MLB Player News

The Astros recalled Alexander from Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

Alexander will be joining the Astros as a replacement on the 26-man active roster for right-hander Lance McCullers (foot), whom Houston placed on the 15-day injured list. Ryan Gusto will be pushed up a day in the Astros' pitching schedule to start Monday's series opener in Sacramento, but Alexander could be called upon to start Tuesday's game against the Athletics while Houston looks to keep a six-man rotation intact during a stretch of 13 games in 13 days, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The 32-year-old Alexander hasn't made a start in the majors since 2022, but he made four appearances in the majors with the Athletics earlier this season and gave up 13 runs (12 earned) in six innings. Since being claimed off waivers by the Astros on May 18, Alexander has worked out of the Sugar Land rotation and has posted a 1.74 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 15:8 K:BB in 20.2 innings over four starts.

The Tigers claimed Hernandez off waivers from the Phillies on Monday.

Hernandez had been designated for assignment after logging a 5.26 ERA, 1.75 WHIP and 23:13 K:BB in 25.2 innings for the Phillies. The hard-throwing right-hander does not have minor-league options remaining, so he will join the Tigers' active roster. Detroit will announce a corresponding transaction prior to Tuesday's game against the Pirates.

Raley (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A St. Lucie on Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Raley is ready to pitch in games again following Tommy John surgery with an internal brace augmentation he underwent last May. The southpaw's rehab assignment will likely last most, if not all, of the allotted 30 days, but Raley is on track to join the Mets bullpen sometime in July.

The Orioles recalled Selby from Triple-A Norfolk on Monday.

Selby has made three relief appearances for Baltimore this season, allowing two runs with a 5:1 K:BB over 3.2 innings. He'll give the bullpen a fresh arm.

Casparius is expected to pitch in bulk relief in Monday's game against the Padres behind starter Shohei Ohtani (elbow), who will serve as the Dodgers' opening pitcher, Jeff Spiegel of DodgerBlue.com reports.

After Casparius limited San Diego to one run over four innings in his second start of the season this past Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts said that the right-hander would be part of the rotation moving forward. Though Roberts implied that Casparius would be utilized as a traditional starter, the 26-year-old is instead on track to cover the bulk of the innings out of the bullpen Monday after the team elected to have Ohtani bypass another simulated game in order to make his 2025 debut as a pitcher. Ohtani is expected to be limited to 1-to-2 innings Monday and will likely need at least a couple more outings after that to get fully stretched out for a typical starter's workload, so it wouldn't be surprising if Casparius ended up piggybacking the two-way phenom the next time Ohtani's turn in the rotation comes up.

The Rays optioned Englert to Triple-A Durham on Monday.

Despite tossing 4.1 scoreless innings over his two relief appearances following his promotion from Durham last Tuesday, Englert will return to the Triple-A club while the Rays make room on the active roster for newly acquired right-hander Forrest Whitley. Englert has covered 22.1 innings over 13 appearances in his multiple stints in the majors this season, pitching to a 4.84 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 22:4 K:BB.

Montas (lat) may rejoin the Mets in a bullpen role rather than being plugged into the rotation right away, Tim Britton of the Athletic reports.

In his most recent rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday, Montas got hammered for eight runs in only 1.2 innings, and he'll get to make only one more start before his 30-day rehab stint expires. The 32-year-old is stretched out enough to handle a starting role -- he's thrown 129 pitches over his last two appearances -- but if his performance doesn't improve in his final outing for Syracuse, the Mets may not want to risk him in the rotation. New York plays 13 games in 13 days beginning Tuesday however and will almost certainly need a sixth starter to get through that stretch, and their options for that spot are limited with Paul Blackburn already set to fill in for Kodai Senga (hamstring). If the Mets decide that Montas isn't quite ready to start when he's activated from the 60-day injured list, it could open the door for a prospect such as Nolan McLean to make a spot start instead.

Lucchesi (0-1) took the loss in Sunday's 5-4 defeat to the Dodgers, allowing two earned runs on three hits over two-thirds of an inning.

Lucchesi made his Giants debut Monday, entering the game with two outs in the fourth inning and allowing a single before inducing the final out. Lucchesi then surrendered back-to-back singles to start the fifth and was pulled after securing the first out. The 32-year-old was a last-minute addition to the major-league roster, with the team trading Sunday's projected starter, Kyle Harrison, and three other players to the Red Sox in exchange for Rafael Devers. Lucchesi had been working in relief for Triple-A Sacramento before joining San Francisco, posting a 3.23 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and a 31:8 K:BB across 30.2 innings in 20 appearances.

Triple-A Charlotte placed Varland on its 7-day injured list March 31 due to an unspecified injury.

Varland made just one appearance for Charlotte before landing on the shelf less than a week into the season. The right-hander looks to be closing in on his return to the Charlotte bullpen, however, as he began a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League last week. Varland retains a spot on the White Sox's 40-man roster, so he could be in the mix for a promotion to the big club later on this season if he can get healthy and pitch well at Charlotte over an extended stretch.

The White Sox released Karinchak on Sunday.

Though Karinchak owns a career 3.31 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 174 career appearances in the big leagues, he hasn't surfaced in the majors since 2023 while struggling to return to form following a shoulder injury that kept him out for most of 2024. Karinchak has been able to stay healthy this season after failing to win a spot on the White Sox's Opening Day roster, but a bloated 16.5 percent walk rate over 29.1 innings at Charlotte took much of the shine away from his 2.45 ERA. Since a promotion to the big leagues wasn't imminent, the White Sox elected to cut Karinchak loose and allow him to pursue work elsewhere.