MLB Player News

Barlow struck out a batter and worked around a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning to notch his second save of the season in Sunday's 7-4 win over the Athletics.

The Rangers' closing situation has been a difficult one to pin down since Ian Kennedy was dealt to Philadelphia on July 30, but Barlow appears to have at least temporarily seized hold of the ninth-inning gig. After converting a relatively stress-free save Friday, Barlow got the job done again two days later, turning in another scoreless ninth. Though he'll need to turn in a few more clean outings to build up job security, Barlow is worthy of a speculative pickup for fantasy managers that are desperate to make up ground in the saves category.

The Diamondbacks promoted Frias from Double-A Amarillo to Triple-A Reno on Monday, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports.

Monday was moving day for several of Arizona's more highly regarded prospects, as outfielder Alek Thomas will move up to Reno with Frias, while outfielder Eduardo Diaz and starter Brandon Pfaadt were promoted to Amarillo from High-A Hillsboro. Over his 16 starts with Amarillo this season, Frias turned in a 5.26 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 91:25 K:BB across 78.2 innings.

The White Sox designated Burdi for assignment Monday.

A 2016 first-round draft pick, Burdi once looked like a potential closer of the future for the White Sox while he was coming up through the farm system, but a series of injuries in recent years have dimmed his long-term outlook. Even though he's managed to avoid the injury bug in 2021, Burdi has been a diminished version of himself this season at Charlotte, delivering a 7.30 ERA while serving up eight home runs in 24.2 innings. The White Sox will drop him from their 40-man roster to clear a spot for right-hander Mike Wright, whose contract was selected from Charlotte ahead of Monday's series opener versus Oakland.

The White Sox optioned Foster to Triple-A Charlotte on Monday.

Foster worked an inning out of the bullpen in both of the past two days and wasn't likely to be available for Monday's series opener versus Oakland, so Chicago will swap him off the active roster for a fresh relief arm in right-hander Ryan Burr, who was recalled from Charlotte. The 26-year-old Foster has mostly worked in middle relief this season, compiling a 5.67 ERA in 33.1 innings across 31 appearances.

Robertson signed a major-league contract with the Rays on Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Robertson has a long and excellent track record, saving 137 games at the highest level while producing a 2.90 ERA in 663.2 innings of work. He's now 36 years old and has made just seven MLB appearances since the start of the 2019 season, however, missing almost the entirety of his two years in the Phillies' organization due to Tommy John surgery. He failed to find a deal with a big-league club over the winter and wound up making just two appearances in the Atlantic League and three more for Team USA in Tokyo during the Summer Olympics, where he recorded a pair of saves despite allowing two runs in three innings. He'll go to Triple-A Durham for now but should be in the big-league bullpen before too long, though the fact that he went unsigned until mid-August seemingly indicates that a high-leverage role down the stretch is unlikely.

Phillips was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers on Monday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Phillips was designated for assignment by the Rays on Saturday after making his lone big-league appearance of the season the night before. In 57 career innings at the highest level, the 26-year-old has struggled to a 7.26 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP, thanks in part to his 14.3 percent walk rate. He's unlikely to see high-leverage opportunities with the Dodgers.

Manager Dave Roberts said Jackson is "in the equation" to receive a call-up from Triple-A Oklahoma City and fill innings as a starter or long reliever in Monday's game against the Pirates, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

Due to the depleted state of the rotation, Roberts plans to treat Monday's contest as a bullpen day. With multiple relievers needed to get the Dodgers through nine innings, expect Los Angeles to add another pitcher to the roster ahead of the series opener, with Jackson representing an appealing candidate to get the call. In addition to having the advantage of already possessing a spot on the 40-man roster, Jackson has been effective through his first two outings at Oklahoma City after getting a promotion from Double-A Tulsa earlier this month. He's covered eight innings while allowing three runs on five hits and two walks between the two starts.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said White will cover the bulk of the innings for Wednesday's game against the Pirates, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

A decision on whether White works as a traditional starter in the outing or serves as a primary pitcher behind an opener will likely hinge on the usage of the Dodgers' other bullpen arms in the first two games of the series with Pittsburgh. Between his first two turns through the Los Angeles rotation after Tony Gonsolin (shoulder) was moved to the injured list, White covered 7.2 innings and gave up four earned runs on five hits and four walks while striking out nine.

Bednar struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning of Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Brewers.

He's appeared in only four games since the trade deadline's passed, allowing one earned run in 6.1 innings with two hits, one walk and eight strikeouts. Fellow high-leverage reliever Chris Stratton has struggled in August, allowing seven runs in four innings. For his part, Bednar's future remains bright and he projects as the team's closer heading into 2022.

Patino took a no-decision in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Twins after working three innings and giving up two runs on two hits and five walks while striking out two.

Patino didn't face a hard cap on his workload in his ninth start of the season, but thanks in large part to the season-high five walks, the Rays elected to pull him early after he needed 69 pitches to record nine outs. The rookie southpaw had been more efficient over his prior five outings -- he worked no fewer than five innings in any of those starts -- so fantasy managers shouldn't be too discouraged by the poor showing in Minnesota. That said, Patino doesn't make for a particularly comfortable lineup option in weekly leagues with his next start expected to come Friday versus the powerful White Sox offense.