Mayers (1-0) earned the win during Monday's 7-0 victory over St. Louis, allowing two hits across six scoreless innings. He recorded three strikeouts and didn't issue a walk.
Mayers operated behind opener Josh Staumont on Monday, and the two combined for seven shutout innings. Over his first three appearances of the season, Mayers has allowed just two runs across 13.1 innings and sports a 14:5 K:BB during that stretch. It's unclear if Mayers will continue operating as a bulk reliever or move back to a normal starting role, but either way, he figures to get plenty of innings until Brad Keller (shoulder) is cleared to return from the injured list.
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Royals' Mike Mayers: Working behind opener Monday
Rotowire
Mayers is expected to serve as the primary pitcher behind opener Josh Staumont during Monday's series opener in St. Louis, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
Mayers drew his first start of the year Tuesday against Detroit, allowing a run on six hits and one walk while striking out eight in 4.2 innings. While he tossed 84 pitches during Tuesday's start and should handle a sizable workload Monday, he's slated to work behind Staumont.
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Royals' Mike Mayers: Dazzles in first start of 2023
Rotowire
Mayers did not factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing one run on six hits and one walk over 4.2 innings against the Tigers. He struck out eight.
Though Mayers was initially brought up to serve in the bullpen as a bulk reliever, he ended up being called on to make his first start of the season and rewarded fantasy managers who took a risk on the veteran after his Triple-A struggles (6.88 ERA across eight starts) and poor first showing. With Daniel Lynch (shoulder) approaching a return, it's unclear if Mayers will stick around for another turn in the rotation. If he does, managers should still treat him as a risky streaming option considering all signs point toward Tuesday's performance being an outlier.
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Royals' Mike Mayers: Getting spot start Tuesday
Rotowire
Mayers will start Tuesday's game against the Tigers in Kansas City, Pete Grathoff of The Kansas City Star reports.
Mayers had been working as a member of the rotation at Triple-A Omaha prior to his promotion to the Royals last week, but the results were less than encouraging (6.88 ERA in eight starts). He's not a recommended fantasy streamer versus Detroit and will could move back to the bullpen or to Triple-A as soon as this weekend, when Daniel Lynch (shoulder) may be ready to return from the 15-day injured list.
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Royals' Mike Mayers: Called up from Triple-A
Rotowire
Kansas City selected Mayers' contract from Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
Mayers will join the 26-man active roster as the replacement for Amir Garrett, who was placed on the family medical emergency list Wednesday. Signed to a minor-league contract in December, Mayers has registered a 6.88 ERA over 34 innings with a 1.68 WHIP in eight appearances for Omaha. He had been working in a starting role for Omaha and made his last appearance May 10, so Mayers should be available as a bulk-relief option Wednesday in San Diego behind opener Carlos Hernandez, who is unlikely to work more than two or three innings before turning the game over to the bullpen.
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Royals' Mike Mayers: Shifted to minors camp
Rotowire
Mayers was reassigned to minor-league camp by the Royals on Tuesday.
Mayers allowed eight earned runs through 14.1 innings this spring and will likely begin the season with Triple-A Omaha. The 31-year-old reliever recorded a 6.27 ERA and 1.42 in the minors last season.
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Royals' Mike Mayers: Inks minor-league deal
Rotowire
Mayers signed a minor-league contract with the Royals on Thursday.
Mayers was designated for assignment by the Angels in late September, and he elected free agency after refusing an outright assignment. He'll need to settle for a minor-league deal with Kansas City, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him invited to major-league spring training since he spent most of the 2022 campaign in the big leagues.
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Mike Mayers: Chooses free agency
Rotowire
Mayers elected free agency Thursday, per the Sam Blum of The Athletic.
Mayers spent the majority of the season in the majors with the Angels, and he worked as both a starter and reliever. He didn't experience much success in either role, maintaining a 5.68 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and a 45:18 K:BB across 50.2 frames. Mayers has been effective as a reliever in past campaigns, so it's possible that he finds a big-league deal with a new club over the winter.
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Angels' Mike Mayers: Clears waivers
Rotowire
The Angels outrighted Mayers to Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday.
Mayers was one of three Angels recently designated for assignment to clear waivers, with first baseman Mike Ford and outfielder Magneuris Sierra also getting outrighted to Triple-A on Sunday. The 30-year-old Mayers is eligible to become a free agent this offseason and may have to settle for a minor-league deal after turning in a 5.68 ERA and 1.38 WHIP across 50.2 innings with the Angels in 2022.
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Angels' Mike Mayers: Cast off 40-man
Rotowire
Mayers was designated for assignment by the Angels on Tuesday.
After Mayers gave up multiple runs in four of his last five appearances, bringing his ERA to 5.68 for the season, the Angels decided it was time to remove him from their 40-man roster. Now that he's been placed on waivers, there is room for Archie Bradley (elbow) to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list.
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Angels' Mike Mayers: Not starting this week
Rotowire
Mayers is expected to remain in the bullpen this week while Tucker Davidson re-enters the rotation to start Wednesday's game against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
MLB.com previously listed Mayers as its starter for Tuesday's series opener in Texas, but he'll apparently stick around in a relief role with the Angels giving Davidson another chance to prove his worth as the sixth member of their rotation. Davidson owns a 7.24 ERA in 27.1 innings since arriving via trade from Atlanta on Aug. 2, but Mayers hasn't made an especially compelling case to displace him in the rotation. While covering 30.2 innings of his own since the beginning of August, Mayers has produced a 5.58 ERA and 1.34 WHIP.
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Angels' Mike Mayers: Slated to start Tuesday
Rotowire
Mayers is scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Rangers in Arlington.
Even though he was blasted for five earned runs in 3.1 innings in his last appearance out of the bullpen Sept. 11 in Houston, Mayers will get the chance to fill the final opening in the Angels' six-man rotation. He'll be replacing Tucker Davidson, who hasn't appeared since allowing four earned runs in two innings in his start in that same Sept. 11 game. The Angels could end up deploying Davidson as a piggyback pitcher behind Mayers on Tuesday.
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Angels' Mike Mayers: Pounded in relief
Rotowire
Mayers allowed five runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three batters against Houston on Sunday. He did not factor in the decision.
Tucker Davidson got the start for the Angels and was charged with four runs over two innings, but three of the runs scored after he departed. Mayers inherited Davidson's bases-loaded, no-out mess in the third and promptly served up a grand slam to Alex Bregman. That was one of two homers Mayers allowed in the game, with the other being a three-run, fifth-inning blast by Trey Mancini. The hurler has been haunted by the long ball this season, serving up 13 homers in 47.1 innings. Mayers had started in each of his previous three appearances, but it appears that his spot in the rotation is tenuous given the long-relief outing Sunday.
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Angels' Mike Mayers: Rebounds well against Tigers
Rotowire
Mayers pitched 5.2 innings, surrendering two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out three in Tuesday's extra-inning win over the Tigers. He did not factor into the decision.
Mayers tossed three scoreless innings to open Tuesday's outing before Spencer Torkelson ripped an RBI single in the top of the fourth. He later allowed another run in the top of the sixth on a Javier Baez groundout. The 30-year-old rebounded well after he gave up seven runs to the Yankees his last time out, producing his longest start of the campaign. Since joining the Angels rotation Aug. 24, Mayers has compiled a 4.30 ERA and 1.36 WHIP with 12 strikeouts over 14.2 frames in three starts.
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Angels' Mike Mayers: Hit hard Tuesday
Rotowire
Mayers (1-1) took the loss Tuesday versus the Yankees, allowing seven runs (five earned) on eight hits and two walks while striking out four over four innings.
The Yankees did their damage with the long ball, with three homers accounting for the five earned runs on Mayers' line. An error by Luis Rengifo in the third inning allowed two runs to score as well. Mayers' position in the rotation is far from secure, especially after long reliever Touki Toussaint delivered five innings of one-hit ball. Through 20 outings (two starts), Mayers owns a 5.17 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 36:14 K:BB through 38.1 innings this year. If he gets another turn in the rotation, he'd be lined up for a favorable home start versus the Tigers next week, though it's far from guaranteed he'll get that opportunity.
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Angels' Mike Mayers: Picks up another start
Rotowire
Mayers is slated to make his next start Tuesday against the Yankees in Anaheim.
After tossing 5.1 innings in long relief Aug. 17, Mayers was summoned into the Angels' six-man rotation last week as a replacement for the struggling Touki Toussaint. In his first start of the season last Wednesday in Tampa Bay, Mayers was excellent, as he struck out five over five shutout frames while scattering two hits and three walks. The home matchup with the Yankees isn't the softest landing spot, though it's perhaps more favorable than earlier in the season with New York having performed as a league-average offense (99 wRC+, 15th in MLB) since the All-Star break.
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Angels' Mike Mayers: Five scoreless innings
Rotowire
Mayers did not factor into the decision in Wednesday's extra-innings loss to the Rays, allowing no runs on two hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out five.
Mayers was effective in his first start of the season Wednesday, as he held the Rays scoreless with just 78 pitches through five innings. He struggled a bit with command, as he only threw 46 pitches for strikes and walked three. However, he also struck out a batter per inning. Mayers lowered his ERA to 4.46 with the start, but he still figures to be a risky play for fantasy managers, as he had just three career starts in six MLB seasons coming into this year.
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Angels' Mike Mayers: Drawing start Wednesday
Rotowire
Mayers is scheduled to start Wednesday's game at Tampa Bay, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Mayers is presumably stepping into the rotation spot of Touki Toussaint, who could work out of the bullpen for the time being after being blasted for four earned runs on three hits and four walks in 2.2 innings in his last start Aug. 17 against the Mariners. In that same game, Mayers came on in long relief and wasn't any more effective, as he yielded five earned runs on six hits -- including three home runs -- and a walk while striking out four over 5.1 innings. Mayers tossed 96 pitches in that outing, so he'll be sufficiently stretched out as he steps into the rotation.
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Angels' Mike Mayers: Shines in long relief
Rotowire
Mayers struck out four over 3.1 scoreless innings of long relief Saturday in the Angels' 2-1 loss to the Mariners in the first game of a doubleheader. He scattered one hit and two walks in the 69-pitch outing.
Mayers, who had converted to a starting role at Triple-A Salt Lake in late June, was summoned from the minors in advance of the twin bill. He ended up serving as a piggyback starter behind Jaime Barria, who was charged with the loss after surrendering two earned runs on three hits and four walks over 4.2 innings. With the Angels optioning Janson Junk to Triple-A on Saturday, Los Angeles will have a permanent opening in its six-man rotation this week. If neither is needed in long relief during the Angels' upcoming three-game series in Oakland, another Barria/Mayers tandem start could be on tap next weekend versus the Twins.
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Angels' Mike Mayers: Contract selected
Rotowire
Mayers' contract was selected by the Angels on Saturday.
Mayers has made 15 relief appearances for the Angels this season, struggling to a 5.40 ERA. He worked as a starter while pitching for Triple-A Salt Lake but struggled to a 6.27 ERA in eight starts, so that experiment may be over. The Angels could lean on Mayers to provide length behind starting pitcher Jaime Barria in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader in Seattle, however, as Barria will be pitching on only two days' rest.
