MLB Player News

Flexen allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out four batters over six innings in a no-decision against Minnesota on Monday.

Flexen served up a solo homer to Trevor Larnach in the first inning but yielded just one more run over the remainder of his outing. He picked up his third quality start over his past four appearances, though he doesn't have a victory over that span. In fact, Flexen's last win came 12 starts ago May 8. He's been giving the White Sox good length of late, though, going at least 5.2 frames in each of his past four starts.

Paddack allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three batters in a no-decision against the White Sox on Monday.

Paddack was activated from the injured list ahead of the contest after missing over two weeks due to arm fatigue. The right-hander didn't seem to have any trouble with the issue in his return, tossing 78 pitches (54 for strikes) and allowing just five baserunners. Paddack did fade a bit near the end of the outing, though, as three of those baserunners reached in his final frame of work. Assuming he came out of the start fine, Paddack is in line to make his next start in San Francisco this weekend.

Williams allowed four hits and a walk over 5.1 shutout frames in a no-decision Monday. He struck out five during the loss to Detroit.

Williams wasn't overly efficient but he threw 62 of 89 pitches for strikes and allowed only one extra-base hit. The 24-year-old righty looked more like himself after being tagged with five runs in his season debut July 3. He threw 74 pitches in that outing and appears to be ready for a full workload. He'll carry a 4.82 ERA into his next start, which is lined up to be in Tampa Bay this weekend.

Montero tossed 6.1 scoreless innings but did not factor into the decision in Monday's game against the Guardians. He allowed three hits and a walk, while striking out four.

Montero certainly pitched well enough to earn his second win in the majors, but Gavin Williams was equally as impressive for Cleveland, though the Tigers scored once in the eighth for a 1-0 win. After allowing nine runs over 8.2 innings in his first two MLB appearances, Montero has turned things around, allowing just two runs across 12.2 innings in his two most recent outings. The 24-year-old has good stuff, and given his recent performances, he may stick in the rotation for the foreseeable future. He's currently penciled in to start again Saturday against the Dodgers before the All-Star break.

The Rangers designated Kelly for assignment Monday.

Kelly, 24, has had a rough 2024 campaign, first missing time with a shoulder issue and then posting a 9.35 ERA and 24:22 K:BB across 17.1 innings. However, the left-hander thrived in 2023 upon a full-time move to relief, collecting a 2.04 ERA and 79:23 K:BB over 57.1 frames between the Double- and Triple-A levels. Kelly should draw interest via trade or waivers.

The Mariners optioned Hancock to Triple-A Tacoma on Monday.

Hancock was called up from Tacoma to make a spot start in Saturday's loss to the Blue Jays, giving up two runs on six hits and one walk over four innings. With Bryan Woo (hamstring) set to return from the 15-day injured list week, Hancock is headed back to Tacoma to rejoin its rotation.

The Twins activated Paddack (arm) from the 15-day injured list Monday.

Paddack will rejoin the Twins rotation and start Monday versus the White Sox after missing the past two weeks with right arm fatigue. He didn't make a rehab start prior to being activated, so it's possible Paddack will be a little limited from a pitch count perspective Monday. Reliever Josh Winder was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move.

Gausman tinkered with his mechanics ahead of Friday's start against the Mariners, in which he tied his season high with 10 strikeouts, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports. "I definitely had a bit of a different delivery today, and that was by design," Gausman said after the outing. "It's something we're trying to get back to what I was doing in 2021. I think it will allow me to be around the zone a little bit more."

The veteran right-hander saw his fastball average 1.4 mph more than it had this season coming into the start, while the movement on his splitter was more effective as a result of the tweaks. "I was getting way too much horizontal movement on my splitter and not enough vertical movement," Gausman said. "I haven't looked at the metrics, but I could tell that it was carrying the zone. To me, that shows the vertical was there on my splitter. Guys are going to swing more at it when it looks like it's going to be in the zone longer." Gausman, who missed much of spring training due to shoulder fatigue, has had an inconsistent beginning to the season and will carry a 4.64 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 24.0 percent strikeout rate into his next start -- numbers all well below the standard he established during his career resurgence in San Francisco in 2020-21.

Crawford (5-7) earned the win Sunday against the Yankees after tossing seven shutout innings while allowing just four hits. He struck out four.

Crawford was incredibly efficient Sunday night, needing just 68 pitches to coast through seven frames while throwing 54 strikes. Crawford's never pitched into the eighth before, and while he certainly could've based on pitch count, manager Alex Cora decided to turn to the bullpen for the final six outs. Crawford contributed to shutting out the Yankees offense for the first time since April and now owns an 11:0 K:BB over his last 13 innings after back-to-back starts without issuing a walk. The 28-year-old now owns a 3.24 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 106:28 K:BB in 105.2 innings and will look to finish out the first half strong as he prepares to face the Royals at home in a weekend series.

Gil (9-5) took the loss Sunday against the Red Sox, allowing one run on four hits and no walks while striking out nine over 6.2 innings.

Gil was locked into a scoreless pitcher's duel with Kutter Crawford until the former gave up an opposite-field solo home run to Rafael Devers in the seventh. He retired one more batter after Devers and then exited the game and wound up with the loss after the Yankees ended up getting shut out. It was an encouraging showing for Gil nonetheless after he had surrendered 16 runs and posted a 6:9 K:BB in 9.2 innings over his prior three starts. Sunday was also the first time the 26-year-old managed to not walk a batter all year and the first time he reached six innings since June 4. Gil will look to generate one more strong start before the All-Star break and currently lines up to face the Orioles in Baltimore over the weekend.