MLB Player News

Mejia was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Monday.

Mejia made his season debut Saturday against the Cubs, allowing four runs in four innings. He was expected to make another turn through the rotation Thursday against the Orioles, but after further deliberation, the Twins opted to send him back to the minors for further refinement. Zack Littell was promoted from Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move and could be in line for Thursday's start if he's not needed in relief the next three days.

German is listed as the Yankees' probable starter for Tuesday's game against the Braves, MLB.com reports.

Due to Luis Cessa making a spot start June 27 and the Yankees having an open date in the schedule the following day, German moved to the bullpen last week as New York streamlined its rotation. With the team set to play its fifth game in five days Tuesday, German will return to a starting role and will be looking for redemption after he was tagged for six runs on nine hits over three innings by the Rays in his last turn through the rotation June 24. With an excellent 75:21 K:BB over 64.1 innings this season, German offers more upside than his 5.32 ERA indicates, but he'll need to do a better job of reining in the long ball (11 home runs allowed) in order to avoid the blowup outings that have sullied his season-long numbers.

Perez (elbow) could be activated in time to pitch for Texas before the All-Star break, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Manager Jeff Banister has not yet made a decision on Perez, who has thrown two scoreless starts while out on rehabilitation assignment. Perez is being monitored following his second rehab start Saturday, with Banister saying they'd like to see how the pitcher goes through the recovery phase before making a final decision. It seems likely the left-hander will make at least one more rehab start.

Severino (13-2) allowed two hits and three walks while striking out six across 6.2 scoreless innings to earn the win Sunday against the Red Sox.

Severino didn't need the plentiful run support he received as he cruised to his major-league-leading 13th win. The big blemishes of his line came in the three free passes he handed out, but he had little trouble working around them by allowing only two runners to reach scoring position throughout his start. As he has for much of the season, Severino ranks among the league's best in nearly every pitching stat, highlighted by a 0.95 WHIP and 1.98 ERA.

Clevinger (7-3) got the win against Oakland on Sunday, giving up three earned runs on eight hits over six innings, striking out five and walking two in a 15-3 victory for the Indians.

Clevinger got a ton of run support in this contest, but he still held up his end of the bargain with a quality start to pick up his seventh win of 2018. The right-hander is having a terrific season, with a 3.11 ERA and 99 strikeouts through 110 innings. He'll take on Oakland again in his next start, this time at home July 7.

Montas (4-2) took the loss against the Indians on Sunday, giving up three earned runs on nine hits over 5.2 innings, striking out six and walking none as Oakland eventually fell 15-3.

It wasn't a terrible final line for the right-hander, but he had no chance at picking up a win as his bullpen ended up getting blown up for 12 earned runs after he departed the contest in the fifth inning. Montas has been rocked in a couple of his starts, which has skewed his ratios a bit. He's negated his useful 3.83 ERA with an ugly 1.46 WHIP. It should be noted that he's been solid aside from those two meltdowns, however, with four quality starts in his other five outings.

Hamels (4-7) took the loss against the White Sox on Sunday, giving up seven earned runs on nine hits over five innings, striking out seven with no walks as the Rangers fell 10-5.

It was a rough outing for the veteran left-hander, who has given up 11 earned runs over his last two starts to bring his ERA on the season up to 4.05 through 102.1 innings. It's been tough sledding of late overall for Hamels, as he's now given up at least four earned in four out of his last seven outings. He'll look to get back on track in his next start, which will see him take the mound against Detroit next Saturday.

Paxton (8-2) allowed two hits and two walks while striking out 11 across eight scoreless innings to earn the win Sunday against the Royals.

Paxton generated 27 swinging strikes in Sunday's dominant effort, his second-highest total for the season. Though he was going against one of the weaker lineups in the league, his ability to rack up strikeouts is nothing new, and his 145 on the season rank fourth in the American League. While he did stumble in consecutive starts against the Red Sox and Yankees, Paxton has stayed healthy this season and emerged as a reliable asset.

Keller (2-3) allowed one earned run on six hits and no walks while striking out three across eight innings to take the loss Sunday against the Mariners.

Keller was a tough-luck loser, outdueled by James Paxton despite recording his third consecutive quality start. He has increased his workload with each start and has now surpassed 100 pitches in each of his past two efforts. While he lacks strikeouts, he has generated groundballs at a 59 percent rate and allowed only one home run in his 56 innings. That number is likely to rise as the season wears on, but even though it's more than a run higher than his 2.09 ERA, his 3.17 FIP suggests he is deserving of good results, even at a diminished level.

Morton (10-2) surrendered two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out 11 across 6.2 innings as he was handed the loss Sunday against Tampa Bay.

Morton cruised through six scoreless innings, but he gave up a two-RBI single to Matt Duffy in the bottom of the seventh, which gave the Rays a 2-1 lead. Morton certainly deserved a better fate after working into the seventh with just two runs allowed. Prior to Sunday's outing, he hadn't allowed a run over his last two starts (13 innings) and had 17 strikeouts over that span. Morton will look to continue his recent success in his next start Saturday against the White Sox.