MLB Player News

Fulmer was claimed off waivers by the Pirates on Monday.

He had a 6.75 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 7:3 K:BB in 6.2 innings over seven appearances before getting designated for assignment by the Tigers last week. The No. 8 overall pick by the White Sox in 2015, Fulmer has a career 6.57 ERA in 101.1 MLB innings. Fulmer is out of minor-league options, so he'll presumably join the Pirates' 28-man active roster within the next few days and work in low-leverage spots out of the bullpen.

Bowman (elbow) will throw one more bullpen session at the Reds' alternate training site this week before testing himself against hitters, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Bowman won't be eligible to return from the 45-day injured list until Sept. 6, but based on where he currently stands in his recovery from a sprained right elbow, he looks like he's on track to be ready to go in the minimum amount of time. He made 27 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen in 2019, posting a 3.66 ERA and 1.25 WHIP across 32 innings.

Antone tossed 2.1 no-hit innings of relief Saturday in the Reds' 3-0 loss to the Cardinals. He walked one and struck out three in the 30-pitch appearance.

Shortly after Antone made his first career start Aug. 5, the Reds optioned him to the alternate site and added him back to the roster a few days later. While he hasn't had the opportunity to make any further starts since his callup, Antone has dazzled in his three appearances as a long reliever. He's worked at least two frames in all of those appearances, giving up one run and striking out 12 over seven innings in total.

Through six appearances in August, Williams has struck out 15 while giving up an unearned run on two hits and three walks over 6.1 innings.

Josh Hader has been dominant as usual at the back end of the Milwaukee bullpen and is locked in as the team's closer, but Williams has risen from relative obscurity to potentially emerge as the next man up for save chances. The key to Williams' success has been his mid-80s changeup, which ranks tops among all pitchers in horizontal movement and fourth in vertical movement, as measured by Statcast.

Ponce de Leon allowed two earned runs on three hits and four walks while striking out two across 4.2 innings Sunday against the Reds. He did not factor into the decision.

Ponce de Leon held the Reds' bats in check but struggled with control issues. This began immediately, as he surrendered a walk to Nick Castellanos in the first inning, who then crossed the plate on a two-run home run by Eugenio Suarez. Though those were the only runs Ponce de Leon surrendered, he was unable to pitch deep enough into the contest to qualify for the win despite exiting the contest with a 3-2 lead. He now owns a 5.25 ERA and 17:10 K:BB across 12 innings on the season. Due to the number of doubleheaders on the Cardinals' schedule, Ponce de Leon should start on a regular basis, and he lines up for his next work Friday against Cleveland.

Pagan tossed a clean ninth inning Sunday, earning a save in the win over Houston.

After blowing his first four save chances this season, Pagan has converted two in the last three days. With Drew Pomeranz (shoulder) stashed on the injured list, the 29-year-old lefty appears to be the go-to closer in San Diego for now.

Morejon yielded three runs on three hits and a walk across 1.2 innings Sunday, striking out three in the win over the Astros. He did not factor in the decision.

The Astros pounced on Morejon early, tagging him for three runs in the first frame, including a two-run blast by Kyle Tucker. Fortunately, the bullpen shut Houston down the rest of the afternoon and the offense pushed ahead for a victory to prevent the 21-year-old lefty from picking up his first loss. It's unclear if Morejon will get another turn in the rotation, but if he does, he'll carry a 5.79 ERA into Colorado later this week.

Stephenson (back) is with the Reds on the current road trip, and manager David Bell said he'll be activated soon, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The 27-year-old wasn't activated for Sunday's series finale in St. Louis, but he seems likely to rejoin the active roster during the four-game set in Milwaukee, which begins Monday. Stephenson made one appearance before landing on the injured list in late July with the back strain.

Helsley (illness) played catch at Busch Stadium with Carlos Martinez (illness) on Friday and is set for a bullpen session Monday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Helsley was one of a multitude of Cardinals players to test positive for COVID-19 in the team's recent outbreak, and he's currently starting the build-up process after recently gaining clearance for baseball activities. Helsley notably threw what was described as an "aggressive" long-toss session Saturday, and the right-hander could play a critical late-inning role down the stretch once he's back in the fold.

Coonrod (lat) was activated off the 10-day injured list Sunday.

The 27-year-old went down with the right lat strain at the end of July, but he's now healthy after spending three-plus weeks on the shelf. Coonrod allowed three runs on four hits with a 2:3 K:BB over his first 3.2 innings of the season.