MLB Player News

Szapucki underwent ulnar transposition surgery in his left elbow that will end his season, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

The procedure was necessary to repair a nerve issue in the lefty's pitching elbow. Szapucki appeared in one game for the Mets this season and struggled, allowing six runs on seven hits and three walks in just 3.2 innings. It's unclear whether he'll be healthy for the start of spring training in 2022.

The Pirates placed Howard on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a right oblique strain, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

The lefty appeared in five games after being activated from the IL on June 29, posting a 16.20 ERA in 3.1 innings while walking four batters and hitting two. It's currently unclear whether Howard will be activated soon after he's eligible July 20. The Pirates have yet to announce a corresponding move.

Woods Richardson allowed 16 runs on 19 hits and 10 walks across 10.2 innings in his last three starts for Double-A New Hampshire prior to the All-Star break.

That leaves the young righty with a 5.53 ERA and 1.50 WHIP across 40.2 innings spanning 10 outings with the Fisher Cats. He's shown great swing-and-miss stuff with a 12.8 K/9, but he also has a 4.7 BB/9. It's been an odd campaign so far for the highly regarded young arm, who pitched to a 2.25 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across his first five starts. The good news is that he's still just 20 years old in Double-A -- nearly five years younger than the average player at his level. He's got plenty of time to figure it out, and perhaps a temporary change of scenery will help, as Woods Richardson is part of the U.S. roster for the Olympics.

Chargois fired a scoreless fourth inning in a loss to the Angels on Sunday, recording two strikeouts.

Chargois took over for opener Hector Santiago and made quick work of the Angels in the fourth, needing only 15 pitches, six which impressively resulted in swinging strikes, to get through the one frame. Chargois allowed an earned run apiece in back-to-back appearances to close out June, but he's opened July with three straight scoreless one-inning efforts to coax his ERA and WHIP back down to 2.49 and 0.83, respectively.

Montero allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks while recording two strikeouts over two innings in a loss to the Angels on Sunday.

Montero thus closes out the first half of the season in the midst of an extremely worrisome stretch of pitching that saw him post a 12.00 ERA, 2.44 WHIP and 2.0 HR/9 over the nine innings covering his last six starts. The right-hander's one-time closer responsibilities are a distant memory at this point, and manager Scott Servais may have a difficult time trusting Montero for anything other than low-leverage work moving forward.

Swanson fired a scoreless two-thirds of an inning during which he allowed a hit in a loss to the Angels on Sunday, his first appearance since being activated from the injured list Wednesday.

The right-hander was sidelined for what amounted to nearly a month and a half with a groin injury, but he was able to pick up right where he left off in his return Sunday. Swanson now has seven consecutive scoreless efforts dating back to May 13, lowering his ERA and WHIP to an elite 0.66 and 0.80, respectively.

The Mariners designated Vest for assignment Monday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

The transaction clears room on the 40-man roster for starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, who was reinstated from the COVID-19-related injured list. A rookie right-handed reliever, Vest worked mostly in low-leverage spots out of the Seattle bullpen, accruing a 6.17 ERA and 1.60 WHIP to go with six holds across 35 innings. Since the Mariners acquired Vest with a Rule 5 selection in December, he'll have to be offered back to the Tigers if he isn't scooped up off waivers.

Iglesias allowed one hit over 1.1 scoreless innings to pick up his 19th save of the year Sunday against the Mariners.

Iglesias entered with two outs in the eighth and started off by allowing a single to Luis Torrens. The Angels would end up scoring three more runs in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to 7-1, but Iglesias still stuck in the game and sent the Mariners' hitters down 1-2-3 to convert the save. The 31-year-old has converted nine straight save chances and owns a 3.46 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 63:7 K:BB over 41.2 innings.

The Padres were encouraged by the results of the MRI that Weathers underwent on his right foot Sunday, but the team expects him to be sidelined until at least the early part of August, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

A firm diagnosis on Weathers' injury isn't yet available, but he at least appears to have avoided a worst-case scenario -- a ruptured Achilles' tendon -- after he tumbled hard to the ground during his start in Sunday's loss to the Rockies when his right foot got stuck in the dirt. Weathers will still likely require a trip to the injured list, with the Padres expected to announce the move shortly before the team begins its second-half schedule Friday. The rookie becomes the latest in a growing list of injured Padres starting pitchers, though San Diego is at least expected to get back both Blake Snell (illness) and Yu Darvish (hip) when their next turns in the rotation come up.

Ramirez (0-1) allowed two runs on one hit and a walk over just a third of an inning as he took the loss against the Angels on Sunday.

Ramirez entered to begin the fifth with the game still tied at one and was unable to keep things even. He hit and walked the first two batters he faced and they eventually crossed home on a single from David Fletcher to put the Angels up 3-1. Ramirez was pulled after four batters and the Mariners were unable to score the rest of the game, which set him up for the loss. The 26-year-old has a 4.82 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 10:4 K:BB over 9.1 innings in six relief appearances so far.