MLB Player News

Garcia earned the save Thursday against the Orioles despite allowing two runs on a hit in the ninth inning. He struck out two.

Garcia had Baltimore down to their final out before hitting Austin Hays with a pitch and subsequently surrendering a two-run homer to Ryan O'Hearn, cutting Toronto's lead to 6-5. However, Garcia would then strike out Kyle Stowers for the final out, securing his fourth save this season. The 33-year-old Garcia has converted both of Toronto's save chances since Jordan Romano (elbow) was placed on the IL on June 1. While he's allowed three runs in his last three innings, Garcia still sports a solid 2.16 ERA with a 0.72 WHIP and 33:7 K:BB across 25 innings this year.

Manager Brian Snitker said Thursday that Minter (hip) has been playing catch with no issues and will pitch an inning at some point next week, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The team has not yet determined whether or not Minter's next step will come during live batting practice or in a minor-league rehab game. Either way, it seems likely that the 30-year-old southpaw will be able to return to Atlanta's bullpen when eligible in mid-June.

McArthur delivered a perfect ninth inning Thursday to earn the save in a 4-3 win over the Guardians.

It was an encouraging outing from McArthur, who allowed four runs without recording an out in his last save opportunity. However, he's now recorded back-to-back hitless innings in his subsequent two appearances. Overall, McArthur is 12-for-16 in save chances with a 4.91 ERA and 1.36 WHIP despite an impressive 23:3 K:BB.

Harris will start Friday's contest against the Blue Jays, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The Athletics initially had Harris listed as their starter for Saturday's game and had Luis Medina slated to start Friday, but they've since been flipped in the pitching schedule. Harris struck out seven while yielding three runs (one earned) over 5.2 innings against the Rays last week in his first start of the season with Oakland. That came after he permitted four runs in nine frames covering two extended relief appearances.

The Pirates transferred Borucki (wrist) to the 60-day injured list Thursday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

The 30-year-old southpaw will give up his 40-man roster spot for Justin Bruihl, who signed with the Pirates on Thursday. Borucki's move to the 60-day IL won't affect the duration of his stint on the injured list, which began in early April, and he remains without a return timeline since being diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in May.

Harris is scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Blue Jays in Oakland, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The Athletics' decisions to designate Aaron Brooks for assignment over the weekend and to option Joe Boyle to Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday after activating him from the injured list had already suggested that Harris was on track to remain in the rotation. Harris previously made two long-relief appearances for Oakland this season before drawing a start in Tampa Bay last Thursday, when he struck out seven and allowed three runs (one earned) over 5.2 frames in a no-decision. The southpaw has turned in a 7.67 ERA and 1.79 WHIP over his eight starts at Las Vegas this season and produced a 7.14 ERA over 63 innings in the big leagues in 2023, so fantasy managers should tread carefully with Harris for now even after his solid showing in his last outing.

Kerr tossed 2.1 innings of relief in Wednesday's 9-0 loss to the Red Sox, giving up two earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two.

Kerr had started in both of his previous two appearances, but he shifted back to the bullpen this week while Atlanta opted to scale back to a five-man rotation following Monday's off day. With starter Spencer Schwellenbach getting chased from the game midway through the fifth inning while Atlanta faced a 5-0 deficit, Kerr immediately allowed a run-scoring double and then walked a batter before inducing an inning-ending flyout to leave the bases load. The run he let in was tacked on to Schwellenbach's final line, but Kerr was charged with two runs of his own when he served up a 361-foot home run to Rafael Devers in the bottom of the seventh with a runner on base. Assuming Atlanta isn't yet ready to pull the plug on Schwellenbach as its No. 5 starter, Kerr looks set to remain in the bullpen as a lower-leverage, multi-inning option.

The Diamondbacks recalled Jacques from Triple-A Reno on Thursday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 in Houston reports.

Jacques was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox in late April and has spent most of the season at the Triple-A level, allowing 14 runs over 10.1 innings. The left-handed reliever holds a career 5.08 ERA and 22:10 K:BB across 28.1 innings during his time in the majors.

The Diamondbacks claimed Vieira off waivers from the Orioles on Thursday, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports.

Vieira made just one appearance with the O's before being DFA'd, allowing three earned runs on one hit and four walks while failing to record an out. He'll now join his third organization of the year but will almost certainly be limited to low-leverage situations out of Arizona's bullpen.

Joyce earned a hold by tossing a scoreless inning while allowing one hit against San Diego on Wednesday.

Joyce was called up from the minors Sunday and was deployed in a high-leverage situation in his first outing with the big club, getting the eighth inning with the Angels up one run. The fireballing reliever immediately got into trouble when Fernando Tatis led off the frame with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Joyce calmed down to retire the next three batters without Tatis advancing further. Joyce didn't notch any strikeouts, but he had his heater working in the outing, reaching 103.3 mph, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The right-hander fanned 34 batters over 19 frames in the minors this season and could certainly be a big bullpen asset (and perhaps a future closer) in the majors if he learns to harness his control. In 10 innings with the Angels as a rookie last season, Joyce fanned 10 batters but also issued nine free passes.