Indians
The Indians have signed reliever Scott Atchison to a contract for next season.
Atchison’s deal includes a team option in 2016. Financial terms were not immediately available. The 38-year-old Atchison has been major contributor out of Cleveland’s bullpen this season, going 6-0 with a 2.95 ERA in 53 appearances.He pitched in 50 games last season for the New York Mets.
Royals
The Royals have promoted pitching prospect Christian Binford to Triple-A Omaha to test him as a reliever as the club checks out its September callup possibilities. Binford, a 30th-round pick in the 2011 draft, had an 8-6 record and 2.69 ERA in 22 starts this summer for Class A Wilmington and Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He had 130 strikeouts and 17 walks in 130 2/3 innings.
“We’ll get our best arms and evaluate and see what we have,” manager Ned Yost said.
Tigers
Max Scherzer won the Cy Young Award last season, going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA and 240 strikeouts. What about 2014?
“I’m a better pitcher than I was last year,” Scherzer said. “That was my mindset coming into this year: I was going to be a better pitcher than I was last year. Take all the numbers, throw them out. I’m not referencing wins and losses or anything. If you look at how I’m pitching and what I’m able to execute, I’m executing all my pitches at a higher level right now.”
Twins
Top prospect Byron Buxton, a graduate of Appling County High School, is expected to be held out of minor league action for the rest of the season after suffering a concussion in an outfield collision Aug. 13, Twins general manager Terry Ryan said.
Buxton, ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect by MLB.com, was involved in a collision with his teammate Mike Kvasnicka in right-center field while playing in his first game with Double-A New Britain. Ryan was on hand to witness the collision and said Buxton was lucky to only suffer concussion-like symptoms as a result. But the Twins plan to be cautious with Buxton, as he’s not expected to return before New Britain’s season ends Sept. 1.
White Sox
First-round draft pick Carlos Rodon and Chris Sale have a few things in common, and it’s no secret the White Sox have Rodon on the “Sale Plan” for success. Rodon, the third selection in the 2014 draft, was rewarded with the largest bonus of any draftee ($6.58 million), and advanced from Class A Winston-Salem to Triple-A Charlotte after only four appearances covering 9 innings.
Rodon’s trajectory is similar to that of Sale, who made four relief appearances at Winston-Salem after being picked 13th in 2010, and seven relief appearances at Charlotte before being called up to the Sox on Aug. 4. He became the first Sox pitcher to make his debut the same year he was drafted since Alex Fernandez in 1990.
Compiled by Rachel Lister from wire reports.
