MLB Player News

Kimbrel picked up the save Saturday against the Tigers. He allowed no hits and a walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning.

Kimbrel entered the ninth inning with a two-run cushion and retired the side on 20 pitches (14 strikes) to secure his first save of the campaign. The veteran right-hander has yet to allow a run across 5.1 frames since joining Kansas City. Overall, he owns a 4.15 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 35:18 K:BB across 39 innings between the Royals, Rays and Mets this season. The closer role has been a revolving door in the absence of Carlos Estevez (shoulder), and Kimbrel could see more save opportunities alongside Nate Pearson and Steven Cruz if he keeps delivering.

Valdez is slated to make his next start Monday versus the Rays in Detroit, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

After earning a win this past Monday in Pittsburgh, Valdez appeared on track to receive his second start of the week Sunday in Kansas City. Instead, the Tigers will build in an extra day of rest for the veteran southpaw and the other members of the rotation by calling up Andrew Sears from Triple-A Toledo to pitch in bulk relief Sunday. Valdez will now line up for a double dip during the upcoming week, with his second start projected to fall Aug. 30 versus the Dodgers at Comerica Park.

Waguespack will start Sunday's game against the Royals as an opener, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

It'll be the first start of the season and 15th of Waguespack's MLB career, with most of those coming in 2019 when he was working out of the rotation with Toronto. The right-hander is in the midst of his best big-league campaign with a 1.95 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 16:9 K:BB across 27.2 innings out of the bullpen, though his 4.71 xFIP indicates regression could be on the horizon.

Sears will be called up from Triple-A Toledo and will pitch in bulk relief behind opener Jacob Waguespack during Sunday's game against the Royals, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The 23-year-old has worked across four minor-league levels this season and has posted a 2.16 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 67:20 K:BB across 58.1 innings. Sears saw the bulk of his action at the Double-A level but covered 9.2 scoreless frames in his two outings for Toledo after being promoted in early August.

Sogard went 2-for-3 with two walks, a double and an RBI in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Giants.

With the rally caps on at Fenway Park, Sogard's ninth-inning double tied the game at 2-2, setting up a walk-off win. He's settling in at second base, having made five consecutive starts there while hitting safely in all five, including four multi-hit efforts. Sogard has gone 9-for-19 (.474) with five walks, three doubles, one home run, three RBI and six runs scored during his hit streak.

Sommers posted two perfect innings of relief with four strikeouts in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Royals.

Sommers pitched the last two innings of the contest for the Tigers and kept his team in the game, though they weren't able to mount a rally. Despite an 0-3 record, the lefty has been good this season and particularly stingy lately, as he's only allowed one run across his last 10 appearances. He also has a whopping 23 strikeouts in 12.1 innings during that time. Sommers isn't in a fantasy-friendly role at the moment, but he is making a strong case to move up in Detroit's bullpen hierarchy.

Fedde is expected to work in bulk relief Sunday against the Mets behind left-hander Sean Newcomb who is slated to start the game for the White Sox.

The last time the fifth spot in the rotation came up Tuesday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the White Sox deployed Fedde out of the bullpen while Bryan Hudson worked the first inning of the contest. Fedde followed Hudson with a strong performance, striking out five batters across 4.2 scoreless frames while scattering three hits and two walks. Newcomb has maxed out at three innings on the season and should be capable of offering a little more length than Hudson to begin the game, but Fedde remains the White Sox pitcher most likely to qualify for a win Sunday.

Newcomb will serve as the White Sox's opener for Sunday's game against the Mets, Brooke Fletcher of Chicago Sports Network reports.

The White Sox will deploy Newcomb as a starter for a second straight appearance and for the third time in his past four outings. He's made three total starts this season and hasn't covered more than three innings on any occasion, so he'll presumably be in line for another light workload Sunday. Erick Fedde is the leading candidate to pitch in bulk relief behind Newcomb.

Duran moved from third base to first base Saturday when Jake Burger (wrist) was removed after getting hit by a pitch.

Duran has played defense at four different positions over the last four contests and made his second appearance at first base. He hasn't been able to call any one position home this season but has thrived in a utility role and as a fill-in for injured starters. Lately, Duran has been filling in at the hot corner for Josh Jung (calf), but Cody Freeman could see more action there if Duran is needed across the diamond.

Perkins is expected to work in bulk relief Sunday in Houston behind left-hander Brady Basso, who is slated to start the game for the Athletics.

Perkins is primed for a second straight appearance out of the bullpen, after he and Basso worked in tandem the last time the fifth spot in the rotation came up during Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Royals. Basso covered the first 2.1 innings of that game before Perkins followed with 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. Perkins struck out four and yielded just one hit and one walk while tossing 53 pitches in what amounted to his lightest workload since the start of June.