ATLANTA -- The New York Mets are moving rookie Bobby Parnell back to the bullpen.
Manager Jerry Manuel said Thursday the move "strengthens us in the bullpen" for the last two weeks of the season.
Manuel said Parnell will return to a starting role in winter ball, but the team's long-term plans for the right-hander are uncertain.
Parnell surrendered seven hits and four runs, including three earned, with three walks and four strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings Wednesday night. He got a no-decision in a 6-5 loss to Atlanta.
Parnell is 3-8 with a 5.60 ERA in 62 games, including 1-5 with a 7.93 ERA in eight starts.
Brewers might shut down Gallardo
CHICAGO -- Yovani Gallardo's season could be over.
Milwaukee's 23-year-old right-hander ranks sixth in the NL with 3,125 pitches after missing most of 2008 due to his recovery from surgery to repair a torn meniscus and then a torn knee ligament.
He is 12-12 this season with a 3.84 ERA in 29 starts and 180 2/3 innings. With the Brewers out of contention for the playoffs, Milwaukee might decide he's pitched enough.
Right-hander Josh Butler, whose contract was purchased from Double-A Nashville on Tuesday, threw a side session, as did Gallardo. The Brewers are unsure who will start Sunday against Houston.
Rangers, supplemental first-round pick agree to deal
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Right-hander Tanner Scheppers, Texas' supplemental first-round pick in the amateur draft, agreed to a minor league contract with a $1.25 million signing bonus.
Their No. 1 choice was left-hander Matt Purke from Klein High School in the Houston area. Purke was taken 14th by the Rangers but spurned their offer and now attends TCU.
Scheppers was the 44th pick in the June draft after making four starts this year for the independent St. Paul Saints. The Pirates took him with the 48th pick last year, but he didn't sign.
This year was the third time Scheppers has been drafted. Baltimore took him out of high school, but he chose to go to Fresno State for three years.
A's Tomko finishes for season
OAKLAND, Calif. -- A's right-hander Brett Tomko has been sidelined for the rest of the season with nerve damage in his right arm.
Left-hander Dana Eveland will start on Sunday, with right-hander Edgar Gonzalez pitching Monday against the Rangers.
Tomko told team doctors he felt something in his arm during his five-hit shutout against the Rangers in Texas on Monday. He threw 114 pitches and could not move his arm the next morning.
Tomko, who finished 5-3 with a 3.77 ERA, is currently with his wife, Linda, who is expecting twins in the next couple of days. The couple lives near San Diego.
Cincy's Harang buys golf cart for clubhouse staff
CINCINNATI -- Reds pitcher Aaron Harang found a swift way to show his appreciation to the team's clubhouse staff.
Harang bought a souped-up, six-seat golf cart for the attendants who take care of him and the rest of the Reds players. When clubhouse manager Rick Stowe saw the cart sitting outside the clubhouse door, he was overwhelmed.
Harang had a nearby auto dealership customize a bright red golf cart, complete with Reds emblems and "CLUBHOUSE STAFF" affixed on the front. He said the cart cost about $6,500 and was his way of saying thanks.
The attendants will use it to ferry equipment and players around the ballpark. Until now, they've had to share smaller golf carts.
Reds' Gomes gives Hall of Fame reporter 20th HR bat
CINCINNATI -- Jonny Gomes didn't exactly promise a home run, but came through anyway.
The Cincinnati outfielder presented Dayton Daily News baseball writer Hal McCoy with the bat he used to hit his 20th home run on Wednesday night, a 6-5 victory over Houston. McCoy, who is retiring after his 37th season covering the Reds, was honored on the field before the game.
When Gomes passed McCoy in the dugout before the game on Wednesday, he told him he would try to hit a home run in his honor. Gomes was in a 3-for-24 slump when he came to bat for the first time and homered.
A day later, Gomes presented McCoy with the bat, which included an inscription noting the day and the occasion.
