MLB Player News

Littell cleared waivers and was outrighted to the alternate training site Thursday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

The 24-year-old last saw game action Aug. 21 before spending some time on the injured list with elbow inflammation, and he's now been removed from the 40-man roster. Littell had a 2.68 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 29 outings for the Twins last year, but he struggled in brief action during 2020 with seven runs allowed over 6.1 innings.

Manager Ron Roenicke said that he expects Pivetta to be recalled from the Red Sox's alternate site and join the rotation at some point next week, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Specifically, Roenicke suggested that Pivetta would be a strong possibility to start Tuesday's game against the Orioles, which would set the right-hander up for another outing in the Sept. 27 season finale in Atlanta, assuming Boston sticks with a five-man rotation. Given the infrequency of pitchers receiving two starts in a given week -- especially at the end of the season -- Pivetta could make for a sneaky pickup in AL-only or deeper mixed leagues. Fantasy managers looking to roster Pivetta should recognize the risk he carries in the ratio categories (career 5.50 ERA, 1.43 WHIP), but he could really move the needle in the strikeout category (career 24.4 K%) if he's able to work deep enough into his starts.

Diaz pitched a scoreless ninth Wednesday, allowing one hit and striking out three to earn his fourth save of the season.

Diaz was called upon in the ninth to preserve a one-run lead after the Mets went ahead in the top half of the inning and struck out the side. After a rocky 2019, Diaz has returned to dominant form with a 1.71 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 45:11 K:BB across 21 innings this season.

Castro (1-1) allowed a hit and a walk but struck out the side in a scoreless eighth inning as he earned the win over the Phillies on Wednesday.

Castro allowed two to reach via a base hit and a walk but got through the inning without any harm after striking out the side. The 25-year-old has a 4.09 ERA and 32:9 K:BB across 22 innings with the Orioles and Mets this season.

Neris (2-2) allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two in the ninth as he took the loss Wednesday against the Mets.

Neris came in to begin the ninth with the score knotted at 4-4 and was unable to withhold the Mets from taking the lead. He was a double play away from getting out of the inning with two men on and one out but surrendered a line-drive single to center field by Andres Gimenez, bringing around Ahmed Rosario to score to eventually win the game for the Mets. Neris has had a down year in comparison to recent seasons with a 4.86 ERA and a career-worst 1.86 WHIP across 16.2 innings.

Garcia (2-0) pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning Wednesday against the Red Sox to pick up his second win of the season. He had two strikeouts on the night.

Garcia needed 16 pitches to get through the eighth as he sent Christian Arroyo and Alex Verdugo down on strikes before getting Rafael Devers to foul out to end the inning. Brandon Kintzler still has a grip on the team's closer role, but Garcia's 0.77 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 15:3 K:BB across 11.2 innings should have him next in line.

Hendriks allowed one hit and had two strikeouts over 1.2 scoreless innings to earn the save in Wednesday's 3-1 win at Colorado.

The right-hander entered with one out in the eighth inning and the bases empty, and he secured the five-out save with minimal fanfare. Hendriks has a 1.23 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and 32:3 K:BB over 22 innings while converting 13 of 14 save opportunities.

Fleming gave up one hit and one walk over 3.2 scoreless innings during Wednesday's extra-inning loss to the Nationals. He had two strikeouts and didn't factor in the decision.

The 24-year-old was set to follow opener Pete Fairbanks, but he ended up entering as the third pitcher of the day. Still, it was a strong rebound outing for Fleming, who had given up seven runs in his previous two outings. The southpaw has a 3.47 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 18:5 K:BB through 23.1 innings and next lines up to start Monday, though it remains to be seen if he'll follow an opener again.

Clarke (2-0) earned the win Wednesday against the Angels. He allowed four runs on six hits and one walk while fanning three across five innings.

Clarke piggybacked Caleb Smith's short start and tossed five innings -- even though he didn't have his best stuff, he did it well enough to earn his second win of the season. Clarke has allowed three or more runs in each of his last three appearances, however, so he remains far from reliable.

Hudson (2-2) earned the win against the Rays on Wednesday, allowing a solo home run but recording two strikeouts in the ninth inning.

The veteran right-hander secured the first two outs of the inning with no issues, but he was unable to maintain the one-run lead and gave up a solo homer to Brandon Lowe, though he still ended up notching the victory. Hudson has a 7.13 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 24:7 K:BB over 17.2 innings and has converted nine of his 14 save chances this season.