MLB Player News

Single-A Dunedin placed Barriera (arm) on its 7-day injured list Tuesday.

Barriera landed on the IL just three days after he exited his season debut with Dunedin midway through the second inning due to an apparent left arm injury. The 20-year-old southpaw is facing an unclear timeline for a return to the mound.

The Guardians will activate Curry (illness) from the 15-day injured list to start Monday's game against the Red Sox, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Cleveland will be welcoming two new additions to its rotation this week, as Ben Lively (illness) is in line to return from the IL to start Wednesday's game in Boston. The Guardians are expected to have room for only one of the two pitchers in the rotation after the four-game series with the Red Sox, however, as a doubleheader with the Yankees on Saturday created a temporary need for a sixth starter. Curry, who stretched out to 4.1 innings in his latest rehab start with Triple-A Columbus this past Wednesday, would likely serve in a long-relief role if he's moved to the bullpen following Monday's start.

Armstrong will serve as the Rays' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Giants, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Armstrong isn't expected to work more than an inning or two before turning the game over to Tyler Alexander, who is slated to work as a bulk reliever. Through four appearances (one start) this season, Armstrong has covered 6.1 innings while striking out five and allowing four earned runs on six hits and four walks.

The Twins optioned Alcala to Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday.

The right-hander has given up just one unearned run on three hits through six appearances this season, but he'll be the odd man out of the bullpen with Caleb Thielbar (hamstring) making his return from the injured list. Alcala should rejoin Minnesota once additional bullpen help is needed.

The Twins activated Thielbar (hamstring) from the 15-day injured list Sunday.

Thielbar opened the season on the injured list with a hamstring strain but is ready to join the big club after two rehab appearances with Triple-A St. Paul. The left-hander recorded 14 holds and had a 3.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 36:6 K:BB across 30.2 innings last season, and he should fill a high-leverage role for the Twins now that he's healthy.

Wentz logged 2.1 scoreless innings of relief in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Twins. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out four.

So far so good for Wentz as a long reliever, as the lefty now has a 1.17 ERA and 10 strikeouts across 7.2 innings. His stuff has played up a bit in relief, with his average fastball velocity this year sitting at 94.3 mph, up from 93.4 mph in 2023, and his K/9 has increased from 8.3 to 11.7. Wentz looks like a useful bullpen option for the Tigers, and he could parlay that into more high-leverage work at some point.

Sands earned the save in game two of Saturday's doubleheader against the Tigers, pitching 2.1 perfect innings while striking out three.

Sands relieved Kody Funderburk with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and was able to retire the final batter on just one pitch to close out the frame. The right-hander returned in the eighth and ninth innings and retired the final six batters in succession, earning his first save of the 2024 campaign. Sands has allowed just one run over 7.2 innings of relief to begin the season, posting a 12:1 K:BB over that early stretch. He's also recorded multiple strikeouts in each of his four appearances.

Urena (0-1) picked up the loss to Houston on Saturday. He allowed five runs on six hits and one walk while striking out one over 1.1 innings.

Urena allowed his first runs of the season after throwing 9.1 scoreless frames. He ran into some bad luck during Houston's seven-run seventh inning. Three of the five hits allowed during the inning had expected batting averages of .040, .150 and .180.

Stephenson (shoulder) had to be removed from his first rehab appearance with Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday with an apparent injury, Taylor Blake Ward of TheSportingTribune.com reports.

Stephenson issued a four-pitch walk to the lone batter he faced before being visited by the trainer and then walking off the field. There's no word yet on what he's dealing with, but it would be fair to assume he might have aggravated the right shoulder injury he's dealt with since late February.

Garcia struck out the side in the ninth inning against the Rockies on Saturday to earn his first save of the season.

Chad Green, who recorded the Blue Jays' first two saves this season, pitched a perfect eighth inning against the middle of Colorado's lineup. Garcia then faced the bottom of the order in the ninth and struck out Brendan Rodgers, Elehuris Montero and Brenton Doyle on a total of 12 pitches. While it was an impressive outing, Garcia may still be behind Green in the pecking order, and Jordan Romano (elbow) has already made a couple rehab appearances at Triple-A. With that, Garcia doesn't seem to have much of a window to earn additional saves.