MLB Player News

Kepler (knee) remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's game in Tampa Bay.

Kepler hasn't played since Sunday due to left knee soreness, although he might not have started Wednesday anyway, with the Rays slated to use lefty Tyler Alexander in bulk relief. Matt Wallner will occupy right field for the Twins.

Hill earned a hold against Texas on Tuesday by retiring both batters he faced, striking out one.

Hill hasn't worked in many high-leverage situations this season, but he was brought in Tuesday with New York hanging onto a two-run lead and the bases loaded with one out in the eighth frame. The lefty got the job done, allowing a sacrifice fly before striking out Jonah Heim to keep the Yankees in the lead. It was just the second hold of the season for Hill and his first since coming over to New York on June 20. He's been effective with the Yankees, posting a 2.34 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 13:6 K:BB while picking up three wins over 27 appearances covering 34.2 innings.

The Twins optioned Castillo to Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.

Just three days after he was added to the Twins' 40-man roster and 28-man active roster, Castillo will head back to the minors to open up a spot for right-hander Louie Varland, who was recalled ahead of an expected bulk-relief appearance Wednesday versus the Rays. During his brief time with the Twins, Castillo made one appearance and struck out a batter in a scoreless inning.

The Twins recalled Varland from Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.

Ronny Henriquez will draw the starting assignment for the Twins in Wednesday's game at Tampa Bay, but he's expected to work an inning or two before giving way to Varland, who will likely be deployed in bulk relief, per Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. A decent showing Wednesday could be enough for Varland to stick around with the Twins as part of a six-man rotation. The Twins have just two days off over the final 26 days of the regular season, so the addition of Varland would help provide extra rest for the team's other starters heading into the playoffs.

Harris (3-3) got the win against the Mariners on Tuesday, firing three scoreless innings during which he allowed two walks and recorded three strikeouts.

Harris took over following a quality start from rookie J.T. Ginn and put together a highly efficient long-relief effort, requiring only 37 pitches to record nine outs. The left-hander helped keep the Mariners at bay and then reaped the rewards when Seth Brown hit a walk-off single, affording Harris the first victory of his current big-league stint. Harris is likely to continue being used in a relief role down the stretch, although multi-inning outings will likely be the norm given he's capable of tolerating the elevated workloads.

Thornton (3-3) took the loss against the Athletics on Tuesday, allowing an earned run on two hits and a walk over one-third of an inning. He struck out one.

Thornton was tasked with preserving a 2-2 tie when he entered in the ninth, and after retiring the dangerous Brent Rooker looking, he never recorded another out. Seth Brown would subsequently walk it off for the Athletics with a single that plated JJ Bleday, snapping an eight-appearance scoreless streak for Thornton and saddling him with his first loss since July 22. The veteran right-hander has been a mostly effective option for Seattle, but his presence in a high-leverage spot Tuesday may have been due to the fact closer Andres Munoz is battling elbow soreness.

Raleigh went 2-for-4 with a two-run double and a second two-bagger in a loss to the Athletics on Tuesday.

One day after driving in two runs with his 28th homer in a series-opening loss, Raleigh was once again one of the few bright spots for the Mariners in a second consecutive defeat. The backstop's first-inning double drove home J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodriguez to open the scoring, and those would turn out to be the only runs of the night for the light-hitting Seattle lineup. Raleigh appears to have an outside chance at a 100-RBI campaign if he keeps up the timely knocks, as he's now sitting 16 RBI away from the triple-digit threshold with 23 games remaining.

Alexander is expected to serve as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Cole Sulser in Wednesday's game against the Twins, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Even with Zack Littell returning from the injured list to start Monday's series opener versus Minnesota, the Rays will at least temporarily expand the rotation to six men to include Alexander. Since being recalled from Triple-A Durham on Aug. 17, Alexander has made three appearances, tossing 14.1 innings and striking out 10 while allowing 11 earned runs on 15 hits and five walks.

Loperfido is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

Loperfido was on the bench for consecutive games over the weekend against the Twins, but he had started in both of the previous two contests while going 1-for-8 with four strikeouts. Since being acquired from the Astros in late July, Loperfido is slashing just .198/.232/.363 with a 34.7 percent strikeout rate, and his ongoing struggles appear to have started to cost him playing time. Davis Schneider will replace Loperfido in left field Wednesday.

Barger (knee) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

Barger went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's 10-9 loss to the Phillies but left the contest early with left knee discomfort. With the Blue Jays and Phillies wrapping up their series with a day game after a night game, Barger will unsurprisingly find himself on the bench. With a team off day on tap Thursday, he'll have two full days to recover from the knee injury before potentially returning to the lineup for Friday's series opener in Atlanta.