MLB Player News

Chapman secured the save in Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader against Baltimore, allowing one hit and one walk in a scoreless ninth inning.

Chapman threw only six of his 13 pitches for strikes and failed to record a strikeout, so he didn't have his best stuff on the hill Wednesday. Even so, the veteran southpaw successfully converted his seventh consecutive save and hasn't given up a run in six straight outings. Through 32.2 innings this year, Chapman has a 1.93 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 40:16 K:BB with 23 saves in 25 attempts.

The Athletics recalled Barnett from Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Barnett is grabbing the roster spot vacated by the injured J.T. Ginn (finger). He's also a candidate to take Ginn's rotation spot even though all 13 of his appearances in the majors this season have been in relief. Barnett has made 10 starts in 2026 with Las Vegas, posting a 4.34 ERA and 42:26 K:BB over 45.2 frames.

The Royals acquired Pearson from the Astros on Wednesday in exchange for Max Martin.

Pearson had been designated for assignment by Houston, but he will now join a 40-man roster in a new organization. The hard-throwing righty holds a 3.60 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 16:12 K:BB in 20 innings in the majors this season. Pearson does not have any minor-league options remaining, so he will join the Royals' bullpen.

Smith struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Tuesday to record his 29th save of the season in a 5-2 win over the Twins.

The 27-year-old closer fanned Kody Clemens as he extended his MLB saves lead, with the Padres' Mason Miller, the Rays' Bryan Baker and the Cardinals' Riley O'Brien tied for second with 25. Smith has allowed an earned run in only one of his last 10 appearances, and on the season he's produced a 2.72 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 66:11 K:BB over 46.1 innings.

Miles is expected to be used in bulk relief behind opening pitcher Braydon Fisher in Wednesday's game against the Rays, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

While serving as a traditional starter the last time his turn in the rotation came up Friday, Miles was lit up for six earned runs on six hits over four innings in a loss to the White Sox. The Blue Jays will hope to coax better results from Miles by deploying him behind Fisher, who will likely cover the first inning or two of Wednesday's contest.

The Rangers sent Martin (shoulder) to Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment.

Martin landed on the 15-day injured list just before the All-Star break with a right shoulder impingement. He is eligible for activation Monday and should be ready to go on that date after a rehab appearance or two.

Crochet (lat/shoulder) said Tuesday that he and the Red Sox training staff have no timeline in mind for when he'll be cleared to restart his throwing program, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Initially placed on the injured list April 29 due to left shoulder inflammation, Crochet was cleared to face hitters in a one-inning simulated game May 26 but felt lat tightness a couple days following that workout and has been shut down from throwing baseballs ever since. Crochet was able to do some light throwing with weighted plyometric balls in mid-June, but he paused that activity at the beginning of July after he hadn't progressed as well as the Red Sox hoped. For now, Crochet's main focus will be doing strengthening exercises for his rotator cuff, though he acknowledged that he doesn't know what the training staff needs to see from him before he resumes throwing again. The lack of a clearer target date for Crochet's return at this point in the calendar makes it tough for managers in redraft leagues with limited IL or bench spots to justify holding him.

Lange recorded the season Tuesday against the Giants, striking out two and walking one over a scoreless ninth inning.

Lange was deployed in the ninth inning, tasked with protecting a one-run lead, and he worked around a Jung Hoo Lee walk by striking out two to secure his ninth save. While the clean outing helped quiet some recent concerns, he's likely not out of the woods. The right-hander blew the save in both of his first two appearances following the All-Star break, which came on the heels of a pair of five-run meltdowns to close the first half. Lange now owns a 6.15 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 41:23 K:BB across 41 innings this season.

Perkins allowed three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out four over five innings in a no-decision versus the Diamondbacks on Tuesday.

Perkins gave up a three-run home run to Max Kepler in the first inning. After that Perkins settled in for a decent start, though the Athletics didn't catch up until the ninth inning. This was his longest outing in July -- he's allowed 13 runs over 11.2 innings in three appearances this month. Overall, Perkins has a 6.75 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 76:24 K:BB through 62.2 innings across 25 games (seven starts). He's tentatively projected for a home start versus the Red Sox early next week.

Alexander will serve as the Rangers' opening pitcher for Wednesday's game against the White Sox.

Alexander has given up three earned runs across his last 1.1 innings, but the Rangers will use him as their opener Wednesday to combat the top half of Chicago's batting order, which is often stacked with lefties. Cal Quantrill is expected to handle bulk-relief duties once Alexander exits the game.