MLB Player News

The Rays optioned Alexander to Triple-A Durham on Thursday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Alexander allowed four runs over 3.2 innings in bulk relief Wednesday, picking up a win over the Twins. He wasn't going to be available to pitch for a few days, so the Rays will replace him with a fresh arm.

Headrick (forearm) was activated from the 60-day IL at Triple-A St. Paul. He threw three scoreless innings in Tuesday's win over Iowa.

Headrick was in the running for one of the Twins' final bullpen spots but began the season at Triple-A and then went on the injured list April 8. He's probably run out of time to contend for a big-league promotion, but he'll be ready to compete for a job next spring.

Alexander (6-4) picked up the win Wednesday, coughing up four runs on nine hits over 3.2 innings in a 9-4 victory over the Twins. He struck out two without walking a batter.

The southpaw entered a scoreless game in the top of the fourth inning and watched the Tampa Bay offense erupt for eight runs in the bottom of the frame, but Alexander fell apart himself in the seventh, serving up homers to Kyle Farmer and Carlos Santana. Alexander is rounding out a six-man rotation for the Rays, as the team doesn't get its next day off until Sept. 16, but he's been very ineffective in that role -- over his last four appearances, he's been tagged for seven homers in 18 innings, leading to a 7.50 ERA. Assuming he gets another turn, his next outing is scheduled to come on the road early next week in Philadelphia.

Atlanta outrighted Logue to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

Logue was removed from the 40-man roster over the weekend and will remain in the organization after passing through waivers unclaimed. The 28-year-old has spent all of the 2024 season in the minors, holding a 2.58 ERA and 90:28 K:BB over 94.1 innings between Double-A Mississippi and Gwinnett.

Faucher gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning of relief Wednesday, getting charged with his second blown save of the season in a 4-3 extra-inning win over the Nationals. He struck out one.

With the Marlins ahead 3-0, Mike Baumann took the mound to begin the eighth inning but immediately ran into trouble, loading the bases without recording an out. Faucher was quickly brought in, but he walked in a run before giving up an RBI groundout and a James Wood double that tied the game. Despite the stumble, Faucher has had runs charged to his own ledger only twice in his last 13 appearances, posting a 2.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 19:5 K:BB in 13 innings over that stretch while converting six of seven save chances.

Antone (elbow) reports feeling no pain and will undergo an MRI and ultrasound exams in October to check on his progress, MLB.com reports.

If all goes well next month, Antone could be cleared to begin throwing with weighted plyo training balls. The right-hander has undergone two Tommy John surgeries in his career and had surgery to repair tears in his ulnar collateral ligament and flexor mass tendon April 12.

Kittredge (3-4) walked one and struck out two over 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings to earn the extra-inning win over the Brewers on Wednesday.

Kittredge worked out of the trouble JoJo Romero created in the eighth inning and then delivered a perfect ninth to keep the game tied at 2-2. The Cardinals pulled ahead in the 10th with a two-out RBI single from Luken Baker. Kittredge is now on an eight-inning scoreless streak, allowing three hits and posting a 6:1 K:BB while earning two wins and two holds in that span. For the season, he has a 3.03 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 55:17 K:BB through 59.1 innings with one save, six blown saves and 32 holds.

Fernandez earned a save against the Brewers on Wednesday, issuing one walk and striking out three batters over one scoreless inning.

Fernandez came on in the bottom of the 10th inning after the Cardinals pushed across the automatic runner in the top of the frame. The right-hander got the opportunity to close because Ryan Helsley, who leads the majors in saves, tossed two innings and threw 27 pitches Tuesday. Fernandez is not a threat to Helsley's closer role despite his outstanding outing Wednesday.

Erceg picked up a save against the Guardians on Wednesday, striking out one batter in a perfect ninth inning.

Erceg had a rough outing Tuesday, giving up three runs over two-thirds of an inning. Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro went right back to the right-hander in a save situation one day later, and Erceg responded by retiring the side in order on 15 pitches. That bodes well for his chances of continuing as Kansas City's closer despite entering Wednesday amidst a rough stretch during which he went 0-2 with two blown saves while giving up seven runs across two innings over three appearances.

Blalock (1-2) took the loss against Atlanta on Wednesday, allowing four runs on four hits and six walks while striking out two batters over five innings.

All of the runs Blalock allowed came with two outs in the first inning, as Atlanta scored four runs in a span of four batters on a pair of doubles, a walk and a Jarred Kelenic homer. Though Blalock didn't allow any runs in the remainder of his five frames, he also walked a batter in each of those innings and finished with a career-worst six free passes. The rookie right-hander yielded a respectable six runs over 16.2 frames over his first three starts, but in his subsequent two outings he's given up 11 runs (10 earned) in nine frames.