MLB Player News

Manager Alex Cora said that Brasier (calf) is "not that far off" from beginning a minor-league rehab assignment after the right-hander completed a 25-pitch bullpen session Saturday at the Red Sox's spring training facility in Florida, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Before heading out on a rehab assignment, Cora said Brasier will first need to face hitters in live batting practice "a few times." Brasier, who has been sidelined all season with the left calf strain, is expected to work in a setup role for Boston whenever he's reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Sunday that Bazardo (lat) will be shut down for the next three weeks before resuming a throwing progression, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Bazardo is on the mend from a strained right lat, an injury he sustained during his appearance Tuesday at Triple-A Worcester. Since he'll still need time to build up once he's cleared to resume his throwing program, Bazardo is unlikely to return to action for Worcester until July at the earliest.

Bowlan was pulled from his start for Double-A Northwest Arkansas in the first inning due to an apparent injury, Northwest Arkansas play-by-play broadcaster Nicholas Badders reports.

Bowlan struck out both of the batters he faced in his start before calling for a trainer after throwing his 10th pitch of the afternoon. Northwest Arkansas has yet to provide an update on the nature or extent of the 24-year-old right-hander's injury. Bowlan has posted a 1.59 ERA and 25:3 K:BB in 17 innings through his first four outings of the season.

Double-A Frisco placed Speas on its 7-day injured list Sunday due to a sore right elbow, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Speas is scheduled to undergo further evaluation before the Rangers provide a timeline for his return to action, but the initial diagnosis of a sore elbow is concerning for a pitcher who required Tommy John surgery in June 2018. The 2016 second-round pick has been regularly hitting triple digits with his fastball thus far in the Double-A season, but control has been an issue (11 walks in 6.1 innings).

Rodriguez (shoulder) tossed a bullpen session Saturday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The bullpen session was Rodriguez's second since he was placed on the injured list May 6 due to a right shoulder injury. He could take the next step forward in his throwing program by facing hitters in live batting practice at some point during the upcoming week.

Hand worked around a base hit and a walk to toss a scoreless ninth inning en route to picking up his seventh save of the season in Sunday's 6-5 win over the Orioles. He also struck out a batter in the 12-pitch appearance.

Hand navigated the inning more smoothly than his box-score line would suggest; he intentionally walked Trey Mancini on four pitches and threw all but one of his other eight offerings for strikes, including two swings and misses. The lefty threw a perfect inning to notch a save in Saturday's 12-9 win, so after the back-to-back clean appearances, he appears to have regained some job security after he had given up at least one run in five of his prior six outings.

Kittredge (5-0) pitched a scoreless seventh inning on one hit while striking two, earning the win over the Blue Jays on Saturday.

Kittredge surrendered a one-out double to Santiago Espinal but was able to retire the other three batters he faced. He has been stellar in the first two months this season, allowing a single run in only three of his 16 appearances. The 31-year-old leads the Rays with five wins. In addition, he has picked up a pair of saves, showing that he can perform in any relief role. He has a 1.23 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP in 22 innings.

The Dodgers recalled Bickford from Triple-A Oklahoma City ahead of Sunday's game in San Francisco.

He joined the bullpen as a replacement on the active roster for Jimmy Nelson (forearm), who was moved to the 10-day injured list. Like Nelson, Bickford is a converted starter capable of covering multiple innings in relief, but the Dodgers will likely limit the right-hander's usage mostly to lower-leverage spots.

Pomeranz (lat) tossed a bullpen session Friday and is scheduled to throw live batting practice Sunday, Shaun O'Neill of MLB.com reports.

The left-hander continues to make progress, though his precise return date remains uncertain. Pomeranz last pitched May 9, though he wasn't officially shelved until five days later. He has registered a 1.98 ERA and 20:7 K:BB across 13.2 innings this season.

The Dodgers placed Nelson on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to right forearm inflammation.

Phil Bickford was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Nelson, who likely developed the injury during his most recent relief appearance Thursday against the Diamondbacks. After David Price worked the first two innings of that game as an opener, Nelson came on and dominated over the next two frames, striking out a season-high five batters. The Dodgers will hope that Nelson won't end up missing more than the minimum amount of time with the forearm issue, as the 31-year-old has emerged as a key piece out of the bullpen.