MLB Player News

Rays starting pitcher Matt Moore said he felt soreness in his elbow while throwing changeups in his last start and again playing catch Wednesday, which is why he went on the 15-day disabled list. His MRI came back clean and Moore is confident his injury isn't serious.

"The goal is to be healthy for the last month and a half," he said. "I'm very optimistic."

The Rays placed starting pitcher Matt Moore on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday because of left elbow soreness. The Rays will go to a four-man rotation for the time being.

Yahoo! Sports reports Moore's injury isn't believed to be serious.

The Houston Astros will go to a closer-by-committee approach to the ninth inning after trading Jose Veras to the Tigers, MLB.com reports Tuesday. Houston plays at Baltimore beginning Tuesday night. 

Jose Cisnero, Travis Blackley and Chia-Jen Lo could all be options to get the ball for manager Bo Porter in the ninth. 

Toronto starter Esmil Rogers got off to a bad start Monday in Oakland and never recuperated. Rogers gave up four runs in the first inning and lasted just one out into the fifth before being removed in the defeat.

Rogers fell to 3-5 on the season as he allowed eight runs -- six earned -- on nine hits and three walks over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out three batters and threw 97 pitches. Rogers' ERA is now at 4.16 after the losing performance Monday.

The Blue Jays' starter scattered 10 hits in his last outing but gave up just two runs over seven innings. He wasn't as lucky this time around. Rogers hasn't won since June 18 and has three losses since that date. He makes his next scheduled start on Saturday at the Angels.

Rays closer Fernando Rodney made things interesting in the ninth inning in Boston Monday. Pitching with a 2-1 advantage, Rodney closed out David Price's win. 

Rodney allowed a hit and a walk in the ninth but also struck out a batter to record three outs. He did so over 23 pitches and his ERA is at 3.92 as he earned his 26th save. 

The 36-year-old doesn't have too many clean outings, but he's earned nine saves in his last 10 appearances and hasn't blown one since May 25. 

The Astros have yet to name a closer to replace Jose Veras, who they traded to the Tigers Monday, and if I had to guess, I'd say they go with a committee to start out. Hector Ambriz and Josh Fields were both mentioned as candidates this spring, and you have to figure Wesley Wright will factor against lefties.

But inevitably, every committee leads to one guy stepping up and claiming the role for himself, and the obvious candidate to do that here is Jose Cisnero. He's a hard-thrower with strikeout-per-inning stuff, and though his 3.48 ERA and 1.48 WHIP don't seem like anything special, both are skewed by a particularly ugly outing on May 11 in which he gave up eight hits and six earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Remove it from the equation, and he has a 2.33 ERA and 1.34 WHIP on the year.

Still not impressed? Yeah, OK. Well, everyone left in the Astros bullpen has a high ERA and WHIP, which is probably the takeaway here. Though Cisnero is the reliever to target in deep leagues where saves are nowhere to be found on the waiver wire, you probably shouldn't bother with him outside of those leagues.

White Sox starting pitcher Hector Santiago turned in a dominant outing but did not factor in the decision Sunday afternoon against the Royals.The left-hander yielded two runs on five hits and four walks while striking out seven over 6 2/3 innings pitched.

Santiago has permitted two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. He is scheduled to make his next start Friday at Detroit. He gave up six runs -- three earned -- over six innings on July 23.

Rays starter Matt Moore did not have a good beginning to his afternoon Sunday in New York. After Derek Jeter homered off him in his first at-bat back off the disabled list, Moore allowed two more runs to score in the first.

The Tampa Bay starter, who has a 14-3 record on the season and 3.41 ERA, settled down from there. He did give up another two runs, however, and lasted just five innings in the no-decision. Phil Hughes was equally as poor for the Yankees.

Moore gave up five runs on eight hits and no walks with three strikeouts. He allowed two homers and threw 91 pitches over five innings.

The 24-year-old Moore was coming off a complete-game two-hit shutout win at Boston his last time out. He failed to win for just the first time since June 14 Sunday and should bounce back. Moore's next scheduled start comes Saturday against San Francisco.

The Cardinals are continuing their pursuit of White Sox starting pitcher Jake Peavy and shortstop Alexei Ramirez, according to ESPN. Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez, pitcher Joe Kelly and second base prospect Kolten Wong have reportedly been mentioned as the names also being talked about in the deal.

The Mariners recalled pitcher Brandon Maurer from Triple-A Tacoma Saturday and optioned Hector Noesi. Maurer is expected to be available out of the bullpen for Saturday's game against Minnesota, MLB.com reports. 

Maurer went 2-7 with a 6.93 ERA over 10 starts with Seattle earlier in the season. He's gone 3-4 with a 5.21 ERA over 10 starts with Triple-A Tacoma as well.