MLB Player News

The Cardinals designated Ponce de Leon for assignment Monday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Ponce de Leon was cast off the 40-man roster and 28-man active roster to clear a spot for fellow reliever Brandon Waddell, who was called up from Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move. Though he had some decent moments as a spot starter for the Cardinals in 2018 and 2019, Ponce de Leon's effectiveness in a swingman role has tailed off considerably over the past two seasons. Dating back to the start of 2020, the 29-year-old righty has covered 66 innings with the Cardinals, posting a 5.59 ERA (5.87 FIP), 1.47 WHIP and a 9.0 K-BB%.

Treinen secured a hold Sunday against Cincinnati, striking out two batters while allowing one hit in two-thirds of an inning.

The right-hander relieved Tony Gonsolin in the bottom of the eighth inning with a runner on second base. He allowed a two-out single that resulted in a run but struck out the other two batters he faced to limit the damage. Treinen hasn't allowed an earned run in 12 of his past 13 appearances, notching seven holds and a save over that span. He leads the majors with 31 holds on the season.

Kittredge landed on the 10-day injured list with neck tightness Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The initial diagnosis doesn't sound too severe, so this could simply be the Rays looking to give one of their best relievers a bit of rest as they coast to the finish, trusting that their 6.5-game division lead should be more than enough with two weeks left to play. Kittredge has been excellent this season, and while his 1.55 ERA isn't quite backed up by his 2.93 FIP and 3.08 xFIP, his combination of a 27.5 percent strikeout rate, 5.6 percent walk rate and 54.0 percent groundball rate makes him a very reliable option. He hasn't pitched since Friday, so the Rays can backdate his assignment by two days, leaving him eligible to return Sept. 28 for the final two series of the season.

The Royals selected Coleman's contract from Triple-A Omaha ahead of Monday's doubleheader in Cleveland.

Coleman receives his first big-league call-up after compiling a 3.28 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, a 93:22 K:BB and a .186 batting average against over 57.2 innings between Omaha and Double-A Northwest Arkansas. Though he picked up seven saves in the minors this season, Coleman will likely be ticketed for a low-leverage role with the Royals.

Lange recorded a pair of holds during the Tigers' weekend series with the Rays, working 1.2 perfect innings between appearances Friday and Saturday.

Since his Aug. 22 call-up from Triple-A Toledo, Lange has seized a key setup role for Detroit. In his 12 appearances since his promotion, Lange has claimed three holds while turning in a 1.32 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 14:6 K:BB. With Gregory Soto (finger) done for the season and Jose Cisnero (elbow) and Joe Jimenez (COVID-19) also on the injured list, Lange looks to be the next man up for saves behind newly minted closer Michael Fulmer.

Boxberger (5-4) took the loss in relief Sunday against the Cubs after allowing three runs on two hits and a walk. He didn't record a single out.

Boxberger couldn't retire a single batter Sunday and delivered one of his worst outings of the campaign. He has now given up runs in three of his last six appearances. Boxberger owns a ballooned 17.36 ERA in just 4.2 innings through seven outings in September.

Solomon (1-0) earned the win Sunday against Arizona after tossing four innings of one-run ball, allowing one hit and walking three while fanning three. He also tossed two wild pitches.

Solomon pitched at the highest level for the first time since July 1 and looked impressive, giving up just one run despite showing some command issues as his outing progressed. The sample size is really small since he's made just four big-league appearances this season, but Solomon owns a 1.29 ERA so far.

Pressly pitched a scoreless inning and earned the save Sunday against Arizona, striking out the three batters he faced.

Pressly appeared in three games in a row over the weekend series against the Diamondbacks and has now posted four straight scoreless appearances, but he was particularly dominant in the series finale after striking out the side while tossing nine of his 12 pitches for strikes. Pressly has gone 25-for-27 in save chances this year and owns a career-best 2.23 ERA across 59 appearances.

Gallegos recorded his 10th save in a win over the Padres on Sunday, firing a perfect ninth inning during which he recorded two strikeouts.

Gallegos was called on for ninth-inning work for the second straight game and responded with another perfect final frame to seal a one-run win. The right-hander has been a hit since moving into the closer role in place of Alex Reyes, going a perfect 8-for-8 in save chances since Aug. 30 and generating scoreless efforts in eight of 10 trips to the mound during that span.

Reyes (9-8) earned the win against the Padres on Sunday, allowing an earned run on a solo home run while also issuing a walk and recording a strikeout over two innings.

Reyes made an atypically early fifth-inning entry into the contest and was mostly effective except for the solo home run he surrendered to Tommy Pham in the sixth. The Cardinals nearly went on to blow the three-run lead they still had following the blast, but their ability to hang on by a thread afforded Reyes his fourth win in as many decisions since Sept. 9. The hard-throwing right-hander saw his five-appearance scoreless streak snapped with Pham's homer, yet he's still enjoying a fantasy-friendly September that's seen him notch a 4-1 record, two holds, a 2.53 ERA, a 0.94 WHIP and a 15:5 K:BB across 10.2 innings.