems, Santiago's pitch count gets up there quickly, limiting his average start to fewer than six innings over his 23 outings this year.

Alvarez was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday, John Blake of the Rangers' front office reports.

Alvarez was recently traded to the Rangers from Atlanta, and made just two appearances with the team before heading down to Triple-A. In 1.2 innings of work with Texas, Alvarez gave up five hits and three runs (two earned). During his time with the Braves, the 27-year-old posted a 3.00 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP over the course of 15 innings. Alvarez will likely be back with the team soon after spending some time at Round Rock.